Jack, Janet, and June: A Love Letter to Sitcom Roots

Can a font and a dedication really sell a book? Yes it can.

Last month, I hopped on Audible to purchase the latest Batman ‘89 novel from John Jackson Miller. (Last year, he published Batman: Resurrection, a direct sequel to the 1989 film that takes place in that universe. It was one of my favorite books of 2024 so the next book, Batman: Revolution, was a no-brainer.) But when I got to the site, a book cover caught my eye.

Being a Gen-Xer, what struck me first was the font. It’s not just that the word “Different” is in the book’s title, but that went a long way. I instantly thought of the old sitcom Different Strokes. When I polled multiple people in the days following, nearly every one of them all got the late 70s/early 80s sitcom title font vibe. Naturally, the cover image also lassoed my attention: fall, New York, romance. Having just finished the new Matthew Norman novel, Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon, I found myself wanting to stay in a romance halo. I opted to let Audible read me the 5-minute intro and see if it caught my fancy. After the title and author name, the narrator read the dedication: Jack and Janet, this one’s for you.

Okay, I don’t know about you, but when I hear those names together, there’s only one thing I think of: Three’s Company. I adored that show growing up and count myself among the contingent that think when the show ended, Jack and Janet should have ended up together (forget the ill-fated spin-off, Three’s a Crowd. In universe, Jack and Janet belonged together). Still, despite a dedication like that, surely the author didn’t write a story with those two characters in mind? So I left the Audible app, found an interview with debut author Joss Richard, and found her answering the same question: yes, indeed, she wrote her new novel thinking about Jack and Janet.

Book sold!

Come and Knock on Our Door

In the new book, June Wood, an actress who hasn’t really made it big in her years out in LA, is informed her new TV series is cancelled. Again: if you are a devoted fan of Three’s Company, you’ll know that Janet’s last name is Wood so the novel was already off to a good start. I started keeping track of IYKYK things in the novel. About the same time, she gets a call from a lawyer back in New York asking that she come to the office for a very important meeting. Not really having the funds for said trip but still pulled by curiosity, she makes the flight while her agent tries to get her an audition so the entire expense can be a tax write-off. 

It turns out that the old Brownstone she used to live in when she resided in NYC is being bequeathed to her. Well, to the last two residents of the Brownstone before it was converted into a bed and breakfast. The other resident is Adam Harper. The same Adam Harper that June lived with for years, the same Adam Harper for whom June had feelings for—and vice versa—but they never let their romantic feelings crash up against their deep and affectionate friendship. And it’s the same Adam Harper with whom June had not spoken to in the five years since she fled to LA. 

Through some legal shenanigans worthy of a Three’s Company plot, June is forced to stay in New York for a month. Having no place to live, she ends up moving back into the Brownstone for the duration. With Adam. Because of course they do. This novel is marketed as a second-chance romance and the best way to rekindle the old feelings is proximity and conversation and nostalgic memories.

Take a Step That is New

Richard intertwines both the present-day story with June and Adam’s backstory of when they initially lived in the same apartment. We learn just how the two came to meet, how their friendship evolved then deepened, and how many of their friends often wondered why the heck the two of them didn’t just admit the obvious.

The present-day storyline is about how the two of them grudgingly rediscover their special friendship and dance around unanswered questions. I’ll admit that I’m a newbie when it comes to literary romances—I think this one is my fifth ever—but I really liked June as a character. She is instantly likable, and I found her ruminations about her career choices as a creative artist understandable and relatable. She is the only POV throughout the entire book so you don’t get the different perspectives like you do when you have dual narrators.

But that also serves to make Adam, his feelings, and his life in the five-year gap harder to crack. On the one hand, he’s infuriatingly vague with answers to what he’s been doing since June fled (a la every episode of Three’s Company and, frankly, nearly every sitcom episode ever). At the same time, his feelings for June are all on the table, even if he’s not overtly saying them. Which made me relate to him as well. He knows what he wants, who he wants, and mostly why he wants her. He’s just waiting for her to catch up.

You’ll See That Life is a Ball Again

With the novel told in parallel storylines, both threads lead to their respective finales: June moving out in the past and the impending end of June and Adam’s forced re-cohabitation in the present. Richard handles both of these like a writing veteran. You know June is going to move out and you desperately don’t want her to. All you want them to do is just talk and lay out their feelings for each other yet things get in the way. And in the present, you want the same thing, albeit with a different vibe. 

As a Rookie Reader of Romance (and a long-time devotee of romantic films), I know that in nearly every book I pick up, the characters will end up together (unlike Lucky and Unlucky in Love, my own meet-cute collection where not every ending ends up happy). This being a second-chance romance, it’s kind of written in the cards, so I hope I’m not putting a damper on your expectations. In this early stage of my romance reading life, I have to say that Joss Richard did a wonderful and believable job of telling the story of June and Adam. 

And she absolutely stuck the landing with the final sentence. I was walking my two giant dogs while listening to the end, even slowing down long enough so I could finish before walking back inside the house (a la those NPR driveway moments). When narrator Ferdelle Capistrano spoke those final words, I literally pumped my fist and let out a “Yes!” 

Hopefully you’ll say “Yes” to picking up the wonderfully heartfelt novel and give it and Joss Richard a chance. 

*Side Note: I counted at least four Three’s Company callbacks. For those of y’all who’ve read both the book and this review, please let me know if I missed any. 

• June Wood (Janet’s last name in the TV show)
• Adam is a chef (Jack’s profession in the show)
• Stanley is the name of the landlord (just like Stanley Roper, the original landlord in the show)
• Audra is the name of Adam’s mother (just like Audra Lindley, the actress who played Helen Roper in the show)