In 1979, Shelley was cast in the phenomenal TV series, Charlie's Angels, joining incumbent Angels Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett were previous regulars on the series. A year later, Tanya Roberts took over from Shelley then the show was canceled. Interest in all the women continued though, long after the series went off the air. Articles about each and every Angel would still pop up everywhere, which made it hard for each of the actresses to live down the image. But as the decades passed, public perception about the series and the women who starred in it began to change. From being taken as mere fluff and T & A, the series would eventually be recognized as one of the ground-breaking shows on TV for portraying women as strong, independent and bonded with her sisters; thereby, influencing and inspiring generations of women to become exactly that.
Charlie's Angels had such a huge impact that it just had to be remade. In 1988, Aaron Spelling tried to revive the series with Angels '88. Tea Leoni, Claire Yarlett, Karen Kopins and Sandra Canning were cast as the Angels; but after the announcement and press conference, production delays permanently shelved it. In 2000 and 2003, movie versions of the show were released with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Demi Moore playing the Angels; both films became blockbusters. In 2011, the series was rebooted with Annie Ilonzeh, Rachael Taylor, Nadine Velazquez and Minka Kelly as the new Angels. But the series suffered poor ratings and was quickly canceled. In 2019, another Charlie's Angels movie was released with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska as the newest Angels. Elizabeth Banks played a former Angel turned Bosley, now a rank in the worldwide Angels organization. But unfortunately, the latest movie version was not a hit, despite the chemistry between the three new Angels.
