The True Story Behind the Original TV Pilot of ‘Charlie’s Angels’

CHARLIE'S ANGELS, 1976-1981 — Everette Collection

What To Know

On March 21, 1976, ABC aired a double-feature of TV pilots: Most Wanted and Charlie’s Angels.
Both shows were picked up for series, but only one was a hit.
Charlie’s Angels dominated its time slot and turned its leads into major stars.

Fifty years ago, on March 21, 1976, ABC ran a double-feature movie night featuring the films Most Wanted and Charlie’s Angels. One of those films would change the course of TV history forever (and you know it). The other — does anyone even remember?

Both films in the double feature were pilots: Charlie’s Angels, starring Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Jaclyn Smith, while Most Wanted, starring Robert Stack. Each nabbed huge ratings, allowing both shows to be added to ABC’s 1976 fall lineup.

Most Wanted centered on an elite LAPD task force that tracked down the city’s worst criminals. The film centered around Captain Linc Evers (Stack). The pilot also included unknown actors, including Tom Selleck as Tom Roybo and Leslie Charleson as Lee Herrick. Neither actor continued with the show when it went to series.

Most Wanted would be picked up as a series later that fall and premiered on October 16, 1976, but only ran for one year before it was canceled.

The second movie that night was Charlie’s Angels, which featured Kate Jackson, who was well known to audiences as Nurse Danko on The Rookies and Daphne from the vampy daytime drama Dark Shadows. Farrah Fawcett (then Farrah Fawcett Majors) was known as the wife of Lee Majors, the star of the ABC hit series The Six Million Dollar Man. Farrah was a familiar face as she had already done several guest appearances onher husband’s show, as well as many TV films and commercials. The final actress of the trio was Jaclyn Smith who had been seen in numerous commercials (she was a Breck girl) and guest spots on TV shows like SWITCH and McCloud.

Charlie’s Angels would score a 59-rating share of the viewing audience and became a surprise hit to all, even the network.

Of course, the rest is history. ABC debuted the series on Sept. 22, 1976, in its 10pm Wednesday time slot following the well-established Baretta. By November of that year, the series was drawing more than half of all viewers in its time slot. The show instantly made stars out of the trio, with Fawcett as Jill Munroe, Smith as Kelly Garrett and Jackson as Sabrina Duncan — three private investigators who were brilliant, beautiful and worked for the never-seen Charles Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe).

By the end of the season, the show earned critical acclaim and was nominated for three Emmys and three Golden Globes, and it also took home the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Overall New TV Program.