# A blonde, a brunette and a redhead walk into a TV studio **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246 "2013-07-11T19:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/21 "2013-07-12T03:23:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes. Not that we’re idiots and can’t tell the difference between three women, but because if those people are not known, and you want them to be known, giving them an obvious difference like hair color will help people distinquish them, and being able to identify the characters will make the audience more likely to keep watching. On top of that the practice on TV started before color television and large screens. As a general principle in any cast it helps the audience when the characters are easily distinquished. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > And when the audience is multicultural, it’s even more important to give lots of markers. We aren’t all taught the same reference points for identifying people (though I just suck at it and probably would with any set of reference points!) This doesn’t explain why female characters seem to come color coded for our convenience a lot more often than male ones, though. Thinking of _Friends_, all of the main characters are fairly fit, attractive white people of about the same age, but the three women have obviously different hair colors. The men don’t. Unlike the three dark-haired white guys on _Seinfeld_, they don’t even have obviously different hairstyles and body types. Joey, Chandler, and Ross are all pretty similar in appearance except for their actual facial features. Yet somehow audiences were expected to tell them apart. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/22 "2013-07-12T08:08:02Z")
The redhead on **Glee** was the guidance counselor, Shue’s fiancee, with bush-baby eyes. The carryover from **Ugly Betty**. I don’t want to look her up on IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/23 "2013-07-12T08:37:46Z")
It’s not so much that you can’t tell one _(enter hair colour here)_ woman from another - if they are standing next to each other they’re bound to be very distinct in appearance. But which one is Sarah? Which one is the DA? Which one is sleeping with Jake? On an other gender note, in _Battestar Galactica_ I kept getting Helo and Anders mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/24 "2013-07-12T08:54:37Z")
_The West Wing_ had Donna, the blonde, Dr/Mrs. Bartlet, who was the brunette, and CJ Craig, whose hair was kind of indeterminate. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/25 "2013-07-12T10:49:54Z")
I’ve no diagnosed mental defect except neurosis, but still have some trouble distinguishing two similar actresses in some movies. I have less trouble with males. Recently I conflated Sigourney Weaver and Susan Sarandon. I used to conflate Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke. This all despite that I got 25 out of 28 on: > [@BigT](#): > > [one of those tests](http://www.faceblind.org/facetests/ff/ff_intro.php) ETA: No, Sigourney and Susan weren’t in the same movie. Movies give me trouble when neither actress is famous. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/26 "2013-07-12T11:38:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > An alternate theory is that a TV cast must include a blonde if there is an ampersand in the title. Not a big WILL & GRACE fan, I take it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/27 "2013-07-12T12:42:20Z")
> [@bup](#): > > [It’s a trope.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlondeBrunetteRedhead) Wow, I can’t believe my entry on that page about a _Twilight Zone_ episode has survived. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/28 "2013-07-12T12:45:04Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Thinking of _Friends_, all of the main characters are fairly fit, attractive white people of about the same age, but the three women have obviously different hair colors. The men don’t. Unlike the three dark-haired white guys on _Seinfeld_, they don’t even have obviously different hairstyles and body types. Joey, Chandler, and Ross are all pretty similar in appearance except for their actual facial features. Yet somehow audiences were expected to tell them apart. I honestly think it’s much simpler than some kind of Hollywood conspiracy. I think it’s because most men have hair that’s some shade of dark brown/black. Blonde and redhead men are extremely rare and there are fewer men dying their hair than women. Just look at the hair products aisle, it’s all women’s faces (and mostly blonde hair dye) as far as the eye can see. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/29 "2013-07-12T14:08:08Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I honestly think it’s much simpler than some kind of Hollywood conspiracy. I think it’s because most men have hair that’s some shade of dark brown/black. Blonde and redhead men are extremely rare and there are fewer men dying their hair than women. Just look at the hair products aisle, it’s all women’s faces (and mostly blonde hair dye) as far as the eye can see. Pretty much how I would respond. You almost never see blond or redheaded men on television because it’s not considered a telegenic look for men, and you see far more blonde and redheaded women in real life than were born that way. It’s also not as if hair color was the only difference highlighted in characters on television either. The way they dress, talk, move, and otherwise act will be used as distinquishing characteristics also. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/30 "2013-07-12T14:29:16Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I honestly think it’s much simpler than some kind of Hollywood conspiracy. I think it’s because most men have hair that’s some shade of dark brown/black. Blonde and redhead men are extremely rare and there are fewer men dying their hair than women. Just look at the hair products aisle, it’s all women’s faces (and mostly blonde hair dye) as far as the eye can see. I didn’t say there was any “conspiracy” here, but a couple of posters suggested that the “blonde, brunette, redhead” trope exists because viewers need an easy way to tell the characters apart. In some cases that may be true, but in the case of _Friends_ it seems unlikely as the three male characters are pretty similar in appearance. It might very well be just a coincidence that the three actresses considered best for their roles on _Friends_ all had obviously different hair colors; as you say, it’s not that unusual even for women who _aren’t_ actresses to dye their hair a more striking color. But if the creators of the show were really concerned about viewers being unable to tell the characters apart they would not have cast three actors who looked so much alike. I can think of several current shows, like _How I Met Your Mother_ and _The Big Bang Theory_ that have three white guys of around the same age (_TBBT_ of course also has an Indian guy) who look less alike than Chandler, Ross, and Joey, so this presumably could have been done for _Friends_ if it had been considered necessary. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/31 "2013-07-12T14:39:26Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I can think of several current shows, like _How I Met Your Mother_ and _The Big Bang Theory_ that have three white guys of around the same age (_TBBT_ of course also has an Indian guy) who look less alike than Chandler, Ross, and Joey, so this presumably could have been done for _Friends_ if it had been considered necessary. I don’t think anyone said it was necessary, just that it can make things easier for some viewers. And someone upthread was right that there is a wider variety of hair colors generally on view among actresses than actors, and women are culturally more likely to be expected to, and okay with, changing their hair color. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/32 "2013-07-12T14:46:41Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I didn’t say there was any “conspiracy” here, but a couple of posters suggested that the “blonde, brunette, redhead” trope exists because viewers need an easy way to tell the characters apart. In some cases that may be true, but in the case of _Friends_ it seems unlikely as the three male characters are pretty similar in appearance. I think this is where we disagree. Matthew Perry is clearly a yuppie-ish white guy while Matt LeBlanc is clearly the son of Italian immigrants while David Schwimmer is considerably taller than the other two. That said, Friends didn’t even use the “blonde, brunette, redhead” trope as Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are both blondes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/33 "2013-07-12T15:16:12Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I’ve no diagnosed mental defect except neurosis, but still have some trouble distinguishing two similar actresses in some movies. I have less trouble with males. Recently I conflated Sigourney Weaver and Susan Sarandon. I used to conflate Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke. I still think the world would be a better and less confusing place if Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino were just combined into one actor. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/34 "2013-07-12T15:17:58Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I still think the world would be a better and less confusing place if Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino were just combined into one actor. Albert DePaciro. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/35 "2013-07-12T15:24:22Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I still think the world would be a better and less confusing place if Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino were just combined into one actor. Interesting. Different people must use very different clues for facial recognition. I’ve never thought those two looked similar, though browsing Google Images now I guess some might. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/36 "2013-07-12T15:28:29Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That said, Friends didn’t even use the “blonde, brunette, redhead” trope as Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are both blondes. I would say for most of the run Aniston had light brown hair. So that we had blonde, light brown and dark brown. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/37 "2013-07-12T15:29:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This wouldn’t be such a problem if what we considered beautiful didn’t correlate with looking very similar. Have you ever tried [one of those tests](http://www.faceblind.org/facetests/ff/ff_intro.php) where they show just the face of a famous person, and leave out any other defining characteristics? Sure, you still figure it out (unless you have some facial blindness), but it’s harder. I did very well on that test, so I know I don’t have face blindness, but I do struggle with keeping actors/actresses straight in movies. If they change their appearance I have a hard time noticing who they are. I also have a hard time with people that were shown for a short period of time. Apparently I saw them before, but that was 45 minutes ago and they were in the scene for like 30 seconds. How am I supposed to recognize them now? Yes, this irritates my wife because I am always asking “Do we know this guy/girl?” Aside: Wanted posters always baffled me too. If they just change themselves a bit, there is no way in heck I would ever recognize someone from a poster. I don’t see how they ever work. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/38 "2013-07-12T15:34:49Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I would say for most of the run Aniston had light brown hair. So that we had blonde, light brown and dark brown. Six of one, half a dozen of another. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/39 "2013-07-12T15:54:07Z")
This all reminds me of something similar I encountered in the movie Hidalgo. The filmmakers carefully cast their “Arab” characters, all just different-looking enough to overcome the apparent worry that the audience won’t be able to keep them straight by their names: one looks like a heavyweight Martin Lawrence, one is very dark-skinned, and one is Omar Sharif. And of the two that have beards, the bad guy’s is carefully trimmed to a demonic point. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246/40 "2013-07-12T17:50:38Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > This all reminds me of something similar I encountered in the movie Hidalgo. > > The filmmakers carefully cast their “Arab” characters, all just different-looking enough to overcome the apparent worry that the audience won’t be able to keep them straight by their names: one looks like a heavyweight Martin Lawrence, one is very dark-skinned, and one is Omar Sharif. And of the two that have beards, the bad guy’s is carefully trimmed to a demonic point. We hardly ever see female characters with beards, why is that? This is just what’s done. For women differing hair styles and color make good distinguishing features. For men it’s hair or no hair, on the face or the top of the head. For both sexes the clothing, mannerisms, and many other differences will be highlighted as well. The production team will consider these things when assembling an ensemble cast, they’ll want some way to distinquish the characters to facilitate introducing them to a new audience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-blonde-a-brunette-and-a-redhead-walk-into-a-tv-studio/663246.md?page=3)