The Ropers
| The Ropers | |
|---|---|
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The Ropers opening logo
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| Based on |
George and Mildred created by Johnnie Mortimer Brian Cooke |
| Developed by |
Don Nicholl Michael Ross Bernie West |
| Starring |
Norman Fell Audra Lindley Jeffrey Tambor Patricia McCormack Evan Cohen |
| Theme music composer | Joe Raposo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 28 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | The NRW Company |
| Location(s) |
CBS Television City Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Distributor | D.L. Taffner Syndication Services (1980-1998) DLT Entertainment (1998-present) The Program Exchange FremantleMedia (International) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | March 13, 1979 – May 22, 1980 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Three's Company |
| Related shows | George and Mildred |
The Ropers is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980. It is a spin-off of Three's Company and loosely based on the British sitcom George and Mildred, which was itself a spin-off of Man About the House, on which Three's Company was based.
It was taped at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California, where its parent series, Three's Company, was taping at the time, from February to April 1979 (Season 1) and from July 1979 to February 1980 (Season 2).
The series focused on middle-aged couple Stanley (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley), who were landlords to Jack, Janet and Chrissy on Three's Company.
In this spin-off, the Ropers have sold their apartment building in Three's Company episode "An Anniversary Surprise" (season 3, episode 20) to live in the upmarket community of Cheviot Hills, where the social-climbing Helen struggled to fit in with her neighbors. Stanley made little attempt to fit in with the standards of the community, thereby causing Helen much embarrassment.
As was the case during their time on Three's Company, opening credits for The Ropers alternate between Audra Lindley and Norman Fell credited first.
After the enormous success of Three's Company in its short first season in 1977, ABC head Fred Silverman was anxious to capitalize on the show's success. In early 1977, Silverman approached Fell and Lindley with the subject of doing a spin-off from the show after its first full season wrapped in the spring of 1978. Both actors as well as the Three's Company producers begged off as the show had yet to prove itself for an entire season. However, with the show's continued success in its second season, the idea was brought up again in 1978, this time by Three's Company's own producers as well as new ABC head Tony Thomopolous (Silverman went to NBC). The idea intrigued Lindley, but Fell was extremely reluctant, as he was satisfied with his role on a show that was already a proven hit. Fell feared that a spin-off would be unsuccessful and thus put him out of a good role and job. To alleviate his fears, Three's Company producers contractually promised Fell that they would give the new series a year to prove itself. If unsuccessful, then he and Lindley would return to Three's Company. A reluctant Fell agreed to the new terms.
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