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Season 1 – The Golden Girls

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The Golden Girls Sep 1985 Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Four mature women live together in Miami and experience the joys and angst of their golden years; strong-willed Dorothy, spacey Rose, lusty Southern belle Blanche and matriarch Sophia, Dorothy's mom, occasionally clash but are there for one another in the end; after all, when the show's theme song is titled "Thank You for Being a Friend," the ladies have to remain friendly with one another.
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The Golden Girls — Season 1

The Golden Girls — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Worth its weight in laughs, The Golden Girls' first season brings together an outrageously talented cast of television veterans and a raunchy sensibility that proves youth needn't be wasted on the young.

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Critics Reviews

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Dennis Pryor The Age (Australia) The leading spirit among the women is the blessed Beatrice Arthur. She brings all the energy and wit she used as Maude into this part, her voice crackling like a divine hunting horn. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review Robin Oliver Sydney Morning Herald [My favorite] might easily have been Beatrice Arthur, whose superb sense of looks-could-kill timing endeared me to her character of Dorothy right from the start. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review Stephanie Dowrick Sydney Morning Herald The concerns of these women in their late middle age are the concerns of the most vacuous of teenagers. The great deliverance many older women feel from the self-absorptions of youth is not reflected here. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review Karl Vick Tampa Bay Times They're ladies you want to spend time with -- not so much because they're funny (that's not a constant; writer Susan Harris has a weakness for toilet jokes), but because they wear vulnerability very well. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review Bill Kelley South Florida Sun-Sentinel It's not actually produced in Miami (apart from its opening credit sequence) but it is fast, bawdy and very, very funny. I'd say that's a fair trade-off. Feb 23, 2021 Full Review Bruce R. Miller Sioux City Journal The hands-down, across-the-board best series of 1985 is The Golden Girls. Feb 23, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member aged so well...still more than watchable!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Derek L The first season of Golden Girls is certainly a joy and pleasure to watch. With a very likeable and talented cast who delivered excellent performances as well as its direction and humorous writing that will leave you smiling and laughing a lot. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/23/24 Full Review Cyrus K My personal favorite TV show of all time! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/02/22 Full Review Audience Member One of the best shows of all time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review dave d Brilliant in every way. Is this the best show ever? No. However they did things other sit-coms couldn't dream of. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member same jokes in every season. hell in every episode yet it is ALWAYS laugh out loud funny and damn clever writing. Most of this season is pretty good but stand out episodes for me are: Episode 13 - When Rose brings home her doctor friend and Episode 25 - reminiscing about the way they met. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Golden Girls — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Bea Arthur

Dorothy Zbornak

Rue McClanahan

Blanche Devereaux

Betty White

Rose Nylund

Estelle Getty

Sophia Petrillo

Herbert Edelman

Stanley Zbornak

Hallie Todd

Lucy

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 14, 1985 The Engagement Blanche's plans to marry go awry when she discovers her fiance is a bigamist. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 21, 1985 Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding Dorothy must face her ex-husband Stanley Zbornak when her daughter announces her upcoming wedding. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 28, 1985 Rose the Prude Rose finds herself romantically involved for the first time since her husband's death. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 5, 1985 Transplant Blanche must decide whether to donate one of her kidneys to the sister she hates. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 19, 1985 The Triangle Dorothy's attractive date flirts with Blanche, sparking a rivalry between the two. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 26, 1985 On Golden Girls Blanche's unruly teenage grandson visits, and goes out every night with a rough crowd. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 2, 1985 The Competition Sophia challenges Dorothy to prove she is spry enough to take a trip to Italy. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 9, 1985 Break In After a burglar enters the house, Rose buys a gun to feel more safe. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 16, 1985 Blanche and the Younger Man Blanche dates a young aerobics instructor; Rose's mother, Alma Lindstrom, teaches her an important lesson. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 23, 1985 Heart Attack The women bring their separate views of death into focus after Sophia suffers the symptoms of a heart attack. Details Episode 11 Aired Nov 30, 1985 Stan's Return Dorothy's ex-husband comes to town and spends the night with her. Details Episode 12 Aired Dec 7, 1985 The Custody Battle Sophia decides to live in California with Dorothy's sister Gloria. Details Episode 13 Aired Dec 14, 1985 A Little Romance Rose tries to conceal the fact that she is dating Dr. Jonathan Newman, a little person. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 21, 1985 That Was No Lady Dorothy's becomes involved with a married coworker; her housemates disapprove. Details Episode 15 Aired Jan 11, 1986 In a Bed of Rose's Rose makes a mistake when she allows her boyfriend to spend the night with her. Details Episode 16 Aired Jan 18, 1986 The Truth Will Out Rose explains to her daughter why she has so little money to leave in her will. Details Episode 17 Aired Feb 1, 1986 Nice and Easy Even man-hungry Blanche finds it difficult to tolerate her niece's promiscuous nature. Details Episode 18 Aired Feb 8, 1986 The Operation Dorothy needs surgery after injuring herself during tap dancing lessons. Details Episode 19 Aired Feb 15, 1986 Second Motherhood Blanche falls for a handsome and successful businessman but is unsure whether she wants to take on the responsibility of his young children. Details Episode 20 Aired Feb 22, 1986 Adult Education Blanche's professor tells her that she can pass her course easily, in return for unsavory favors. Details Episode 21 Aired Mar 1, 1986 The Flu Blanche, Dorothy and Rose vie for a charity award while fighting the flu. Details Episode 22 Aired Mar 8, 1986 Job Hunting Rose must look for work after she loses her grief-counseling job. Details Episode 23 Aired Mar 29, 1986 Blind Ambitions The roommates welcome Rose's recently blinded sister, whose independent manner is deceptive. Details Episode 24 Aired May 3, 1986 Big Daddy Blanche panics when her father reveals his outlandish plans for the future. Details Episode 25 Aired May 10, 1986 The Way We Met Dorothy, Rose and Blanche reminisce about how they all came to live together. Details

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The Golden Girls — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Terry Hughes, Paul Bogart, Jay Sandrich, Gary Shimokawa, Jim Drake, Jack Shea
Screenwriter
Barry Fanaro, Susan Harris, Winifred Hervey, Kathy Speer, Stan Zimmerman, Liz Sage, Susan Beavers, Christopher Lloyd, Stuart Silverman, R.J. Colleary, Mort Nathan, Terry Grossman, James Berg
Network
NBC
Rating
TV-PG (D)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 14, 1985