Based on the Broadway play by Neil Simon, this tells the story of two mismatched friends, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. Felix is a neat, tidy, and healthy nut, a photographer at a portrait studio, and a connoisseur of classical music. Because of this, his wife divorced Felix and threw him out of his apartment for good. Desperately in the need of a place to live, he moves in with his longtime childhood friend, Oscar Madison, a sports journalist for the New York Times. What he realizes is that Oscar is the exact opposite of him: sloppy, messy, and doesn't eat the right foods. Felix's cleaning, hygienic tips, and healthiness annoys Oscar while Oscar's crazy world of living like a pig upsets Felix. But in the process they'll learn that love, trust, and friendship are more important than living in different worlds.

During the first season (1970-71), the show was filmed in the same apartment as the one in the 1968 movie in single camera format with a laugh track. Beginning with the second season, the show was filmed in a studio in three camera format before a live audience.

[Opening narration]


Narrator:
On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence; that request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that some day he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend, Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison's wife had thrown HIM out, requesting that HE never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?