Betty White Sitcom Ladies Man Staged A Surprise Golden Girls Reunion

Here’s how Betty White sitcom Ladies Man acted as something of a Golden Girls reunion for one episode. The Golden Girls debuted on NBC back in 1985 and centered around the friendships between four older ladies living in Miami. There’s Dorothy (Bea Arthur), her mother Sophia (Estelle Getty), Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and Rose (Betty White, Hot In Cleveland). The show was seen as groundbreaking for its dimensional portrayal of older women on TV during this era and it was a huge ratings success. The show came to an end after seven seasons, which was largely down to Arthur feeling the series had run its course.

While The Golden Girls ended in 1992, it spawned quite a few spinoffs. The first was Empty Nest, which focused on a widowed doctor named Harry whose two adult daughters move back into his home. This series proved a hit and ran for seven seasons, coming to a close in 1995. Empty Nest itself would spawn a spinoff with Nurses, which was set in the same hospital that Harry worked in; that show lasted for three seasons. The final spinoff was The Golden Place, a direct sequel to The Golden Girls. This followed Rose, Blanche and Sophia as they purchase and attempt to run the titular Miami hotel. The series is notable for an early starring role for Don Cheadle, but despite starting with strong ratings – and a guest appearance from Bea Arthur – it was canceled after one season.

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In 1999 Alfred Molina fronted NBC sitcom Ladies Man, playing a man named Jimmy living with his wife, two daughters and mother, with his ex-wife also being a major part of his life. Ladies Man received mixed reviews during its run, and ultimately only lasted for two series. Critics felt the humor was forced and it was yet another sitcom about a man henpecked by the strong ladies in his life. One bright spot was Betty White, who played Molina’s mother Mitzi, and one of the show’s most memorable episodes was a reunion between White and two of her Golden Girls co-stars.

Ladies Man season 1 finale “Romance” featured guest appearances from Rue McClanahan as Aunt Lou – who first appeared in a previous episode – the sister and romantic rival of White’s Mitzi, while Estelle Getty also made a cameo. Sadly, Bea Arthur didn’t make the reunion, and “Romance” marked the last time While, Getty and McClanahan acted together, in addition to being one of Getty’s final performances.

This mini Golden Girls reunion certainly enlivened the season 1 finale of Ladies Man, and of the eight episodes produced for season 2, only five aired before it was canned. The second season is notable for an early role from The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco, who took over the role of Jimmy’s daughter Bonnie.

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About The Author

Padraig Cotter
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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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