When the unexpected success of the “Roseanne” reboot gave way to an onslaught of TV revivals, the announcement that “Murphy Brown,” the smart comedy about TV journalism, would be among them seemed like a sad surrender. Surely, nothing was sacred.
But it sounded like a better idea once Candice Bergen stole the summer comedy hit movie “Book Club” from co-stars Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton. Bergen, 72, was the gorgeous actress whose comic potential was underestimated by Hollywood for years. If she could win five Emmys for playing Murphy Brown 20 years ago, maybe she could make everyone laugh again.
“Murphy” creator Diane English was game to give a 13-episode order a go. So was Bergen. “We are so happy,” she says. “We have seven of our original writers. Four of our original cast members.” Together they spoke to The Post from Bergen’s trailer at the Kaufman-Astoria Studios.
The political climate that has flourished since “Murphy Brown” ended — one of fake news and relentless social media outrage — is now target practice for English. “We’re writing from the point of view from the press,” she says. “The press has taken a beating lately.”
Thursday’s premiere (9:30 p.m.) finds Murphy dissatisfied with retirement. Take up gardening? “It would not be fair to the plants,” she says. Instead, she rounds up the old “FYI” gang — Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto), Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford) and Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) — for a new cable morning show. Her press credentials may have expired and she may use a flip phone, but the fighting spirit is still the same.
If Dan Quayle was Murphy’s nemesis in 1992, when the Vice President denounced the TV character’s decision to raise her son Avery as a single mother, you can imagine who Murphy is taking on this time, railing against President Trump’s environmental policies: “If I had your hair, I’d be against wind, too.” Bergen makes it clear that if Hillary Clinton had been elected, there would be no reason for “Murphy Brown.” “This presidency sort of demanded the return of the show,” she says.
English says she’s going to “rattle some cages” this time round. “We are building scripts around issues that have divided the country,” she says.
The cast has filmed six episodes before a live audience, repairing after the Friday-night tapings to George’s, a restaurant near Kaufman-Astoria, to celebrate. Bergen says new cast member Tyne Daly, who plays Phyllis, the sister of tavern owner Phil, gets a “huge response. We wanted her from the beginning. She had a conflict; miraculously it went away.”
As for Avery (played by Jake McDorman), he’s 28 now with a job on a competing conservative news show. Bergen is nuts about McDorman. “He’s charming, he’s witty, he just has everything; it’s eerie,” she says. “This is only our sixth show together. They’re very competitive with each other.”
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