'Murphy Brown' creator says revival will address #MeToo, attacks on the press
"Murphy Brown" creator Diane English, who's also behind a forthcoming revival, said on a panel Sunday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that the show will address the #MeToo movement.
"We support the investigation," English said right off the bat about sexual misconduct allegations against CBS chief Les Moonves. CBS is the network hosting the show's revival.
"None of us have had any negative experience in that regard at CBS, she said, adding with a laugh, "And I go back to the Bill Paley days. I've outlasted all these guys."
"I have never experienced any kind of sexual misconduct personally or misogyny and, as far as I know, no one on my crew has," she added.
That said, English said takes the subject of sexual misconduct "so seriously that we actually developed an episode about the #MeToo movement many months ago, and that will be our fourth episode."
"Murphy Brown 2.0" will also center around what English sees as scary times for journalists.
"I'm focusing the show, really, through the prism of the press. The First Amendment and free press is under attack like I've never seen before, I don't think anybody's seen before," she said.
"The press is not 'the enemy of the people,'" she continued, apparently referring to President Trump's use of that phrase to slam the media. "And these guys, our characters, are the press. So we deal with that a lot."
The "Murphy Brown" revival debuts Sept. 27 at 9:30 ET p.m. on CBS.
