“I still hate your fucking show, but the audience seems to love it, so we’re putting it on.”
That was CBS Television President James Aubrey’s way of telling producer Sherwood Schwartz that his Gilligan’s Island was a go, according to Schwartz’s book, Inside Gilligan’s Island: From Creation to Syndication. But the good news came with a caveat: “Just remember this: you’re not going to keep those people on the same damn island.”
But isn’t seven people on the same damn island the essential premise of Gilligan’s Island?
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Aubrey hated the idea. Who wanted to watch the same old palm trees week after week? The CBS exec thought Gilligan and the Skipper should charter their boat to a new set of guest stars each episode, sailing them to different exotic locations. Sort of The Love Boat but much, much smaller.
Schwartz tried to wriggle his way out of Aubrey’s idea, finally agreeing to rescue Gilligan and the Skipper and sending them on new adventures at the first sign of dwindling audience interest. (Which he hoped never happened.) Aubrey was hesitant but agreed — he’d allow Schwartz to write about the castaways until the ratings slipped.
The rest is sitcom history. The first season of Gilligan’s Island was a top-20 hit, meaning Schwartz never had to fulfill his promise. But Aubrey was still convinced that his idea was better. Almost immediately, he commissioned a second comedy about a sailing man and his charter boat called The Baileys of Balboa. Just like Schwartz’s version, there was a ship captain, a bumbling first mate and a rich tycoon along for the ride. The S.S. Minnow became the Island Princess. Raquel Welch, the Ginger Grant type who auditioned for Mary Ann, was also on board for an episode. As long as he was ripping off ideas, Aubrey cast Clint Howard, younger brother of The Andy Griffith Show star Ronnie Howard, to be the resident Cute Kid.
Aubrey rushed Baileys of Balboa into production so fast that it actually premiered two days earlier than Gilligan’s Island, proving that CBS couldn’t have enough charter boat comedies on its 1964 fall schedule. Aubrey could prove once and for all that he knew best about sitcom viewers and their nautical viewing habits.
Most reviews of Baileys of Balboa were bad or indifferent, but they weren’t any worse than Gilligan’s, a show that was also savaged by critics. The reviews didn’t matter. Since Gilligan’s Island reruns are still on TV in 2025 and you’ve never heard of Baileys of Balboa, you know which concept resonated with the audience. (Baileys got its butt kicked by Peyton Place and Hazel.)
“There are many reasons for success in television: the right night, the right time period, the right lead-in, the right casting,” wrote Schwartz. But Aubrey had to admit there was one other possible reason for a sitcom’s hit status. “Maybe the right concept had something to do with it.”