#19: How ABC Punished Suzanne Somers Without Firing Her
After the contract standoff, ABC didn’t immediately remove Suzanne Somers from Three’s Company. Instead, the network quietly sidelined her. Chrissy Snow was suddenly “away,” appearing only in brief, isolated scenes, often filmed separately from the rest of the cast and awkwardly stitched into episodes.
The move was calculated and highly visible. Viewers noticed the absence, critics called it punitive, and the tension became part of the show’s reputation. Rather than resolve the dispute privately, ABC turned Somers’ reduced presence into a public lesson. It was a rare case where behind-the-scenes power struggles played out directly on-screen.