The Star Who Overplayed Her Hand (1977-84)

[TMC]

They were TV’s most unlikely roommates; and for a while, America couldn’t get enough. But behind the laugh track, one decision shattered it all.

In this behind-the-scenes documentary, we unpack the rise and unraveling of Three’s Company, the sitcom that pushed boundaries and became a cultural lightning rod. From Suzanne Somers’ explosive contract demands to the quiet fallout that split the trio, this is the real story of what happened when stardom, ego, and network pressure collided.

Featuring rare insights, cast dynamics, and the controversial fallout ABC never wanted you to see.

Full chapter breakdown below ⬇

• 00:40 Man About the House
• 01:53 Three's Company Pilot #1
• 06:02 "The Ropers" spin-off
• 07:15 Mr. Furley replaces the Ropers
• 08:22 Controversy over the show's morals
• 10:15 The Newsweek spread that changed everything
• 11:16 Suzanne Somers' salary demands splits the cast
• 14:24 A TV ratings powerhouse
• 15:01 Legacy

[thejasoomian]

More BS about Suzanne wanting to match John's 150k an episode that he wasn't making.
The lie that won't go away and the fangirls of Suzanne's that keep it going.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

More BS about Suzanne wanting to match John's 150k an episode that he wasn't making.
The lie that won't go away and the fangirls of Suzanne's that keep it going.

As others have attempted to point out, Suzanne Somers was convinced by her greedy husband that she was the most important cast member and the show could never go on without her. She stalled filming, wouldn't show up, and cost the production money when they wouldn't give in to her irrational demands.

[BestTVever]

Again, there are 2 sides to every story. The truth is always somewhere in between. Did Suzanne handle this the right way? NO Was her husband a horrible agent? YES

However she was the canary in the coal mine. Regardless of people saying John was the star of the show that was wrong. It may have started out that way or intended to be that way but the show had 3 primary stars. Suzanne was the breakout star. She was on the cover of more magazines than anyone. What her fight with ABC pointed out was the huge discrepancy of male and female salaries on TV shows. In 1979 Threes Company was eclipsing MASH in ratings. Yet CBS was paying Alan Alda a ton of money. Other male actors on far less successful TV shows were making more than the woman on the #1 TV show and was a sex symbol and lure for the show.
I am puzzled how anyone thinks this would be ok. Today it would never happen but women always made less money then men. Penney Marshall sort of ruined everything because Penney successful renegotiated her contract with ABC and got a HUGE raise only to see Laverne and Shirley tank in the ratings. Fair is fair. Why did ABC cave to Penney's demands on a sinking show? Suzanne had the moral high ground. But her antics were horrible and she deserved to be fired. But the way ABC handled it was also horrible. Those phone in scenes were horrible. It was more for punishment than anything.
ALL sides operated in bad faith. What gets forgotten is that Suzanne confronted the head of ABC during the lawsuit and she apologized and was going to agree to her original contract and go back to work. ABC declined and still fired her which is fine. But banning her from the set and making her do phone in scenes from a distant trailer was only about rubbing her face in this mess. They would never do this to a male actor nor would a male actor agree to do that.

[39ForestHills]

It’s just another one of these click bait videos on Youtube

[BestTVever]

There is a moral of this story which everyone can agree. Everyone can be replaced. Suzanne said herself that part of her confidence in going after ABC was that NO ONE could replace Chrissy Snow. But it happened.
No matter who you are and no matter how good you are you can be replaced.

[thejasoomian]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Again, there are 2 sides to every story. The truth is always somewhere in between. Did Suzanne handle this the right way? NO Was her husband a horrible agent? YES

However she was the canary in the coal mine. Regardless of people saying John was the star of the show that was wrong. It may have started out that way or intended to be that way but the show had 3 primary stars. Suzanne was the breakout star. She was on the cover of more magazines than anyone. What her fight with ABC pointed out was the huge discrepancy of male and female salaries on TV shows. In 1979 Threes Company was eclipsing MASH in ratings. Yet CBS was paying Alan Alda a ton of money. Other male actors on far less successful TV shows were making more than the woman on the #1 TV show and was a sex symbol and lure for the show.
I am puzzled how anyone thinks this would be ok. Today it would never happen but women always made less money then men. Penney Marshall sort of ruined everything because Penney successful renegotiated her contract with ABC and got a HUGE raise only to see Laverne and Shirley tank in the ratings. Fair is fair. Why did ABC cave to Penney's demands on a sinking show? Suzanne had the moral high ground. But her antics were horrible and she deserved to be fired. But the way ABC handled it was also horrible. Those phone in scenes were horrible. It was more for punishment than anything.
ALL sides operated in bad faith. What gets forgotten is that Suzanne confronted the head of ABC during the lawsuit and she apologized and was going to agree to her original contract and go back to work. ABC declined and still fired her which is fine. But banning her from the set and making her do phone in scenes from a distant trailer was only about rubbing her face in this mess. They would never do this to a male actor nor would a male actor agree to do that.

That's because she was paying her whole salary to Jay Bernstein to make those sort of things happen for her. John and Joyce wasn't trying to be Farrah like SS was.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

That's because she was paying her whole salary to Jay Bernstein to make those sort of things happen for her. John and Joyce wasn't trying to be Farrah like SS was.

That's part true too. However it was the directors that made her jiggle for TV which brought in HUGE ratings. You cannot discard her sex symbol status and how it was connected to the success of the show.

[Lyverbe]

"She was on the cover of more magazines than anyone."

Sex sells. In my opinion, she was on covers because of how attractive she was, not necessarily because she was THE star of the show.

You said it yourself, she was a sex symbol and lure. A lure not only for the show, but for magazines too.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Again, there are 2 sides to every story. The truth is always somewhere in between. Did Suzanne handle this the right way? NO Was her husband a horrible agent? YES

However she was the canary in the coal mine. Regardless of people saying John was the star of the show that was wrong. It may have started out that way or intended to be that way but the show had 3 primary stars. Suzanne was the breakout star. She was on the cover of more magazines than anyone. What her fight with ABC pointed out was the huge discrepancy of male and female salaries on TV shows. In 1979 Threes Company was eclipsing MASH in ratings. Yet CBS was paying Alan Alda a ton of money. Other male actors on far less successful TV shows were making more than the woman on the #1 TV show and was a sex symbol and lure for the show.
I am puzzled how anyone thinks this would be ok. Today it would never happen but women always made less money then men. Penney Marshall sort of ruined everything because Penney successful renegotiated her contract with ABC and got a HUGE raise only to see Laverne and Shirley tank in the ratings. Fair is fair. Why did ABC cave to Penney's demands on a sinking show? Suzanne had the moral high ground. But her antics were horrible and she deserved to be fired. But the way ABC handled it was also horrible. Those phone in scenes were horrible. It was more for punishment than anything.
ALL sides operated in bad faith. What gets forgotten is that Suzanne confronted the head of ABC during the lawsuit and she apologized and was going to agree to her original contract and go back to work. ABC declined and still fired her which is fine. But banning her from the set and making her do phone in scenes from a distant trailer was only about rubbing her face in this mess. They would never do this to a male actor nor would a male actor agree to do that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that Suzanne was only banned from the set once John and Joyce made it known that they didn't want to work with her anymore after all of the shenanigans that she was pulling.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

There is a moral of this story which everyone can agree. Everyone can be replaced. Suzanne said herself that part of her confidence in going after ABC was that NO ONE could replace Chrissy Snow. But it happened.
No matter who you are and no matter how good you are you can be replaced.

This kind of reminds me of Gene Okerlund recounting the story of The Ultimate Warrior holding Vince McMahon up for $500K at SummerSlam 1991. There is in Gene's words, "No room for that in this business! There's no room for that in any kind of business!" And in this particular case, once Suzanne refused to show up to set as means of "proving her point" so to speak you could no longer trust her.

[Mace Dolex]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

There is a moral of this story which everyone can agree. Everyone can be replaced. Suzanne said herself that part of her confidence in going after ABC was that NO ONE could replace Chrissy Snow. But it happened.
No matter who you are and no matter how good you are you can be replaced.

Except for John Ritter, he was in every episode and a real comedic talent, I don't see how the show would've kept going had John started asking for more money.