If there was any time for Murphy Brown to come back, it’s now, with the proliferation of fake news and the fact that the president seems to set policy as well as hurl personal insults via Twitter. But does Diane English’s hit 1988-98 comedy translate to what’s funny in 2018? MURPHY BROWN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? Opening Shot: We see archival footage of the 2016 presidential campaign, from Donald Trump’s ride down his escalator to announce his candidacy all the way to a reporter identifying himself as Avery Brown (Jake McDorman) announcing that Trump has won. Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen), sitting on the couch in her townhouse wearing a pink “Original Nasty Woman” sweatshirt, screams “Noooooooooooo!” The Gist: Murphy has been retired for a little while, having left FYI along with the rest of her co-workers, but Trump’s election makes her want to get back out there. Walking into Phil’s — now run by Phil’s sister Phyllis (Tyne Daly) — after the Women’s March in January 2017, Murphy meets with her old FYI colleagues Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford) and Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) and the three of them agree that they should get back on the air. Since the CNC cable network has been making offers to Murphy for her own show, she thinks the New Normal is a good reason to come out of retirement. Now to get their old executive producer, Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) on board. He’s hiding out in his apartment at the Watergate, suffering from PTSD after his time working on The View. But he eventually agrees to come back, too. Right before Murphy starts her new gig, her son Avery comes back to the townhouse with good news. He’s gotten noticed for his election reporting and he’s been asked by the Wolf Network (get it?) to do a show where he talks to everyday Americans about the issues of the day. Of course, he’ll be in the same 7-9 AM timeslot as his mother. She’s proud of him, but she vows to kick his butt, and he says likewise. Murphy and company face a new reality with their new show Murphy In The Morning, which they find out when they meet their social media manager Pat (Nik Dodani), who tells each of them to get Twitter accounts…. and smartphones, as he marvels at the flip phone Murphy has. When they do their first episode, Murphy wants the program to be about real news, not reacting to Trump’s tweets or engage in pundit speculation. But as soon as Trump baits her with tweets about “Old Murphy,” Murphy engages, making fun of his hair and other things. Our Take: Murphy Brown creator Diane English has said that this revival would have never happened if Donald Trump wasn’t elected president. And, knowing what we know about the 1988-98 run of the show and English’s point of view, it’s not hard to decipher what the show will be like. A lot of ranting and speechifying? Check. Current-event-heavy stories with the shelf life of an avocado? Check. So what the revival will live and die on is a) whether we want to see these characters again and b) whether Murphy’s speechifying still plays well in 2018. On the first count, the show is successful. The characters still hold up after all this time, and the funniest moments from the three episodes CBS made available come from the characters’ well-documented foibles: Murphy is intense and digs in when challenged; Corky puts a smile on her face even when her life is falling apart (or, as we see in the premiere, she’s getting major hot flashes due to menopause); Frank, despite his age, is still vain and insecure and likes to hit on young women; Miles is neurotic to a fault. English and her crew have also done a nice job establishing the loving relationship Murphy has with Avery — who was a kid when the first run ended — despite the fact that he works for a network that she describes as “where all the male anchors are conspiracy theorists and the female anchors are dead behind the eyes.” But the second count is where the Murphy revival has issues. In the second episode, Murphy tries to sneak into the White House press briefing room after being banned by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. When she does sneak in, she unfurls a speech about how Sanders lies and how the reporters in the room — including Avery — are complicit. That kind of speechifying makes little sense these days; there’s no way that Sanders wouldn’t have had Murphy forcibly removed as soon as she showed her face and she and the reporters in the room would have just shrugged it off as the rantings of a dinosaur. The same thing happens in the third episode, where a Steve Bannon stand-in (David Costabile) challenges her to interview him, and when she refuses, he confronts her at Phil’s. She then proceeds to rant at him about how his nationalistic stance is the last gasp of old white guys who think they’re losing the country to immigrants. Does she think the Bannon stand-in will change her mind? Who is she — and English — preaching to? They’re preaching to the converted, with English venting about the current state of the news media and the administration, It just feels tired and shortsighted. Wouldn’t it have been funnier to see Murphy and company try to navigate a world where everyone digs into their side, talks over each other, and doesn’t listen to 3-minute long monologues? Maybe that’ll happen later in the season, but for now it feels like the FYI of 1990 has been transferred to 2018, and that world doesn’t exist anymore. Sex and Skin: Besides Corky opening her shirt on air because of a hot flash, there isn’t anything. After regretting engaging with Trump’s tweets on the air, Avery informs his mother that her show kicked his show’s butt in the ratings, which makes her at least a little happier.<doc-sep>Candice Bergen has returned to CBS! After a 20-year absence, the renowned investigative journalist returned to TV last night… and she wasn’t alone. We won’t spoil the fun, but the premiere episode of the CBS revival featured a surprising cameo. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can catch up with a classic Murphy Brown episode from 1988 before watching the revival. Is Murphy Brown on Netflix or Hulu? Where can you stream the Murphy Brown revival? Here’s everything you need to know. IS MURPHY BROWN ON NETFLIX? IS MURPHY BROWN ON HULU? Sadly, no. Both classic episodes and new episodes of Murphy Brown are not available to stream on Netflix or Hulu. WHERE CAN I STREAM THE ORIGINAL MURPHY BROWN? Decider’s own Brett White answered that very question in his preview of the new season: “The whole series is not streaming, and may never make it to streaming as the original run’s frequent use of (very expensive) Motown songs has kept it off of DVDs and platforms. But CBS All Access, with a new season of Murphy Brown on the way and a generation of TV viewers mostly unfamiliar with the show, devised a workaround. Instead of putting the whole series up (which would be very expensive), they selected 18 episodes that were void of any music rights issues and put those up. So you can stream 18 episodes of Murphy Brown right now on CBS All Access, ones without any recognizable tunes in them.” The Season 1 episode “Funnies Girl” is now streaming for free on CBS. WHERE CAN I STREAM THE MURPHY BROWN REVIVAL? Episode 1 is currently streaming for free on CBS.com. Another option is CBS All Access, which is the only streaming service that has new episodes of Murphy Brown available to stream. If All Access isn’t your jam, you can purchase the Murphy Brown revival season for $29.99 on iTunes. HOW CAN I SIGNUP FOR CBS ALL ACCESS? CBS All-Access is available for as little as $5.99, but first-time subscribers can sign up for a free trial of All Access on the CBS website. Where to stream Murphy Brown<doc-sep>Amazon Murphy Brown: Season 1 amazon.com $13.51 $10.09 (25% off) Shop Now You've waited VERY patiently and now it's time to celebrate: The reboot of Murphy Brown is here at last. Even if you haven't been planning a watch party for months/are just now realizing the show's imminent return, rest easy knowing that you can watch Murphy, Corky, Jim, and the rest of the crew in multiple different ways. Especially with all the TV already on Thursday nights – The Big Bang Theory, Thursday Night Football, and Grey's Anatomy, for example — sometimes catching an episode the next day just works better. So, whether you're planning on catching Murphy tonight or online in the days to come, here's all the viewing info you need: How to Watch the Murphy Brown Reboot on TV or On Demand: Tune into CBS at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 27 to catch the half-hour premiere episode. Of course, you can always DVR the episode or, if you have the CBS All Access service, watch it live there or on demand the next day. Plus, CBS often uploads full free episodes to their website the following day, so you can always check there first if 9:30 p.m. is cutting it a little too close to your bed time. This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. How to Stream the Murphy Brown Reboot Online: Despite some concerns that Murphy Brown wouldn't be available to stream (because the original was produced by the Warner Bros. not CBS), according to CBS's website, the series will, in fact, be available on CBS All Access. Here, you can stream the sitcom the next day and countless other CBS favorites (hello, Big Bang Theory) on Apple TV, Android, Google Chromecast, Fire TV, iPad, iPhone, PS4, Roku, Windows 10, and X Box (psst: try it here free for one week). Alternatively, you can download the CBS app from the Apple store, which promises to let you stream full episodes the day after they air for no cost. Lastly, you can go to Google Play and watch the entire first season for $24.99 or catch it on Youtube on SD or HD for the same price. This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The reboot of Murphy Brown premieres on CBS at 9:30 ET on Thursday, September 27. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>CBS will air the premiere of Murphy Brown on Thursday. The series, which originally ran for 10 season from 1988 to 1998, will bring the return of legendary news anchor Murphy, played by Candice Bergman, and her original team of journalists including lifestyle reporter Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), investigative journalist Frankl Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) and news producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud). A few new faces will appear on the updated series including Nik Dodani, who plays Murphy's savvy social media director Pat Patel, and Tyne Daly, who stars as Phyllis, the new owner of Phil's Bar and the original bartender's sister. Actor Jake McDorman will play the role of Avery Brown, an aspiring journalist who also happens to be Murphy's son. The premiere episode won't just mark the return of the series but Murphy's re-entrance into the world of broadcast news. Along with navigating the resurgence of her show Murphy in the Morning in a modern day political climate, Murphy will be faced with all the other challenges of the 21st century, like keeping up with technology, the young and maintaining society's trust in the news. "Back in the game after a brief retirement, and faced with a world of 24-hour cable, social media, 'fake news' and a vastly different political climate, Murphy is determined to draw the line between good television and honest reporting, proving that the world needs Murphy Brown now more than ever," the episode 1 synopsis reads. Viewers can tune into the Murphy Brown premiere online on CBS' website using their cable provider information. The episode will also be available for streaming on CBS' app, CBS All Access. CBS is currently offering an on-demand live stream of original Murphy Brown episodes, so fans can refresh their memories with the older version of the series before the premiere. The first of the 13-episode season is set to air at 9:30 p.m. ET. The premiere will run as a special extended episode, ending at 10:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, and then return to its normal 30-minute timeslot the following week.<doc-sep>
Revival season is in full swing in TV land, with classic shows like Will & Grace and Roseanne back on the air (okay, one of those has been a little more fraught than the other). Joining the ranks of these comeback kids is Murphy Brown, the two-time Outstanding Comedy Emmy winner that’s back on the beat on CBS and ready to take on fake news, Nazis, propagandists, and everyone currently acting super swampy. Just like the original series, which ran from 1988 to 1998, the revival stars Candice Bergen as legendary journalist Murphy Brown. By her side once more is her old team, including Faith Ford as the bubbly anchor Corky, Joe Regalbuto as everyman investigative reporter Frank, and Grant Shaud as the panicked producer Miles. The old FYI team is reentering a world that’s way scarier than the one it left; doesn’t the Bill Clinton sex scandal seem quaint compared to everything in the news right now? Yikes, right? But you may have some questions about how to watch this history-making moment, especially if you’re a cord-cutter with Thursday night plans! When does Murphy Brown start? Clear your schedule, because the first new episode of Murphy Brown in 20 years airs on Thursday, September 27 on CBS at 9:30 p.m. ET. The episode is a super-sized affair, too, running around 5 minutes longer than the normal half hour episode of TV. So if you don’t care about Murphy Brown but want to watch S.W.A.T., you’ll see five minutes of Murphy if you turn the TV on at 10. The new season is comprised of 13 episodes. Can you watch Murphy Brown live online? If you don’t have cable and also don’t want to mess with an antenna (who woulda thunk that antennas would still be a part of our lives? Oh, the woes of a cord-cutter), you can stream Murphy Brown live online as it airs–but you’re going to need a live TV account with a streaming service to do it. You’re all set if you have CBS All Access, which will let you stream your local CBS affiliate live. You can also stream CBS live if you have Hulu with Live TV, YouTubeTV, and/or DirecTV Now. Can you stream Murphy Brown after it airs? What do you do if you just can’t park it in front of the TV tonight and watch this moment, 20 years in the making? First of all, what else do you have going on?! Second, you can stream it after it airs, if you have a CBS All Access account. CBS All Access is the only streaming service that will have the revival season of Murphy Brown available to stream the morning after it premieres on CBS. If you don’t want CBS All Access, you can outright buy the Murphy Brown revival season for $29.99 on iTunes. New episodes will be available to download on Tuesday mornings. So far this is the only season of Murphy Brown available in iTunes, too! Is Murphy Brown on Hulu? Nope, and that includes both the new and old episodes. Unlike ABC, NBC, and Fox, CBS shows don’t stream on Hulu the day after they air. That’s why you need CBS All Access. And because the original show used a whole lot of popular songs in inextricable ways, it’s super expensive to clear those music rights for it to be on DVD or streaming. So you can’t stream Murphy Brown on Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, any of those services. CBS All Access is your one-stop shop. Are Robert Pastorelli and Charles Kimbrough on the new Murphy Brown? Fortunately, CBS All Access has added 18 classic episodes of Murphy Brown to its library to commemorate the new season. They’re 18 episodes that are free of music rights hassles, but they’re a good overview of the show if you need an intro or a refresher. Sadly, the revival season will be without housepainter-turned-nanny Eldin, as Pastorelli passed away in 2004. Kimbrough, on the other hand, will have a recurring role on the show as anchorman Jim Dial. The 82-year-old will return, although the details about the extent of his involvement remain unclear. Who plays Avery Brown? Murphy’s son Avery, born in the original Season 4 finale way back in 1992, is now a full-grown adult. He’s played by your new sitcom crush Jake McDorman, who was previously seen on the short-lived shows Limitless and Are You There, Chelsea?