Reunited ‘Murphy Brown’ cast talks show’s comeback and allegations against CBS chief during its TCA panel

During its initial run, which concluded in 1998, “Murphy Brown” wasn’t shy about addressing controversy. That legacy remains intact in the highly anticipated reboot, which was the focus of a panel presentation at the Television Critics Assn.’s summer press tour Sunday morning.

In opening remarks addressing the CBS show’s return, executive producer Diane English also referenced a recent New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow that included allegations of sexual misconduct against network chief Leslie Moonves and reports of a culture of harassment at CBS.

“On behalf of everybody on our show, we take the allegations of sexual misconduct extremely seriously,” she said. “We actually had developed an episode on the #MeToo movement months ago.”

Following the article, the CBS Board of Directors ordered several law firms to investigate the allegations of misconduct by Moonves.

“So we support the investigation fully. None of us have had any negative experience in that regard at CBS,” English said. “I never experienced any kind of sexual misconduct personally or misogyny, and as far as I know, no one on the crew has. I’d much rather talk about our show coming back. That’s the only comment we will have until the investigation is complete.”

English didn’t offer further details on the #MeToo-inspired episode, other than to say that it would be the fourth to air and that it was titled “#MurphyToo.”

The reboot reunites members of the original cast and introduces a few new characters. Candice Bergen is back in the title role of the sharp-edged news reporter, and is also an executive producer. Also returning are Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto and Grant Shaud.

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In the original series, Murphy and her colleagues worked on a news magazine; this time, they’ll will be working on a morning show.

Having only begun production late last month, the cast was fresh from shooting the first episode of the reconvened series, which English said will draw a lot from a climate where the press is frequently described by those in power as “the enemy of the people.”

But there have been more changes to the culture since the series last aired. “When we left these characters in 1998, there was no internet, there was no social media,” said English. “Cable news was just getting started. To take these characters and put them in the world of 24-hour cable news was very rich for us.”

“They don’t like being sidelined,” Bergen said of the show’s characters. “They’ve all been in retirement the last few years, and they want to get back in action, especially now when there’s so much action.”

English said the show will open on election day 2016 and quickly move up to present day with the goal of remaining topical, so much so that only nine of the planned 13 episodes have been developed to allow for updates in the news cycle.

“Some things are going to drop in September, I can feel it,” she said.

The presentation also introduced Jake McDorman as Murphy’s son, Avery, who works as a liberal voice at a network modeled after Fox News, and Nik Dodani, who portrays the social media specialist on Murphy’s new show.

“My job is to be the voice of the younger generation,” he said.

Ford happily noted that he is the same age she was when she started on the show as perky anchor Corky Sherwood.

Charles Kimbrough, who played stiff anchorman Jim Dial in the original series, will also appear for a few episodes. The series also promises to feature more cameos from the real world of news, including one in the first episode that English said was “top secret.”

“We’ve always tried to blur the lines between fiction and reality, and we were so successful in doing that in the first iteration of the show that the vice president thought Murphy was a real person,” she said.

Bergen said the tone of the reboot is set from the first episode, which continues the show’s topical legacy.

“This show has no fear of anyone,” she said. “We really stick our head in the lion’s mouth.”

“Murphy Brown” returns Sept. 27.

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