‘Murphy Brown’ Revival Nearly Inspired by Sarah Palin, Show Creator Says

The Murphy Brown revival almost happened six years ago, with the idea first hatched when Sarah Palin was running for vice president, creator Diane English said at the Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday.

According to Variety, English said they toyed with idea in 2012 when “Sarah Palin was running for president.” She added, though, that it wasn’t a serious consideration at all.

“We thought we only had six episodes, and it wasn’t a serious idea at all,” English said.

After the 2016 presidential election, which ended with President Donald Trump taking office, Warner Bros. approached English about bringing back her take on journalism. English was a little apprehensive, but then she saw the success of NBC’s critically acclaimed Will & Grace revival. That changed her mind, and she wrote a script.

The script found its way into star Candice Bergen’s hands, and she immediately agreed to come back.

“I said let’s do it,” Bergen said.

Bergen and English told reporters the show will remain just as politically relevant as the show’s original 1988-1998 run. In other words, Murphy Brown will not be de-fanged.

“We’ve always been a political show with something to say. The First Amendment and free press is under attack like I’ve never seen before, like anybody has ever seen before. And our characters are the press, so we deal with that a lot,” English said Sunday.

Another topic the show will not shy away from is the ongoing spotlight on sexual harassment in the workplace. English said the fourth episode will tackle the #MeToo movement, and is titled “Hashtag Murphy Too.

“I don’t think there’s a woman out here that hasn’t had some experience with misogyny or misconduct,” English said. “It’s a powerful movement, and we wanted to do it justice.”

English said she and the writers are so dedicated to making sure the CBS sitcom is topical that they stopped writing when they reached episode nine because they did not want to get “too far ahead.”

“Some things are going to drop in September, I think, and as we get into our production schedule, it becomes more and more compressed,” English explained. “We air three weeks from the time we shoot the show and we’re shooting digitally so we have the ability to pop in something extremely topical.”

One big change for the show is that instead of FYI, Murphy hosts a morning show called Murphy In The Morning. Last month, photos from the first table read showed the new set design.

Bergen, Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto and Grant Shaud are all returning for the new series, with Jack McDorman joining as Murphy’s grown son Avery. Nik Dodani and Tyne Daly are also joining the show.

Murphy Brown‘s 13-episode return begins on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images