The Odd Couple: Who Would You Cast Today?

Neil Simon’s creation was a hit play for many years on stage and then became a very popular movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Still, it’s the television version of The Odd Couple that many recall most fondly.

Starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, The Odd Couple ran for five seasons and 114 episodes on ABC, from 1970 until 1975. Executive produced by Garry Marshall, it was one of the few sitcoms of that era to actually have an ending — Felix remarries Gloria and moves out while Oscar jumps for joy.

In the fall of 1975, ABC aired The Oddball Couple on Saturday mornings that paired a neat cat named Spiffy (voice of Frank Nelson) with a slobby dog named Fleabag (voiced by Paul Winchell). The animated series lasted one season and 16 episodes and had no direct relation to the live-action sitcom.

In 1982, ABC aired The New Odd Couple, also produced by Gary Marshall and Anthony W. Marshall. This live-action series stars Ron Glass (Barney Miller) and Demond Wilson (Sanford & Son) and recycled many of the original sitcom’s scripts with a minority cast. It didn’t last a full season.

If the show were being done today, who would you cast in the roles of finicky Felix Unger and slovenly Oscar Madison?