Culture 4 min read By Morgan Griffin
Jaclyn Smith Reflects on Charlie's Angels Emmys Reunion and TV Snobbery
Jaclyn Smith reunited with Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd at the Emmys to mark the 50th anniversary of Charlie's Angels, and she used the moment to address the industry's historical disdain for the series and why she believes the recent movie reboot failed.
Jaclyn Smith took the stage at the Emmys on Monday night alongside her fellow Charlie's Angels stars Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, marking the 50th anniversary of the series that made them household names. The reunion was a celebratory moment for a show that has become a durable pop-culture touchstone, but Smith used the occasion to reflect on the television industry's long-standing reluctance to take the Aaron Spelling production seriously.
Smith recalled that Charlie's Angels was not treated generously by the Television Academy when it originally aired in the 1970s, despite its enormous popularity. She described a persistent «snobbism» against the series, a sentiment that kept it on the margins of awards recognition even as it dominated the ratings and reshaped the role of women on television. The show, which premiered in 1976, followed three female private investigators working for a never-seen boss, and it quickly became a cultural phenomenon that spawned merchandise, a soundtrack and countless imitators.
The reunion at the Emmys served as a corrective of sorts, a recognition that arrived decades after the show's initial run. Smith, Jackson and Ladd appeared together to honor the legacy of a series that has remained in the public imagination through syndication, reboots and a pair of big-screen adaptations. For Smith, the moment was both a homecoming and a reminder of how the industry's tastes have shifted over time.
She also addressed the most recent attempt to revive the franchise, the 2019 film reboot starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. Smith said the movie «didn't work,» offering a blunt assessment of why the update failed to connect with audiences. Her critique centered on the difficulty of capturing the original's specific blend of glamour, humor and chemistry, elements that she suggested are harder to manufacture than they appear. The film, directed by Elizabeth Banks, received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, a result that seemed to confirm Smith's view that the property's appeal is tied to a particular era and ensemble.
Smith's comments arrive at a time when television nostalgia is a powerful force in the entertainment industry, with networks and streamers routinely mining past hits for reboots and reunions. Charlie's Angels occupies a unique place in that landscape, a show that was dismissed by critics and awards bodies in its day but has proven remarkably resilient in the decades since. Its influence can be seen in everything from later action series built around female teams to the ongoing fascination with the star personas of its original cast.
The Emmys tribute also highlighted the enduring bond among the show's stars, who have remained connected to the franchise's legacy even as they pursued separate careers. Smith, who played Kelly Garrett, was the only actress to appear in all five seasons of the original series, and her perspective carries particular weight when it comes to assessing what made the show work and why later attempts to recapture its magic have fallen short.
For fans of the series, the reunion was a rare chance to see the women who defined an era of television together again, and for Smith, it was an opportunity to set the record straight about a show that she believes never received its due from the industry that profited from it. The 50th anniversary celebration may not erase the snobbery she described, but it does suggest that time has been kinder to Charlie's Angels than the awards voters of the 1970s ever were.
