A Classic Reborn: Murphy Brown (2018)

Time may not have changed Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) all that much, but, as we all know, the world around her has. To the surprise of, well, no one, the revival of the Emmy award winning 1988-98 series takes dead aim at President Trump and his warped view of the news media.

We find out that way back in the day, Trump supposedly dated Murphy, most likely a one-night stand. When Murphy is offered a morning talk show on cable, she jumps on it, and rounds up her old FYI crew---investigative reporter Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto, who has not aged well), Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford, still looking adorable), and producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud), who stops short of being a complete basket case before getting his new gig.

Complicating matters is the fact that Murphy's now-adult son, Avery, has followed her into journalism, and is fronting his own show---airing directly opposite dear old mom. His network is an analogue for Fox News, Murphy works for a CNN parody. You can see where that's going to go.

There are some things that stay the same. The gang still hangs out at Phil's, but Phil (Pat Corley) has long since passed on, and his sister, Phyllis (Tyne Daly, ex-Cagney & Lacey), has taken over, complete with a killer sense of humor. ("A protest march is the new eggs Benedict.", she quips as Murphy and Corky have come in from a march.) Murphy is still looking for a secretary, and look who shows up in the opener.....

Edit, 4/24/22: Had to change the video. Following is a trailer.

I tell you, you'd never see President Trump do something like that.

One glaring problem is that Murphy Brown, nestled at the end of CBS' Thursday comedy block, is up against Thursday Night Football, now on Fox. The remake of Magnum PI occupies Brown's old Monday perch, and I get the idea of CBS not wanting to duplicate past mistakes by having the two remakes air on different nights than the originals (Magnum led off CBS' Thursday block in the 80's). Lord knows I've talked about such programming strategy in the past. Today, though, there is On Demand.......

Personally, I'd rather they solved the secretary problem once and for all by finding someone who can play off Bergen. I recommend a certain former MTV VJ from my neck of the woods who could learn from working with Bergen. If I have to go any further, I'd be embarrassed for you.

Rating: B+.