Murphy Brown

Murphy Brown is a CBS network sitcom created by Diane English, starring Candice Bergen in the lead role.

The series first aired from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, lasting for 10 seasons & 247 episodes.

In January of 2018, it was announced that CBS had ordered a 13-episode revival of the series which premiered on September 27, 2018 and ended on December 20, 2018.

Summary[]

The series focused on Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for "FYI" a fictional CBS television newsmagazine and later for her own cable morning talk show "Murphy in the Morning."

Cast[]

Main Cast

Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown
Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood
Pat Corley as Phil (seasons 1–8; guest season 10)
Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial (seasons 1–10; recurring season 11)
Robert Pastorelli as Eldin Bernecky (seasons 1–7; guest season 10)
Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana
Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg (seasons 1–8, 11)
Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley (seasons 9–10)
Dyllan Christopher (recurring seasons 7–8)\Jackson Buckley (guest season 9), Haley Joel Osment (recurring season 10)\ Jake McDorman (season 11) as Avery Brown
Nik Dodani as Pat Patel (season 11)
Adan Rocha as Miguel (season 11)
Tyne Daly as Phyllis (season 11)

Recurring Cast

John Hostetter as John, the stage manager at FYI.
Ritch Brinkley as Carl Wishnitski
Janet Carroll (seasons 2–9)\Concetta Tomei (season 10) as Doris Dial
Jay Thomas as Jerry Gold
Colleen Dewhurst as Avery Brown
Darren McGavin as Bill Brown
Scott Bakula as Peter Hunt
Jane Leeves as Audrey Cohen
Robin Thomas as Jake Lowenstein
Christopher Rich as Miller Redfield
Paula Cale as McGovern
Alan Oppenheimer as Gene Kinsela
Garry Marshall as Stan Lansing
Rose Marie as Frank Fontana's mother.
Paul Reubens as Andrew J. Lansing, III
Marian Seldes as Brooke
Julius Carry as Mitchell Baldwin
Wallace Shawn as Stuart Best
Jean Stapleton as Nana Silverberg
Andre Ward as Julius (season 11)
Merle Dandridge as Diana Macomber (season 11)

Production[]

Early seasons[]

The first season saw Murphy relearning her job without the use of two crutches—alcohol and cigarettes. In the pilot episode, she complained the only vice she had left herself was chewing yellow number-two pencils.

It also set up the series-long running gag of Murphy's battles with the off-beat and sometimes downright bizarre characters that were sent by Personnel to act as her secretary, none of whom ever last for more than an episode, save two; one played by Paul Reubens.

Action was divided between the FYI suite of offices and Murphy's Georgetown townhouse. Reality often blended with fiction with the many cameos of then-current media and political personalities.

The most prominent was when Murphy was asked to guest star as herself in the pilot of a sitcom entitled "Kelly Green" about a female investigative journalist.

Life imitated art when, after a less-than stellar performance, Murphy was berated by television journalist Connie Chung (herself in a Murphy Brown cameo appearance) for crossing the line and compromising her credibility.

Subsequent seasons saw the emergence of story arcs involving network politics with Gene Kinsella, Frank and Murphy's rivalry and Eldin's ongoing infatuation with Corky. A standout event was Miss Sherwood's marriage to Louisiana lawyer Will Forrest.

During the brief engagement, a horrified Corky comes to the realization that she will now be "Corky Sherwood-Forrest."

In the wedding episode, maid-of-honor Murphy, dressed as an antebellum belle in a hoop-skirted nightmare of a bridemaid's dress, rages her way through the entire affair while thwarting the press's attempts to photograph the nuptials (mirroring the Sean Penn/Madonna wedding a few years earlier).

Later seasons[]

The show's fifth season continued after the departure of series creator and showrunner Diane English.

Murphy's struggles with parenthood were highlighted, as were the revolving-door of nanny characters mirroring her office tribulations.

Corky's marriage unraveled and ended in divorce as she and Will grew apart. (Right before the wedding, Forrest had decided to abandon the practice of law and follow his true calling—creative writing.) This tragedy saw Corky become less the Pollyanna as she began to model herself after role-model Murphy.

The show went on, and "FYI" featured several changes in on- and off-camera staff: Peter Hunt, McGovern and Miller Redfield temporarily joined the regulars at the anchor desk. The network moved FYI to a new studio with a trendy exterior "Window on America".

A significant story-arc saw the network squelch an FYI exposé on the tobacco industry, leading to the resignation of first Dial, then the remainder of the cast. They all went to work reorganizing the poorly-performing news division of a fledgling network.

In the end, Miles faced down the network; the "suits" relented, the staffers returned and the story aired. For his courage in standing up to the network brass, Miles was promoted to the news division's headquarters in New York—to the detriment of his new marriage to Corky.

As well, after years of working as her housepainter, and later nanny, Eldin (who was seen increasingly infrequently after season 5) left Murphy's employ during season 7 to study painting in Spain. (Actor Robert Pastrorelli left the series for his own starring vehicle, the sitcom, "Double Rush" which lasted one season in 1995.)

By the start of the 1996–97 season, viewership was beginning to decline. Shaud left the series and comedian Lily Tomlin was brought in to replace him in the role of executive producer Kay Carter-Shepley to help bolster the sitcom's ratings.

Kay proved that she had just as little journalistic experience as Miles Silverberg when he started with the show; the only experience Kay had in television—in spite of her venerable connections—was producing daytime game shows.

Where Murphy had terrorized the younger Miles, the Machiavellian Kay often emerged victorious in her dealings with Murphy.

Tomlin remained with the series for its last two years but ratings continued to drop, especially after a move off of Monday nights in favor of a slot on Wednesday nights.

CBS did renew "Murphy Brown" for a tenth season, which was to be its last. In the fall of 1997, the final season premiered and the entire season served as a story arc in which Murphy battled breast cancer.

However, the storyline was not without controversy; an episode in which she used medical marijuana to relieve side effects of chemotherapy was attacked by conservative groups, and a women's health group protested an episode in which Murphy, while shopping for prosthetic breasts, uttered the line, "Should I go with Demi Moore or Elsie the Cow?"

However, the show's handling of the subject was credited with a 30 percent increase in the number of women getting mammograms that year and Candice Bergen was presented an award from the American Cancer Society in honor of her role in educating women on the importance of breast cancer prevention and screening.

In the original run's final episode, Murphy met and interviewed God (played by Alan King) and Edward R. Murrow in a dream while undergoing surgery. Computer editing was used to insert footage of the real Murrow, who died in 1965, into the show.

Diane English (who created the show) made a cameo appearance as a nurse who delivered the results to Murphy after her surgery. At the end of the episode, Murphy walks through her house seemingly alone, only to have Eldin appear at the end, offering to "touch up" her house.

Revival[]

Development[]

Following the end of the original run of "Murphy Brown", series creator Diane English had been approached multiple times about potentially reviving the series.

Around 2008, the show came the closest to being brought back to the air following Sarah Palin's nomination as the Republican vice-presidential nominee with comparisons being drawn between her and former Murphy Brown critic Dan Quayle.

In 2017, Warner Bros. Television again approached English about reviving the series following the election of Donald Trump as president. English spent nine months developing an idea for a new iteration of the series before finally composing a script.

Candice Bergen was then approached about signing on to the project and she agreed on the condition that Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, and Grant Shaud join as well.

On January 24, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production a series order for one season consisting of thirteen episodes set to air during the 2018–2019 season.

English and Bergen were set to serve as executive producers of the revival which would, according to CBS, be set in "a world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate."

Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Bend in the Road Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

On February 27, 2018, it was announced that Pam Fryman would direct the revival's pilot episode.

On May 16, 2018, it was announced during the CBS upfronts presentation that the revival would now have Murphy anchoring a cable morning show, "Murphy In the Morning" with her old team, lifestyle reporter Corky Sherwood, investigative journalist Frank Fontana, and producer Miles Silverberg, while Murphy's son Avery would host a rival, cable morning show that airs opposite his mother's program.

On July 9, 2018, it was announced that "Murphy Brown" would premiere on September 27, 2018.

On September 21, 2018, it was reported that CBS had extended the running time of the premiere episode of the revival by five minutes.

On November 28, 2018, it was reported that the season would end after the 13 episodes ordered by CBS had aired. However, it was further reported that the series was still under consideration by CBS to be renewed for another season.

Casting[]

Alongside the initial announcement of the revival, it was confirmed that Candice Bergen would reprise her role as Murphy Brown.

On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, and Grant Shaud were joining the main cast and reprising their roles from the series' original run. It was also reported Charles Kimbrough would not be returning to the series full-time, but might make a guest appearance in the revival.

On March 16, 2018, it was announced that Jake McDorman and Nik Dodani had also joined the main cast. McDorman is set to assume the role of Murphy Brown's now adult son Avery.

On April 19, 2018, it was announced that Tyne Daly had joined the main cast in the role of Phyllis, the sister of the deceased bar owner Phil from the series' original run.

On August 5, 2018, it was confirmed during the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour that Kimbrough would reprise his role from the series' original run in a three episode story arc.

On September 13, 2018, it was reported that Adan Rocha had been cast in a series regular role.

In October of 2018, it was announced that Merle Dandridge had joined the cast in a recurring capacity and that Bette Midler, Brooke Shields, John Larroquette, Katie Couric, and Peter Gallagher would appear in guest starring roles.

Before the premiere of the season, it was reported that the first episode would feature a guest appearance from a prominent individual.

The identity of the guest was being kept secret until the episode aired with the network going so far as to not include the scene in which they appeared in screeners for the press.

Upon the episode's release, it was revealed that the guest star was in fact former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Critical response[]

The 11th season of "Murphy Brown" has been met with a mixed to negative response from critics upon its premiere.

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an approval rating of 40% with an average rating of 5.9 out of 10, based on 35 reviews.

The website's critical consensus reads, "This just in: while the nostalgia and wit are welcome, Murphy Brown's dated messaging tactics feel heavy-handed and smug, leaving this formerly formidably timely series feeling like a reboot reaching for the headlines."

Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned the season a score of 53 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

External links[]

Murphy Brown Wiki on Fandom
Murphy Brown on Wikipedia