The world of sitcom is big and filled with a diverse range of shows. Writers and producers can be forgiven for wanting to stand out from the crowd and coming up with original situations, unexplored settings and inventive gimmicks. Make no mistake, some of our favourite sitcoms have ventured outside of the usual cosy living room or drab office. We’ve had historical sitcoms (like Blackadder), political sitcoms (Veep, Yes Minister) wartime sitcoms (Dad’s Army, M*A*S*H), sci-fi sitcoms (Red Dwarf), sitcoms set on the wrong side of the law (Porridge), sitcoms set on the right side of the law (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Thin Blue Line), and so on.

But if you wanted to use a particular show to teach the idea of sitcom, it’d make most sense to start with something simple, uncluttered and, dare I say, pure. It would also help to choose a show that’s bloody good. In that case, you could do little better in my humble opinion than by choosing The Golden Girls. It’s a show that reduces situation comedy down to its simple essence. It has no need for gimmicks and no regard for what’s trendy. It’s refreshingly uncomplicated.

But if it’s complications you want, then – as we’ll see – you’d have venture behind the scenes…

Genesis

The idea for The Golden Girls originated from a 1984 skit promoting a new season of NBC cop show Miami Vice. It featured Doris Roberts and Selma Diamond – both of them mature veteran performers of comedy – sparring humorously with each other and mistaking the name of the show to be ‘Miami Nice’. When NBC’s Vice-President of Comedy saw his fellow execs chuckling away at the routine, he began wondering if there was maybe something in this idea of a comedy led by older ladies.

He suggested as much to Paul Junger Witt, a TV producer experienced enough to know just how tough it is to sell an idea to US network executives. Now, totally out of the blue, an exec was trying to sell him on an idea! He didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Witt promised to look into the idea and immediately set about searching for a writer to develop the vague idea into a solid pitch. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to look far – just across the kitchen table as it turned out, because he was married to one of the most successful and prolific TV writers in the country, Susan Harris.

Unluckily for him, Harris had recently and firmly decided to quit TV writing altogether.

Selling One’s Wife (on an Idea)

Despite his wife’s firm commitment to retirement, Witt nevertheless took a chance and shared the idea. To her own surprise, Harris found herself seriously intrigued by a show centred around such a neglected demographic.

All he had to say was “older women” — and he had me. My favourite characters to write for were older people. I hated writing for people in their twenties because older people have stories to tell and that’s what I always wanted to do. I was on board right away.

– Susan Harris

Harris took the idea on, but immediately there was a problem.

Of course, when the execs said ‘old women’ they didn’t mean old women. After all, this was Hollywood where actresses were put out to pasture at the appearance their first wrinkle. (Thank God all that nonsense has long since ended, right?) NBC’s idea of old was women in their forties, while Harris was thinking more like sixtysomethings.

In the end, a compromise was reached. The scripts would never make reference to the character’s ages, but Harris would never have any doubt in her mind just how mature her characters were. Harris ultimately won that battle, judging from the age of the actors who ended up cast in those roles.

The Characters

Harris pitched a show featuring four main characters, all of them women either divorced or widowed, sharing a house in Miami.

Dorothy

A divorced substitute schoolteacher. Was happily married (well, married) for over twenty years until her husband left her for a younger woman. While The Golden Girls is an ensemble show, Dorothy is arguably the main protagonist. Imposing, acerbic and authoritative, she was the leader of the gang and often the voice of reason.

Rose

A widow from rural Minnesota, Rose is kind-hearted but not too bright. Her caring considerate side conceals a competitive streak that occasionally emerges. She’s fond of telling rambling incoherent stories from her bizarre upbringing that leave her housemates incredulous.

Blanche

Also a widow, Blanche is a proud, exuberant Southern Belle, Scarlett O’Hara in shoulder pads. She’s also man-hungry and loves nothing more than the attention of a fine gentleman.

Sophia

Elderly widow and mother to Dorothy. She was a resident of a retirement home ever since a stroke robbed her of her sense of tact. She moves into the house in the pilot episode when the retirement home burns down. As the oldest character, she serves as something of a sage to the others (on the occasions she manages to suppress her caustic remarks).

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Casting proceeded relatively smoothly.

TV veterans Rue McClanahan and Betty White signed up enthusiastically.

It was the best script that I’d read, maybe, in life. You get so many bad scripts sent your way in this business, so many dogs. And I shouldn’t use that term because I love dogs.

– Betty White

Estelle Getty, a stage actor with less TV experience, wowed producers who gave her the role of Sophia, a character twenty years older than Getty herself.

A little more problematic was finding Dorothy. Harris had called for a ‘Bea Arthur type’, and perhaps assumed that Bea Arthur herself wouldn’t be interested or gettable. As it turned out, Arthur loved the idea, but had reservations. The problem came from the fact that McClanahan was originally cast, not as the feisty Blanche we know and adore her as, but as Rose!

Arthur and McClanahan had already starred together throughout the 1970s in a sitcom called Maude, playing best friends Maude and Vivian respectively. In that show, Vivian was a dim but likeable foil to Bea Arthur’s irascible Maude. Arthur was turned off by the idea of rehashing the same relationship, telling McClanahan, “I don’t want to play Maude and Vivian meet Betty White.”

As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one who had a problem with the casting. Director Jay Sandrich had trouble accepting the vivacious McClanahan as a farm-bred innocent. In the end, the whole problem was resolved by having White and McClanahan swap roles.

With that, the legendary line-up was born.

Next time…

But why did the dynamic work so elegantly, and what other behind-the-scenes complications threatened to derail this beloved show? Find out next week.