M*A*S*H's Co-Creator Developed Another Hit '80s Sitcom (Despite Not Wanting To)
TVLine • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Larry Gelbart, creator of "M*A*S*H," declined ABC's offer to develop "Three's Company" due to burnout and a desire to avoid creating a bedroom farce after his intense work on "M*A*S*H."
- Gelbart was skeptical about adapting the British sitcom "Man About the House" for American audiences, fearing it would dilute the original's more permissive tone.
- Despite Gelbart's reluctance, ABC head Michael Eisner insisted on his involvement, paying him a then-record $50,000 to develop the pilot, which was ultimately rewritten and recast without Gelbart's approval.
- ABC aired a heavily altered version of the pilot in 1977, with little of Gelbart's original script remaining; although critics panned the show initially, it became a highly popular and enduring sitcom throughout the 1980s.
