"Three's Company" was a remake of which British sitcom?

If you've ever caught yourself humming "Come and knock on our door," you can thank a cheeky British sitcom. Before Jack Tripper perfected the art of falling face-first into comedy history on "Three's Company," another man was navigating life with two female roommates across the pond – minus the pratfalls, plus a healthy dose of English wit. Which British export started this sexual revolution in situation comedy?

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The answer is: "Man About the House"

In 1973, British television did something revolutionary: they put a straight man in an apartment with two women and didn't make him sleep with either of them. By American standards, this was practically science fiction.

"Man About the House" followed Robin Tripp, a culinary student whose greatest skill was convincing his landlords he was gay to keep his living arrangement. His flatmates were smart enough to know he wasn't, his landlords were dim enough to buy the act, and British audiences were sophisticated enough to get the joke.

ABC took this premise and cranked up the volume. John Ritter's Jack Tripper transformed subtle physical humor into an art form, his pratfalls so perfectly timed they made slapstick feel sophisticated. Where Robin raised eyebrows, Jack raised chaos.

The original cast's chemistry was electric. Janet's dry wit played perfectly against Chrissy's innocent confusion, while Jack bounced between them like a pinball of sexual frustration. Their shared scenes crackled with the kind of timing that made even the dumbest misunderstandings feel like comic genius. When Suzanne Somers left and Don Knotts joined as Ralph Furley, the show proved its premise was sturdy enough to survive cast changes – though nothing quite matched those early seasons' magic.

Both shows had to explain why their leading man wasn't romancing his roommates. The British version eventually revealed Robin was straight all along. The American version doubled down on Jack's fake gayness, occasionally mining genuine social commentary from what could have been just a cheap plot device.

Success bred imitation on both sides of the Atlantic. Britain's "George and Mildred" became America's "The Ropers," while "Robin's Nest" transformed into "Three's a Crowd." Neither American spinoff captured the magic of the original – proof that some recipes can't be replicated, even with the same ingredients.

"Three's Company" eventually aired 172 episodes to "Man About the House's" modest 39. The British show carved its niche with sharp social satire, while its American offspring became something else entirely – a show that proved getting hit in the face with a door could be high art, as long as John Ritter was the one walking into it.