Charlie's Angels (TV)
"Charlie’s Angels" is a television series that first aired in 1976, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. The show follows three female private detectives—Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett—who were originally police officers relegated to traditional female roles before being recruited by the mysterious Charlie. The Angels carried out undercover investigations in a variety of settings, often facing danger while maintaining glamorous appearances. The series sparked discussions on themes of female empowerment versus exploitation, as it frequently placed the Angels in sexually suggestive scenarios, yet portrayed them as capable and independent, relying on their skills rather than male assistance. The original cast included notable actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors, whose iconic hairstyle influenced fashion trends of the era. The show, part of the "jiggle TV" genre, enjoyed significant popularity, reaching high ratings during its run. Despite facing challenges such as declining script quality and cast changes over the years, "Charlie’s Angels" left a lasting impact on television and popular culture before its cancellation after five seasons.
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Subject Terms
Charlie's Angels (TV)
Identification Television detective series
Producers Leonard Goldberg and Aaron Spelling
Part television show, part phenomenon, the glamorous Charlie’s Angels solved crimes, faced danger, and always looked smashing. The critically skewered show was nonetheless an instant hit and made icons of its stars.
Key Figures
Leonard Goldberg (1934- ), television producerAaron Spelling (1923-2006), television producer
“Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy . . . ” So began Charlie’s Angels, which debuted in the top ten and remained there for two seasons. Time magazine declared the show “a certifiable phenomenon” and featured the female characters on a November, 1976, cover.
In the opening credits, viewers learn that the women were originally police officers, working at dull, stereotypical female tasks, including meter maids and crossing guards. Charlie “took them away from all that” and made them private detectives, who worked undercover in a variety of locales, some glamorous, some seedy—the highest-rated episode, “Angels in Chains,” sent them to prison. The twist was that the Angels—Sabrina Duncan (played by Kate Jackson), Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), and Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith)—never saw Charlie (an unbilled John Forsythe); their cases came over the phone or from coworker John Bosley (David Doyle). The women constantly found themselves in danger, each facing peril at least once per episode, but they always looked beautiful and sexy.
However, the series produced an ongoing debate: Was this female empowerment or exploitation? Charlie’s Angels was part of the so-called jiggle TV genre, which also included such shows as Three’s Company and Sugar Time. The Angels were frequently placed in sexually provocative situations (working undercover as prostitutes or exotic dancers), required to use their feminine wiles to lure criminals, or appeared skimpily dressed in bikinis, lingerie, or just a towel.
However, unlike Police Woman’s Pepper Anderson, who had Lieutenant Crowley as backup, the Angels relied on no man. They did all the legwork in their cases, and if any rescuing was needed, they did it themselves. Bosley helped on occasion, but he was more comic foil than “male Angel.” While certainly not poster girls for feminism, the strong, glamorous Angels exhibited a “buddy” relationship previously restricted only to men and otherwise defied traditional conventions of the genre.
While all three Angels were media sensations, the breakout star was Fawcett-Majors, whose feathered blonde hairstyle became a nationwide fad. Fawcett-Majors left after one season to try film acting, making only guest appearances thereafter. Cheryl Ladd, as Jill’s little sister Kris, proved unexpectedly popular, and in season two, Charlie’s Angels tied for fourth place in the ratings, with strange bedfellows All in the Family and 60 Minutes.
Impact
Weak scripts plagued the series, and a fed-up Jackson left after three seasons. New Angels—Tiffany Welles (Shelley Hack) and Julie Rogers (Tanya Roberts)—could not re-create the team’s original chemistry, and the show fell from the top ten. Charlie’s Angels was canceled after five seasons.
Bibliography
Hofstede, David, and Jack Condon. Charlie’s Angels Casebook. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Pomegranate Press, 2000.
Spelling, Aaron, with Jefferson Graham. Aaron Spelling: A Prime-Time Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.