Murphy Brown


Murphy Brown is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine, and later for Murphy in the Morning, a cable morning news show.
The series originally ran until May 18, 1998, after airing a total of 247 episodes over ten seasons. In January 2018, it was announced that CBS ordered a 13-episode revival of Murphy Brown, which premiered on September 27, 2018. CBS canceled the revival after one season on May 10, 2019.

Plot

Original run

Murphy Brown is a recovering alcoholic who, in the show's first episode, returns to the fictional newsmagazine FYI for the first time following a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic residential treatment center. Over 40 and single, she is sharp-tongued and hard as nails. In her profession, she is considered one of the boys, having shattered many glass ceilings encountered during her career. Dominating the FYI news magazine, she is portrayed as one of America's hardest-hitting media personalities.
Her colleagues at FYI include stuffy veteran anchor Jim Dial, who affectionately addresses Murphy as "Slugger" and reminisces about the glory days of Murrow and Cronkite. Murphy's best friend and sometime competitor is investigative reporter Frank Fontana, the only person who addresses her as "Murph". Though a daredevil reporter, insecurities regarding fame and his personal relationships have him in psychotherapy for the majority of the series. In early seasons, there was a running gag about Frank's toupée, which he hated, but which producers insisted he wear on the show.
Also present are the two newest members of the FYI team. Miles Silverberg, a 25-year-old yuppie Harvard graduate and overachiever fresh from public television, is appointed the new executive producer of FYI during Murphy's stay at Betty Ford. Naive and neurotic despite his lightning intellect, Miles is the perfect foil for Murphy's wit. Shaud left at the end of the eighth season, and his character was replaced during Season 9 by veteran TV producer Kay Carter-Shepley. Kay did not have a background in journalism but instead had made a career as a producer of game shows.
The other new-kid-on-the-block is Corky Sherwood, who replaced Murphy during her stint in rehab. A former Miss America from the town of Neebo, Louisiana, Corky is the bane of the other journalists with her perky, relentlessly sunny personality—and dumbfounding lack of sophistication. Due to overwhelming audience reaction, management decides to retain Corky's services after Murphy's return, usually assigning her to lifestyle pieces or lightweight celebrity profiles. Despite her omnipresent perkiness, Corky does mature and acquires a fair amount of worldliness over the years, not the least of which comes courtesy of her marriage to high school classmate and writer Will Forest, subsequent divorce, and later elopement with Miles, immediately after which the couple has second thoughts — even before consummating the relationship — and decides they should "first" date, eventually separating on good terms.
The FYI team also frequently socializes at Phil's, a bar-and-grill across the street from their office/studio in Washington, D.C. Phil, the bar owner, was played by Pat Corley. Phil's was portrayed as a Washington institution, whose owner knew everything about everybody who had ever been anybody in the capital—ranging from what brand of lingerie J. Edgar Hoover preferred to the identity of Deep Throat. In a running gag during early seasons, whenever someone entered Phil's, the patrons shouted in unison, "Close the door!"
Brown was unmarried, but had a home life as well: she hired a laid-back, New Age philosophy-dispensing house painter named Eldin Bernecky to repaint her house. He had so many grand ideas that he was in her employ for six seasons. Because he was a highly talented artist, his renovations were often delayed when he was struck by the urge to paint socially relevant murals throughout the house.

Revival

Some twenty years later, Murphy has been retired from broadcast journalism for a few years but constantly receives offers to return to the air. Following Donald Trump's election as president of the United States, Brown decides to accept an offer from fictional cable news network CNC to host a new morning news show titled Murphy in the Morning. She brings along her former FYI colleagues including Frank and Corky to co-host the program and Miles to produce it. The crew is joined by newcomer Pat Patel, who serves as the show's social media manager. As the program gets closer to air, Brown is startled to learn that her son Avery has been given his own morning news program on Murphy's competitor, conservative cable news network Wolf News, with both of their shows scheduled to air against one another. Meanwhile, Murphy and the gang continue to spend their off-time at the bar and grill "Phil's Bar", now run by Phil's sister Phyllis following Phil's death. Jim Dial, now in his 80s, widowed and retired, comes back on an occasional basis to act as an informal mentor to the Murphy in the Morning gang.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI. In seasons 8 and 9, she also co-hosts a second show called Front and Center. Brown returns to television in her own morning news show Murphy in the Morning.
  • Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood, a perky reporter hired to replace Murphy during her stay at the Betty Ford Clinic. Years later, she joins Murphy in the Morning as a co-host.
  • Pat Corley as Phil, the extremely well-connected owner of Phil's Bar where the staff of FYI are regulars.
  • Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial, the trustworthy veteran news anchor for FYI.
  • Robert Pastorelli as Eldin Bernecky, an eccentric house painter that Murphy hires to renovate her house.
  • Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana, an investigative reporter on FYI and later Murphy in the Morning, and Murphy's best friend.
  • Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg, the very young and nervous, but also bright and competent, executive producer at FYI and later Murphy in the Morning.
  • Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley, a crafty veteran television producer who has absolutely no news experience, and who replaces Miles at FYI.
  • Dyllan Christopher, Jackson Buckley, Haley Joel Osment, and Jake McDorman as Avery Brown, Murphy's son and a journalist and a liberal commentator on the conservative-leaning Wolf Network. In the original run of the series, he appears as a young child while in the revival he is some twenty years older.
  • Nik Dodani as Pat Patel, the director of social media for Murphy in the Morning.
  • Adan Rocha as Miguel Gonzales, a college student working at Phil's Bar in order to make extra money for his tuition.
  • Tyne Daly as Phyllis, the sister of Phil and the current owner of Phil's Bar.

    Recurring

Behind the scenes at FYI

  • John Hostetter as John, the stage manager at FYI.
  • Ritch Brinkley as Carl Wishnitski, a cameraman at FYI who has an ongoing attraction to Murphy.
  • Alan Oppenheimer as Gene Kinsella, a news-division executive. Seen as a recurring character in seasons 1–5, Kinsella is generally supportive of and liked by his FYI staff. In-show, the character is let go from his position and replaced with...
  • Julius Carry as Mitchell Baldwin, the Machiavellian new boss who replaces Gene Kinsella. Baldwin, a Black man used the team's liberal-Caucasian guilt to railroad through changes in FYIs format and content. Appears in seasons 5 and 6, and in a dream sequence in season 8. Essentially superseded as the network thorn in FYIs side by...
  • Garry Marshall as Stan Lansing, the very excitable, aggressive, and micro-managing network president. His frequent and impromptu whims are the bane of the FYI staff. Seen fairly regularly in seasons 6–9, and one final time in season 10.
  • Paul Reubens as Andrew J. Lansing III, Stan Lansing's sociopathic nephew. He is introduced as one of Murphy's 93 secretaries du jour and was one of only three who measure up to Murphy's standards. Like the few other secretaries who were actually competent, Andrew is lured away from Murphy by another job by the end of the episode; in his case, he is promoted to a network executive position through nepotism. He periodically appears in later episodes, although his network career is wildly unpredictable, largely due to the mercurial nature of his uncle and mentor—at various times, Andrew is a network VP, an executive producer, and a mailboy. Seen as an occasional character in seasons 7–9.

    On camera at FYI

  • Christopher Rich as Miller Redfield, an empty-headed, pretty-boy reporter with a local affiliate who had semi-regular appearances on the show. At first, he was a recurring substitute anchor, but after a gap of a few years, he became a regular member of the FYI team —- although the rest of the team frequently conspired to get rid of him. Later co-hosted a separate news show with Murphy called Front and Center, produced out of the same office. Seen once per season in seasons 2–4, he was then seen very frequently in seasons 7–9.
  • Wallace Shawn as Stuart Best, a buffoonish former FYI reporter who annoyed Murphy, Jim, and Frank to the point that the three colluded to have him fired —- twice. After the second firing, Stuart returned as a hopelessly inept party-line politician who invariably broke down under even the most sympathetic questions by Murphy while on-air. Appeared once a season in seasons 6–9.
  • Scott Bakula as Peter Hunt, a reporter and occasional love interest of Murphy's. Seen in seasons 6 through 8.
  • Paula Cale as McGovern, a conservative young reporter based on MTV's Kennedy. She was added to the program when management tried to appeal to a younger demographic. Seen for a run of episodes as a regular towards the end of season 7, the character was then quietly dropped without explanation and never mentioned again.