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Originally Posted by JSP
Prior to Three's this topic wasn't examined much if at all. Single men and women living together was a topic the networks wouldn't touch until Three's Company. Everybody in prior sitcoms had to be mother and father, sons and daughters if they were going to live under the same roof.
Can anybody correct me on that? Was there an American sitcom about unrelated people in a non-workplace environment prior to Three's?
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Other than the Odd Couple and Sherlock Holmes, you're right. Most single people were either seen together at work or living with family. I think TC was very probably the very first American TV show that showed single men and women living together.
While The Odd Couple qualifies, note that they were two *divorced* men (I think that was a calculated move to prevent any possible doubt about their heterosexuality), and of course Sherlock Holmes is of proper British literary origins. So they didn't exactly push the envelope in that regard.
I'd also say it was also perhaps the first time we saw on TV a clearly positive portrayal of gay people that promoted acceptance. Mr. Roper was always the butt of the joke when he was homophobic, and Jack (a very hetero man) was never threatened by being perceived as or having to "act" gay. That was a big step.