--- title: "The Golden Girls" year: 1985 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls" fi1m_score: 88 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-16T20:10:01.847256+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T20:10:25.234795+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Golden Girls (1985) Created by Susan Harris · 24m · MPA TV-PG · Comedy **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Four women we would invite to dinner, then worry about what they said on the way home > Susan Harris’s sitcom gives four superb comic actors room to be sharp, selfish and affectionate. We recommend it for their timing and the density of the jokes, with a caveat for the moments when a conversation becomes a lesson. ## Synopsis Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White), Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) are four women over 50 pursuing independent lives. Their different outlooks turn personal decisions into matters for discussion, disagreement and unsolicited advice. Men take supporting roles in stories led by the women and their relationships with one another. The comedy follows questions of ageing, independence and how people judge each other, with storylines that also address homosexuality and HIV. The women have experience to draw on, but no shortage of things to argue about. ## Review *The Golden Girls* is a comedy we recommend for the timing of its four leads. Susan Harris puts women over 50 at the centre, gives them lives that do not depend on a man entering the scene, and trusts them to be difficult company. They can be vain, impatient and unreasonable without the programme asking us to stop liking them. That freedom matters more to the humour than any particular subject the writers choose to tackle. Bea Arthur makes Dorothy Zbornak’s exasperation funny before the reply arrives. She lets a pause last long enough for us to register the effort involved in not saying something unkind, then gives up the effort. We laughed at those silent reactions because she makes failed patience so recognisable. Betty White, as Rose Nylund, gives her plenty to endure, but plays the apparent innocence with such conviction that the character never seems to be knowingly feeding somebody else a punchline. Rue McClanahan gives Blanche Devereaux a confidence that can become tiresome to the other women without becoming tiresome to us. Her pleasure in being noticed is funny because the performance lets us see how much the notice matters. Estelle Getty’s Sophia Petrillo uses fewer words and gives a cutting remark little ceremony. There is a risk of making Sophia simply the person who gets the last laugh, but the briskness of the delivery usually saves her. Together, the four make affection credible between people who frequently sound as though they have had enough of each other. That is also where the writing earns its keep. Susan Harris, Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan are among the writers, and the strongest exchanges give every woman something to defend, even if it is only her right to finish a story. A joke can continue through someone else’s reaction rather than end with the person who says it. The series understands a useful thing about ensemble comedy: a good listener can get as big a laugh as a good talker. The presentation sensibly favours the actors. Terry Hughes, one of the directors, gives the exchanges space; a quicker pace would lose much of the pleasure of watching an unwelcome remark sink in. Edward Stephenson’s production design stays unobtrusive, while George Tipton’s music is light enough to let the voices dominate. The presentation can feel too settled when the writing also falls back on habit, but it rarely distracts from a performance. The habits are the reservation. The balance between bewilderment, vanity and insult can become predictable, and sometimes a character seems to have been assigned an opinion because somebody needs to set up the next joke. Its willingness to address homosexuality and HIV gives the series subjects worth discussing, but we are less persuaded when the dialogue starts explaining what we ought to think. Those passages can sound like speeches temporarily entrusted to characters who usually know how to interrupt. The performers do a good deal to keep them human. Across seven seasons, there is plenty of opportunity to recognise the machinery, so we would not recommend racing through it. An episode runs 24 minutes, which is a sensible dose for a comedy so dependent on the particular way someone says something. Give it that much time and listen to the replies as closely as the jokes. We would forgive the occasional lecture for another evening with these four. *Fi1m score 88, published 16 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (2) - **Radio Times**, Cameron Adams (90/100, inferred): The critic praises The Golden Girls as revolutionary for centering independent women over 50 in a comedy, with men in supporting roles and storylines pushing boundaries on topics like HIV and homosexuality. It highlights the show's instant hit status, Emmy success for the cast, and lasting cultural influence on later female-led series. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/the-golden-girls-40th-anniversary-comment/) - **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the show as gloriously funny and gag-filled as ever upon its Disney+ streaming release. The performances of the four leads and their effortless chemistry are singled out for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/02/the-golden-girls-review-streaming-disney) ## Details - **Created by:** Susan Harris - **Creator:** Susan Harris - **Director:** Terry Hughes, Matthew Diamond, Jim Drake, Paul Bogart, Jay Sandrich, Robert Berlinger, Gary Shimokawa, Steve Zuckerman, David Steinberg, Jack Shea - **Writer:** Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan, Kathy Speer, Tracy Gamble, Richard Vaczy, Winifred Hervey, Terry Grossman, Gail Parent, Tom Whedon, Marc Cherry, Mitchell Hurwitz, Robert Bruce, Susan Harris, Christopher Lloyd, James Berg, Russell Marcus, Stan Zimmerman, Fredric Weiss, Liz Sage, Jeffrey Ferro, Eric Cohen, Don Reo, Jan Fischer, Jeffrey Duteil, Susan Beavers, Bob Rosenfarb, Harriett Weiss, David A. Goodman, Patt Shea, Scott Spencer Gorden, Frederic Weiss, Stuart Silverman, David E. Nichols, R.J. Colleary, William Widener - **Music:** George Tipton - **Production design:** Edward Stephenson - **Producer:** Eric Cohen, Jerry Perzigian, Fredric Weiss - **Cast:** Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak; Betty White as Rose Nylund; Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux; Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo; Peter Michael Goetz as Dr. Stein; Christopher Daniel Barnes as Kevin; Richard Venture as Milton; Paula Kelly as Marguerite - **Runtime:** 24m - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-PG - **Release (the US):** 14 September 1985 - **Genres:** Comedy - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O7ZCFME2Z4 ## Where to watch in the US - Hulu: streaming - Disney+: add-on, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy, sd - Apple TV: buy, sd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* (1970), Fi1m 88: Another ensemble whose affection survives because nobody is spared an awkward moment — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-mary-tyler-moore-show.md) - *Waiting for God* (1990): Older people behaving badly, with affection earned through arguments rather than sentiment - *Mum* (2016): Patient domestic comedy where small hesitations reveal more than anyone means to say - *Late Autumn* (1960): Meddling friends and marriage plans, observed with patience and a quietly wicked humour - *Bagdad Cafe* (1987): An unlikely female friendship develops through friction, loneliness and a welcome lack of polish --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls