The Golden Girls came to an end when Bea Arthur chose to leave the series. In addition, the character of Sophia had originally been planned as an occasional guest star, but Getty had tested positively with preview audiences, so the producers decided to make her a regular character. They decided that a separate cook would distract from their friendship. The writers observed that in many of the proposed scripts, the main interaction between the women occurred in the kitchen while preparing and eating food. The first episode features a cook/butler named Coco (played by Charles Levin), but the role was dropped before the second episode.

In the pilot episode, the three are joined by Dorothy's 80-year-old widowed mother, Sophia Petrillo (Getty), after the retirement home where she has been living has burned down. The owner of the house is a widow named Blanche Devereaux (McClanahan), who was joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (White) and divorcée Dorothy Zbornak (Arthur) after they both responded to an ad on the bulletin board of a local grocery store a year before the start of the series. The show, featuring an ensemble cast, revolves around four older single women (three widows and one divorcée) sharing a house in Miami. Terry Tang of the Associated Press reported that the series continues to attract new fans in the 21st century and characterized it as an example of a sitcom that has aged well. In 2014, the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 69 in their list of the '101 Best Written TV Series of All Time'. In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. The series also ranked among the Nielsen ratings' top ten for six of its seven seasons.

Each of the four stars received an Emmy Award, making it one of only four sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run, and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, the show is about four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons.

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