| Italic Title: | no |
| Charlie's Angels | |
| Origin: | Charlie's Angels (1976–1981) |
| Owner: | Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment) |
| Years: | 1976–2019 |
| Shorts: | Ru's Angels |
| Wtv: | Charlie's Angels: Animated Adventures |
| Games: | The Charlie's Angels Game |
Charlie's Angels is an American media franchise created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which began with the original television series of the same name. The franchise follows the adventures of the Angels, a team of women working for the Townsend Agency, a private secret agent agency, under the leadership of Charlie Townsend, their unseen boss.
The original television series enjoyed huge popularity with audiences and was a top ten hit in the Nielsen ratings for its first two seasons. Following its cancellation in 1981, the series continues to have a 1970s American cult and pop culture following through syndication and DVD releases.[1] [2] A numerous variety of merchandise were produced, including dolls, a toy line, board games, beauty products, several sets of trading cards and a comic book series by Dynamite Entertainment.[3] [4]
A film series was launched in 2000. Taking place after the events of the original series, the films are a continuation of the story with later generations of Angels. The films receive mixed reviews from critics and have grossed a total of $596 million, against a combined budget of $261 million.
The franchise was rebooted in 2011 with a television series of the same name, which was canceled after seven episodes.[5] Following the cancellation, a third film was produced which restored the original timeline of the franchise.[6]
| Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie's Angels (1976) | 5 | 115 | September 22, 1976 | June 24, 1981 | Ivan Goff & Ben Roberts | ABC |
| Charlie's Angels (2011) | 1 | 8 | September 22, 2011 | November 10, 2011 | Miles Millar & Alfred Gough | |
Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett have graduated from the police academy in Los Angeles, California. Despite proving their capability during training, all three have subsequently been assigned to be a meter maid, office worker, and crossing guard, respectively. Dissatisfied with these jobs, they are recruited to work for the Charles Townsend Agency as private investigators. Their boss, Charlie Townsend, nicknames them "Angels". Subsequent Angels are Kris Munroe, Tiffany Welles, and Julie Rogers,
Charlie is never viewed full-face. Charlie gives the Angels and his associate John Bosley their assignments via a speakerphone; he never met them face-to-face.
ABC attempted to create a spin-off of Charlie's Angels in 1980 called Toni's Boys.[7] The backdoor pilot aired near the end of season four, simply titled "Toni's Boys" (season 4, episode 23). The episode starred Barbara Stanwyck as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow socialite and friend of Charlie's who ran a detective agency that she inherited from her late husband. The agency was staffed by three handsome male detectives—Cotton Harper (Stephen Shortridge), Bob Sorensen (Bob Seagren), and Matt Parrish (Bruce Bauer)—who took direction from Toni, and solved crimes in a manner similar to the Angels. The show was not picked up as a regular series for the following season.[8]
See main article: Charlie's Angels (2011 TV series). Kate Prince, a former Miami cop; Eve French, a former street racer; and Abby Simpson, a former thief; are recruited to work for the Townsend Agency in Miami as private investigators. Aided by John Bosley, a former hacker, they fight crime under the leadership of Charlie Townsend, their unseen boss.
The series served as a reboot of the franchise and was cancelled after only one season with seven episodes.
Note: The table below only accounts for full crossover events, single guest appearances are not included.
| Crossover between | Episode | Type | Actors crossing over | Date aired | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | Series B | ||||
| Charlie's Angels (1976) | Vegas | "Angels in Vegas" (Parts 1 & 2) (Charlie's Angels 3.01 & 3.02) | Guest appearance | September 13, 1978 | |
| When violent and suspicious deaths strike his closest friends, a casino boss hires the Angels to go undercover at the Tropicana Casino in Las Vegas. The Angels must discover the culprit behind the series of mysterious murders before it's too late. The character Dan Tanna (played by Robert Urich) from the detective series Vegas appeared in the episode "Angels in Vegas" a week before the Vegas season one debut. The crossover was simply used to reintroduce the Dan Tanna character and to promote Vegas as an ongoing series.[9] | |||||
| Charlie's Angels (1976) | The Love Boat | "Love Boat Angels" (Parts 1 & 2) (Charlie's Angels 4.01 & 4.02) | Guest appearance | September 12, 1979 | |
| Tiffany Welles joins the Townsend Agency after Sabrina Duncan has quit to get married and start a family. Charlie tells his girls to take a cruise on the Pacific Princess to catch art thief Paul Hollister. Kris offers to get close to their target, but soon begins to feel an attraction to him. The characters of the series The Love Boat, are guest starred in a two-hour season premiere of season 4. It is also the debut appearance of Shelley Hack as Tiffany Welles. | |||||
Launched in 2000, the Charlie's Angels film series is a continuation of the original television series story.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie's Angels (2000) | McG | Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon & John August | Nancy Juvonen, Drew Barrymore & Leonard Goldberg | |||
| John August, Cormac & Marianne Wibberley | John August | |||||
| Charlie's Angels (2019) | Elizabeth Banks | David Auburn & Evan Spiliotopoulos | Doug Belgrad, Max Handelman, Elizabeth Banks & Elizabeth Cantillon | |||
See main article: Charlie's Angels (2000 film). Natalie Cook, Dylan Sanders and Alex Munday are the second generation of "Angels", a crime-fighting trio who are the masters of disguise, espionage and martial arts. Charlie assigns them to find Eric Knox, a software genius who created a revolutionary voice-recognition system and heads his own company, Knox Enterprises. Knox is believed to have been kidnapped by Roger Corwin, who runs a communications-satellite company called Redstar. The "Angels", aided by Bosley, set out to bring down the bad guys.
See main article: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Natalie, Dylan and Alex, together with Bosley's adoptive brother Jimmy Bosley, are sent to recover H.A.L.O. titanium rings stolen from the United States Department of Justice which can display the people listed in the witness protection program. During this adventure, they will cross paths with former Angel Madison Lee.
See main article: Charlie's Angels (2019 film). The Townsend agency has expanded internationally with multiple teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys, a rank named after John. The European division of the agency is informed that Elena Houghlin, an engineer, wants to expose her superiors for covering up a discovery about how an energy conservation device that she helped invent, named Calisto, has the potential to trigger fatal seizures when used. A new team of Angels are called into action to protect the world from Calisto.
Following the release of Full Throttle, the franchise was confirmed for a third and fourth film, but in 2004, the idea was cancelled. In 2019, a sequel to the 2019 film was discussed, but due to the film's box office performance, the sequel was scrapped.[10]
A three minute short action comedy film titled Ru's Angels, follows three drag queens Alaska, Peppermint and Nina West from RuPaul's Drag Race, who are about to stop a wig snatcher played by Katya. The short film also stars RuPaul as Bos-Slay and the cast of the 2019 Charlie's Angels film.[11]
Charlie's Angels: Animated Adventures is an animated prequel web series consisting of six episodes.[12] [13] The series follows the Angels on a mission to find U.S. Marshal Ray Carter. Carter was kidnapped, and taken to and incarcerated in Mongolia, leading to the events of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.[14]
See main article: List of Charlie's Angels characters.
- A indicates the actor or actress lent only their voice for their film character.
- A indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character.
- A indicates the actor appeared as their character through a photographic still.
- A indicates a cameo appearance.
- A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.
| Characters | Original television series | Film series | Web series | Video game | Reboot television series | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie's Angels | Charlie's Angels | Charlie's Angels Full Throttle | Charlie's Angels | Charlie's Angels Animated Adventures | Charlie's Angels | Charlie's Angels | ||
| 1976-1981 | 2000 | 2003 | 2019 | 2003 | 2003 | 2011 | ||
| The Angels | ||||||||
| Sabrina Duncan | ||||||||
| Jill Munroe | Farrah Fawcett | |||||||
| Kelly Garrett | Jaclyn Smith | |||||||
| Kris Munroe | Cheryl Ladd | |||||||
| Tiffany Welles | Shelley Hack | |||||||
| Julie Rogers | Tanya Roberts | |||||||
| Natalie Cook | Cameron Diaz | Cameron Diaz | ||||||
| Dylan Sanders | Drew Barrymore | Drew Barrymore | ||||||
| Alexandra "Alex" Munday | Lucy Liu | Lucy Liu | ||||||
| Sabina Wilson | Kristen Stewart | |||||||
| Elena Houghlin | Naomi Scott | |||||||
| Jane Kano | Ella Balinska | |||||||
| Ingrid | Hannah Hoekstra | |||||||
| Angels | Hailee Steinfeld | |||||||
| Lili Reinhart | ||||||||
| Aly Raisman | ||||||||
| Chloe Kim | ||||||||
| Huda Kattan | ||||||||
| Fight Instructor | Ronda Rousey | |||||||
| Driving Instructor | Danica Patrick | |||||||
| Bomb Instructor | Laverne Cox | |||||||
| Kate Prince | Annie Ilonzeh | |||||||
| Abigail "Abby" Simpson | Rachael Taylor | |||||||
| Eve French | Minka Kelly | |||||||
| Gloria Martinez | Nadine Velazquez | |||||||
| Townsend Agency | ||||||||
| Charles "Charlie" Townsend | John Forsythe | Robert Clotworthy | John Forsythe | Allan Wenger | Victor Garber | |||
| John Bosley | David Doyle | Bill Murray | Patrick Stewart | Ramon Rodriguez | ||||
| Jimmy Bosley | Bernie Mac | Thomas M. Pollard | ||||||
| Rebekah "Bosley" | Elizabeth Banks | |||||||
| Edgar "Bosley" Dessange | Djimon Hounsou | |||||||
| The Saint | Luis Gerardo Méndez | |||||||
| New York Bosley | Michael Strahan | |||||||
| Other cast and characters | ||||||||
| Thin Man / Anthony | Crispin Glover | Crispin Glover | ||||||
| Jason Gibbons | Matt LeBlanc | |||||||
| Peter Kominsky | Luke Wilson | |||||||
| Eric Knox | Sam Rockwell | |||||||
| Roger Corwin | Tim Curry | |||||||
| Vivian Wood | Kelly Lynch | |||||||
| Madison Lee | Demi Moore | |||||||
| Seamus O'Grad | Justin Theroux | |||||||
| Marshal Ray Carter | Robert Patrick | |||||||
| Alexander Brok | Sam Claflin | |||||||
| Langston | Noah Centineo | |||||||
| Hodak | Jonathan Tucker | |||||||
| Victor Simpson | John Terry | |||||||
| Ray Goodson | Isaiah Mustafa | |||||||
| Film | Crew/Detail | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Executive producer(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| Charlie's Angels (2000) | Edward Shearmur | Russell Carpenter | Wayne Wahrman Peter Teschner | Betty Thomas Jenno Topping Joseph M. Caracciolo | Flower Films (II) Columbia Pictures Tall Trees Productions Leonard Goldberg Productions | Columbia Pictures | 98 minutes | |
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Wayne Wahrman | Jenno Topping Patrick Crowley | Flower Films (II) Columbia Pictures Tall Trees Productions Wonderland Sound and Vision Leonard Goldberg Productions | 106 minutes | ||||
| Charlie's Angels (2019) | Brian Tyler | Bill Pope | Mary Jo Markey Alan Baumgarten | Nancy Juvonen Matthew Hirsch Drew Barrymore Leonard Goldberg | 2.0 Entertainment Columbia Pictures Cantillon Company Perfect World Pictures Brownstone Productions (II) | Sony Pictures Releasing | 119 minutes | |
| Film | U.S. release date | Box office gross | Budget | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | ||||
| Charlie's Angels (2000) | November 3, 2000 | $125,305,545 | $138,800,000 | $264,105,545 | $93 million | [15] |
| June 27, 2003 | $100,830,111 | $158,345,677 | $259,175,788 | $120 million | [16] | |
| Charlie's Angels (2019) | November 15, 2019 | $17,803,077 | $55,476,811 | $73,279,888 | $48–55 million | [17] [18] |
| Total | $243,938,733 | $352,622,488 | $596,561,221 | $261–268 million | [19] | |
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie's Angels (2000) | 68% (146 reviews)[20] | 52 (34 reviews)[21] | A− |
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | 41% (186 reviews)[22] | 48 (39 reviews)[23] | B+[24] |
| Charlie's Angels (2019) | 52% (224 reviews)[25] | 52 (41 reviews)[26] | B+ |
| Title | U.S. release date | Performed by | Length | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie's Angels: Music from the Motion Picture (2000) | Various Artists | 58:22 | Columbia Sony Music Soundtrax | ||
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (Music from the Motion Picture) | 49:57 | ||||
| Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2019) | 36:37 | Republic | |||
| Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Score (2019) | Brian Tyler | 1:13:56 | Sony Classical |
| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Artist(s) | Label | Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Independent Women" | 3:37 | Destiny's Child | Columbia | Charlie's Angels (2000) | |
| "Angel's Eye" | 3:22 | Aerosmith | |||
| "Charlie's Angels 2000" | 3:54 | Apollo 440 | |||
| "Feel Good Time" | 3:56 | Pink feat. William Orbit | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | ||
| "Don't Call Me Angel" | 3:10 | Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey | Republic | Charlie's Angels (2019) | |
| "How It's Done" | 3:02 | Kash Doll, Kim Petras, Alma and Stefflon Don | |||
| "Pantera" | 2:04 | Anitta | |||
| "Bad to You" | 2:52 | Ariana Grande, Normani and Nicki Minaj | |||
| "Charlie's Angels Theme" | 2:19 | Brian Tyler | Sony Classical |
During the original series' run, Hasbro Industries produced an extensive range of Charlie's Angels merchandise, which was distributed in the US, the UK, and other international markets.[27] A numerous variety of collectible items were produced, including two versions of dolls, boardgames, numerous posters, several sets of trading cards, notebooks, a lunchbox and thermos set, a Charlie's Angels toy van, children's beauty products and even record albums. Author Sherrie A. Inness, in the text 'Disco Divas: Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s' writes that "Charlie's Angels merchandise was big business, Hasbro Industries spent over $2.5 million to advertise its Charlie's Angels dolls".[28]
In the UK, as was common with many popular US programs of the era, a series of tie-in hardcover annuals were published by World International Publishing Ltd, containing stories, comics, photos, puzzles and features on the stars. There are four Charlie's Angels annuals in total.[29]
Although it was not connected to the show, a 1976 poster of Farrah Fawcett sporting a red bathing suit became the biggest selling poster in history with more than 12 million copies sold. This poster also helped the burgeoning popularity of the series. The red swimsuit that helped make Farrah Fawcett a 1970s icon became part of the Smithsonian's collection in 2011.[30] The picture has been immortalized as a Black Label Barbie Collection doll and the legendary red bathing suit has been donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The designer of that swimsuit is Norma Kamali.[31]
In July 2003, Charlie's Angels was released for GameCube and PlayStation 2. Charlie's Angels: Road Cyclone was published for mobile phones. An online video game. Charlie's Angels: Angel X, was also released in May 2003 by Sony Pictures Digital Networks. The three games are based on the first and second films in the series.
In April 2008, Ojom announced a new Charlie's Angels mobile phone game entitled Charlie's Angels: Hellfire. The game was available on operator portals across Europe.
In August 2019, a game named Charlie's Angels: The Game was released on iOS and Android devices by Crazy Labs Games. The game is an endless runner based on the third film in the series.
Two British comic strip versions were produced. The first appeared in the Polystyle publication Target in April 1978, drawn by John Canning. Target was a sister title to the long-running TV Comic aimed at older children and featuring TV action and crime shows of the day. Proving unpopular, it folded in August and merged back into TV Comic where Canning's Angels strip continued until October 1979. The second strip was printed in Junior TV Times Look-in, debuting in November 1979 (as soon as Polystyle's deal expired), written by Angus Allan and drawn by Jim Baikie[32] and Bill Titcombe.
In June 2018, a six-issue limited comic book series based on the television series was launched by Dynamite Entertainment.[33] A crossover comic book series with Charlie's Angels and The Bionic Woman titled Charlie's Angels vs. the Bionic Woman, was released on July 3, 2019.[34]