Nostalgia
‘Charlie’s Angels’ Changed TV Forever, and Fans Still Can’t Agree on Its Best Star
‘Charlie’s Angels’ debuted in 1976 with Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett, and Kate Jackson, revolutionizing TV with its female-led adventure format.
Forty-five years ago, the finale of Charlie’s Angels aired on ABC. The series endured significant cast changes during its five-season run, but as a whole, the show left a lasting impact on television that fans have never forgotten.
At the time that Charlie’s Angels premiered, it was rare for an adventure television series to feature women. Not only was a woman solving crimes and chasing bad guys in Charlie’s Angels, but she was doing it alongside two other women, without a man leading the way.
The success of Charlie’s Angels proved to television executives that viewers would tune in to watch a woman-led adventure series. The show quickly became incredibly popular, making all three initial stars famous worldwide.
Before Charlie’s Angels, female characters were often cast as sidekicks or love interests in action-oriented television shows. The ABC series proved that women could carry a primetime adventure show. In the years that followed, series such as Cagney & Lacey, Alias, and countless other female-led dramas found success with audiences.
As the show became incredibly popular, stars of the series came to discover that Charlie’s Angels fans could be quite intense. This was an issue that Jackson recently cited as a factor in her decision to depart.
Jackson told People, “We lost our privacy, totally. We just absolutely totally lost every bit of privacy.”
She added, “Then, to make it worse, those horrible tabloids.”
When Charlie’s Angels debuted in September 1976, it starred Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett, and Kate Jackson. In Season 2, Fawcett left, and Cheryl Ladd joined the series. She portrayed the younger sister of Fawcett’s character.
At the end of Season 3 of Charlie’s Angels, Jackson left, and Shelley Hack came in to take that third spot. In Season 5, the final season, Hack left, and Tanya Roberts joined the cast.
Fans Still Can’t Agree on the Best Charlie’s Angel
The show propelled Fawcett, in particular, to become a massive sex symbol. However, each of the original Charlie’s Angels stars developed a large, passionate fan base. Even now, fans continue to debate their favorites on sites such as Reddit.
One fan who especially loved Jackson explained, “From what I remember, she was the most competent of the three.”
Another Reddit user wrote, “Farrah = Sexiest, Jacklyn = Most Beautiful, Kate = Total Package.”
Someone else who also chose Jackson as their favorite commented, “Kate Jackson; she’s the reason I go by Kate.”
As the cast started to change, Ladd began to steal the hearts of many viewers.
In choosing a favorite, another Redditor shared, “Kate, if you’re talking the original three. But Cheryl Ladd will always be my favorite.”
Even five decades after the show’s debut, fans still cannot agree on which Charlie’s Angels star was the best. However, it seems clear that each of the women offered value to the team and kept viewers coming back week after week.
The show brought something unique to television that laid the groundwork for other adventure-driven, women-led shows, like Cagney and Lacey, as well as Alias, to succeed in later years.
