At a time when youth seemed to carry the banner for pop culture, a show about seniors couldn’t have gone more against the trends. But with its witty characters living their best lives despite hitting retirement age, the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls was an instant hit, becoming the No. 1 show in the Nielsen ratings in its first week in September 1985.

Called a “geriatric comedy” by the Associated Press, the secret formula was in the relatability of the storylines and the sharply written script about the friendships between four women living together in Miami Beach. The all-star cast was made of faces already familiar on the small screen, including Maude costars Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan as tough-as-nails Dorothy Zbornak and flirty Southern belle Blanche Devereaux, respectively, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s Betty White as innocent, ditzy Midwesterner Rose Nylund. Stage star Estelle Getty rounded out the group as Dorothy’s mother, the ever-blunt Sophia Petrillo.

The seven-season show has continued to transcend the generations, particularly finding a fan base among the LBGT community. Here, we travel down the road and back again to unveil 10 facts about the groundbreaking television show.

The Show Was Given a 13-Episode Order Before There Was a Script