Hubbry Logo
Diane EnglishDiane EnglishMain
Open search
Diane English
Community hub
Diane English
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Diane English
Diane English
Diane English
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Diane English (born May 18, 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer and director.[1] She is best known for creating the television show Murphy Brown which won multiple awards, including 18 Primetime Emmy Awards from 62 nominations.[2][3][4][5] She also wrote and directed the 2008 feature film The Women. She has won numerous awards, including 3 Emmy Awards, and received numerous nominations.[6][7][8]

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

English was born in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Anne English and Richard English who was an electrical engineer.[9] She graduated from Nardin Academy in Buffalo, and then from Buffalo State College in 1970.

Career

[edit]

English began her career at WNET, the PBS affiliate in New York City, working first as a story editor for The Theatre in America series, and then as associate director of TV Lab. From 1977 to 1980, she wrote a monthly column on television for Vogue magazine.

In 1980, she co-wrote PBS' The Lathe of Heaven, an adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction novel of the same name, and received her first Writers Guild Award Nomination. She followed that with the television movies Her Life as a Man (1984) and Classified Love (1986).

In 1985, English created Foley Square, her first half-hour comedy series, which aired on CBS during the 1985-1986 television season. It starred Margaret Colin, Hector Elizondo, Michael Lembeck and Jon Lovitz. The show premiered on December 11, 1985, and languished near the bottom of the Nielsen ratings in the weeks that followed. After being put on hiatus after only 11 episodes, CBS rescheduled it to another night and aired the three remaining episodes of the season. With ratings low, CBS cancelled the show after only 14 episodes with the last episode airing on April 8, 1986. During 1986 and 1987, English executive produced and wrote the CBS comedy series My Sister Sam, starring Pam Dawber which lasted for two seasons with 12 episodes that never aired before being cancelled.

In 1988, she created the CBS television series Murphy Brown, for which she won three Emmy Awards (one for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and two for Outstanding Comedy Series).[10][11][12][13] The series ran from 1988 to 1998 for a total of 247 episodes. It garnered 18 Emmy wins from 62 nominations.[5] In 1992, English stirred up controversy when the title character decided to have a child out of wedlock. Vice president Dan Quayle gave a speech entitled "Reflections on Urban America to the Commonwealth Club of California" on the subject of the Los Angeles riots. In this speech, Quayle blamed the violence on a decay of moral values and family structure in American society. In an aside, he cited the title character in the television program Murphy Brown as an example of how popular culture contributes to this "poverty of values", saying, "It doesn't help matters when prime time TV has Murphy Brown – a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman – mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice'.[14]

English responded with a statement that read: "If the vice president thinks it's disgraceful for an unmarried woman to bear children (out of wedlock), and if he believes that a woman cannot adequately raise a child without a father, then he'd better make sure abortion remains safe and legal." In 2002, Candice Bergen, the actress who played Brown, said "I never have really said much about the whole episode, which was endless, but his speech was a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did." This controversy along with the shifting times of that decade touched off a debate over the meaning of "family values" of Americans during that election year in which Bill Clinton and Al Gore ran against George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle.[citation needed]

During the success of Murphy Brown, her company, with Joel Shukovsky, Shukovsky English Entertainment, had set up a deal with CBS for a non-exclusive deal, giving them exclusive syndicated rights to future Shukovsky/English series, in 1991.[15]

English also created the comedy series Love & War (1992–1995), starring Susan Dey and Jay Thomas - Annie Potts replaced Dey after the first season. Other series she co-created and/or executive produced include Double Rush (1995), Ink (1996), and The Louie Show, starring Louie Anderson (1996), and Living in Captivity (1998). Unfortunately, none of the series were picked up for more than a single season with The Louie Show lasting six episodes. As for Ink, she took over the role from Jeffrey Lane, who initially came up with the concept of the series.[16]

In 2008, English wrote, produced and directed The Women, her feature film debut. The comedy, a remake of the 1939 George Cukor film of the same name, stars Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, and Jada Pinkett Smith. It was released to mostly negative reviews but its box office tripled its budget when worldwide markets were factored in.[17] That same year English and the ensemble cast of The Women were honored with the Women in Film Crystal award[18] which honors women in communications and media.

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Lathe of Heaven Writer Television Movie
1984 Her Life as a Man Writer Television Movie
1984 Call to Glory Writer Episode: "The Move"
1985–1986 Foley Square Writer, Producer Creator/Producer (14 episodes)
Writer (6 episodes)
– "Make My Day" (1985)
– "Court-ship" (1986)
– "The Longest Weekend" (1986)
– "Nobody's Perfect" (1986)
– "Kid Stuff" (1986)
– "24 Hours" (1986)
1986 Classified Love Writer Television Movie
1987–1988 My Sister Sam Writer, Producer Executive Producer (7 episodes)
Writer (6 episodes)
– "Jingle Bell Rock Bottom" (1986)
– "Exposed" (1987)
– "Goodbye, Steve" (1987)
– "And They Said It Would Never Last" (1987)
– "Ol' Green Eyes Is Back" (1988)
– "It's My Party and I'll Kill If I Want To" (1988)
1988–1998
2018 		Murphy Brown Writer, Producer Creator (249 episodes)
Executive Producer (24 episodes)
Writer (21 episodes)
– "Respect" (1988)
– "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" (1988)
– "Murphy's Pony" (1988)
– "Set Me Free" (1988)
– "Mama Said" (1989)
– "The Summer of '77" (1989)
– "The Brothers Silverberg" (1989)
– "Brown Like Me: Part 1" (1989)
– "Brown Like Me: Part 2" (1989)
– "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" (1990)
– "Goin' to the Chapel: Part 1" (1990)
– "Goin' to the Chapel: Part 2" (1990)
– "The 390th Broadcast" (1990)
– "Bob & Murphy & Ted & Avery" (1990)
– "On Another Plane: Part 1" (1990)
– "On Another Plane: Part 2" (1990)
– "Full Circle" (1991)
– "Birth 101" (1992)
– "Never Can Say Goodbye: Part 1" (1998)
– "Never Can Say Goodbye: Part 2" (1998)
– "I (Don't) Heart Huckabee" (2018)

[19][20]

1992–1995 Love & War Writer, Producer Creator (67 episodes)
Executive Producer (25 episodes)
Writer (8 episodes)
– "Love Is Hell" (1992)
– "Step Two" (1992)
– "For John" (1992)
– "Friends and Relations" (1993)
– "Just in Time" (1993)
– "You Make Me Feel So Young" (1994)
– "The Morning After the Night Before" (1994)
– "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and a Cat" (1995)

[21]

1995 Double Rush Writer, Producer Creator/Producer (13 episodes)
Episode: "The Episode Formerly Known as Prince"
1996–1997 Ink Writer, Producer Creator/Executive Producer (22 episodes)
Episode: "Above the Fold"
1998 Living in Captivity Producer Executive Producer (8 episodes)
2008 The Women Writer, Producer, Director Adapted from the play/remake of the film
Screenplay [22]
TBR Timbuktu Writer, Director Screenplay

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Title Result Notes
2011 Writers Guild of America Paddy Chayefsky Award Won [7]
2008 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards Crystal Award Won [6]
1997 Banff Television Festival Award of Excellence Won
1999 Writers Guild of America Episodic Comedy Murphy Brown Nominated
1993 Episodic Comedy (shared with Korby Siamis) Won [23][24]
1992 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (shared with Korby Siamis) Nominated [10]
Outstanding Comedy Series (for producing) Won [10]
1991 Writers Guild of America Episodic Comedy Won [25]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Nominated [10]
Outstanding Comedy Series (for producing) Nominated [10]
1990 Writers Guild of America Episodic Comedy Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Nominated [12]
Outstanding Comedy Series (for producing) Won [11]
1989 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Won [10]
Outstanding Comedy Series (for producing) Nominated [10]
1981 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation The Lathe of Heaven Nominated

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Diane English

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Diane English (born May 18, 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known for creating the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown, which premiered in 1988 and ran for ten seasons, earning her three Emmy Awards for outstanding writing and producing. English began her television career in public broadcasting at WNET before writing for primetime series such as Foley Square (1985) and My Sister Sam (1986), eventually executive producing Murphy Brown, a satirical depiction of broadcast journalism starring Candice Bergen as the titular investigative reporter. The series addressed contentious social topics, including the protagonist's choice to become a single mother, which provoked widespread debate and criticism from Vice President Dan Quayle, who in a 1992 speech accused the show of valorizing illegitimacy and undermining family stability amid rising out-of-wedlock birth rates. Beyond television, English adapted and directed the 2008 film remake The Women, an all-female cast update of the 1939 Clare Boothe Luce play, and received honors including the Writers Guild of America’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award in 2011 for advancing television writing.

Early life and education

Childhood and family background

Diane English was born on May 18, 1948, in , to Anne English and Richard English, an electrical engineer. Her upbringing occurred in a Buffalo household marked by her father's , which created a difficult parent-child dynamic characterized by emotional strain and instability. This familial dysfunction, observed through direct personal experience, contributed to English's early development of resilience, as she navigated the challenges of an alcoholic parent's behavior without external romanticization of hardship. Growing up in Buffalo, English attended local institutions including School 56 and the private Nardin Academy, where the city's industrial environment provided a backdrop for her initial encounters with narrative forms. These years exposed her to the realities of family limitations, fostering an innate interest in dramatic expression as a means of processing observed tensions, though formal pursuits in theater and emerged more prominently during her later . The causal link between such household instability and her emerging creative inclinations lies in the empirical pattern of seeking control through amid uncontrollable domestic variables, evident in retrospective accounts of her formative motivations.

Academic pursuits and initial career steps

English earned a degree in from Buffalo State College, graduating in 1970, while also taking playwriting classes that sparked her interest in . Despite familial encouragement toward stable , her exposure to drama and scriptwriting highlighted limitations in conventional academia, prompting a pivot toward media's unstructured storytelling potential. Following graduation, English taught high school English and drama in Buffalo for approximately one year, gaining practical experience in education but finding the role constraining compared to her aspirations in narrative creation. This brief tenure, focused on sophomores, underscored her preference for dynamic expression over rote instruction, leading her to save earnings and relocate to in 1971 at the urging of a college professor who recognized her writing talent. In New York, English began with administrative work as a secretary for Jac Venza at , a affiliate, before advancing to story editor on The Theatre in America, marking her initial foray into script development and theater-related production without formal credits. This entry-level role in public television bridged her teaching background with emerging media opportunities, emphasizing hands-on involvement in adapting plays for broadcast over academic theorizing.

Professional career

Entry into television writing and producing

Diane English's entry into television writing began in 1980 with her co-authorship of the PBS teleplay for , an adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk, marking 's first full-length original TV movie. The project, starring as the protagonist whose dreams alter reality, earned English her initial recognition and demonstrated her ability to handle complex, speculative narratives in a constrained format. Relocating to on her agent's advice, English transitioned to network television in the mid-1980s, scripting multiple TV movies—three of which aired—before focusing on sitcoms. She created and produced Foley Square (1986–1987), a CBS comedy starring as a young assistant navigating legal cases and personal life, which aired 15 episodes and highlighted workplace challenges for professional women through witty, character-driven dialogue. English also contributed as a and to My Sister Sam (1986–1988), another CBS series featuring as a mentoring her teenage half-sister, further honing her skills in blending humor with relational dynamics amid the era's expanding opportunities for female-centric stories. These short-lived but critically noted efforts established her reputation for incisive scripting on gender and ambition. English's producing role solidified through her collaboration with husband Joel Shukovsky, whom she met in the early 1970s at New York public station and married soon after; Shukovsky, with his background in and promotions, managed the and technical aspects, enabling English to emphasize creative control. This partnership, formalized in their joint ventures during the 1980s, leveraged the decade's television shift toward serialized comedies exploring evolving social norms, including women's professional independence, as seen in contemporaneous hits like , though English's contributions remained distinct in their satirical edge on urban female experiences.

Creation and success of Murphy Brown (1988–1998)

, created by Diane English, premiered on on November 14, 1988, centering on the eponymous character portrayed by as a hard-nosed investigative emerging from rehabilitation for and resuming her role at the fictional news magazine program. English drew from her background in television writing to craft a blending workplace dynamics among the newsroom staff with sharp commentary on journalistic ethics and personal foibles. The series featured recurring elements such as Murphy's confrontations with network executives and her interactions with colleagues, including producer Miles Silverberg and reporter Corky Sherwood, establishing archetypes of the tenacious female lead in a male-dominated field. English's concept emphasized within a environment, integrating real-time events like the into episodes to mirror broadcast journalism's immediacy and biases, as seen in storylines where FYI covered international conflicts alongside domestic policy debates. This approach allowed the show to evolve beyond standard formulas, incorporating topical humor on figures from references to contemporary political scandals, which resonated with audiences seeking intelligent comedy. Over its ten-season run, concluding on May 18, 1998, with 247 episodes, the program maintained narrative consistency by advancing character arcs, such as Murphy's professional rivalries and romantic entanglements, while adapting to shifting media landscapes. The series achieved substantial commercial success, averaging 14.5 million viewers per episode during its early years and frequently ranking in the top 10 Nielsen-rated programs, particularly in seasons anchored by strong time-slot competition. Critically, garnered 62 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, securing 18 wins, including Outstanding Comedy Series for the 1988–1989 season, with earning five consecutive wins for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series from 1989 to 1993. These accolades underscored the show's influence on television , popularizing quotable dialogue and character-driven that permeated cultural discussions on roles without relying on overt preachiness.

Subsequent television and film projects

Following the original run of Murphy Brown, Diane English partnered with her then-husband Joel Shukovsky to create the CBS sitcom Love & War, which premiered on September 21, 1992, and centered on romantic tensions and ensemble interactions in a bar and restaurant owned by the female lead. The series, initially starring as restaurateur Wally Porter opposite Jay Thomas's columnist Jack Stein, transitioned to in the lead role after the first season amid cast changes, ultimately airing for three seasons and 68 episodes before cancellation in 1995 due to fluctuating ratings and network scheduling adjustments. In 1995, English co-created Double Rush with Stephen Nathan for CBS, a workplace comedy depicting the chaotic operations of a New York bike messenger service under owner Johnny (Robert ), featuring supporting performances by and ; the show lasted only 13 episodes, hampered by mediocre reviews and competition in an evolving television market favoring edgier formats. English shifted to feature films with her directorial debut The Women in 2008, adapting Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 play and the 1939 film into a contemporary all-female ensemble piece starring as Mary Haines, a New York socialite navigating infidelity, career ambitions, and female solidarity amid betrayals by friends like those played by and . Despite a high-profile cast and emphasis on professional women's dilemmas in a male-absent , the film earned mixed for its dialogue-heavy style and lack of male characters, grossing approximately $26.9 million domestically against an $18 million production budget, reflecting underwhelming commercial performance relative to expectations for its star power and marketing as an empowerment tale. These projects highlighted English's continued exploration of witty female-centric stories but faced challenges from shifting audience preferences toward serialized dramas and reality programming in the late and broadcast landscape.

Revival of Murphy Brown (2018)

CBS ordered a 13-episode revival of on January 24, 2018, reuniting creator Diane English with star for the 2018-2019 broadcast season. The series updated its workplace satire to address contemporary issues, including the in episodes like "#MurphyToo," immigration policies such as DACA, "," and political events tied to the Trump administration, such as Russian interference and media labeling as "enemies of the people." The revival premiered on September 27, 2018, drawing 7.4 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic per Nielsen measurements. Viewership and demographic ratings declined steadily thereafter, with the series averaging lower numbers than prior occupants of its 9:30 p.m. slot and marking CBS's weakest block performance that fall. canceled the show after its single season on May 10, 2019, citing insufficient audience retention amid broader network struggles with veteran series ratings. Contemporary reviews highlighted the revival's challenges in an oversaturated media landscape dominated by daily political satire on late-night programs and cable news, where anti-Trump commentary had become commonplace following successes like the Roseanne revival's higher initial ratings of 18.2 million viewers. Critics consensus pointed to tonal issues, including perceived preachiness and sanctimoniousness that favored applause lines over comedic timing, rendering episodes smug rather than sharp. This approach, combined with dated sitcom mechanics ill-suited to rapid news cycles, contributed to the measurable failure in sustaining viewer engagement as tracked by Nielsen data.

Personal life

Marriage and divorce

Diane English married television producer Joel Shukovsky in 1977. The couple formed the production company Shukovsky English Entertainment, collaborating on multiple projects that enhanced their joint output in the industry. Their partnership included co-executive producing Murphy Brown from 1988 to 1998 and Love & War from 1992 to 1993, with shared credits that facilitated efficient development and management of these series during English's rise in network television. English and Shukovsky had no children. They divorced in 2010, following a filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court in February 2009.

Family and personal influences

Diane English's creative motivations were profoundly shaped by her family dynamics, particularly the challenges posed by her father's during her childhood in . In a 2023 , she recounted how this difficult relationship instilled a drive for and resilience, serving as raw material for her depictions of complex, imperfect individuals confronting personal adversities without romanticized resolutions. These experiences informed her approach to character development, prioritizing causal realism—drawing directly from lived struggles to craft authentic narratives rather than sanitized tales of empowerment. Post-divorce from her first husband, English has shared scant details about children or , maintaining a deliberate that echoes the self-reliant of her protagonists. This emphasis on personal , unburdened by traditional familial structures, underscores her worldview, where individual agency emerges from navigating real hardships rather than external validations. No public records or interviews indicate she has children, reinforcing a life oriented toward professional solitude and introspective influences over expansive .

Controversies and public debates

Dan Quayle criticism and the single motherhood controversy

In his speech to the on May 19, 1992, Vice President criticized an episode of in which the titular character, a successful television , chooses to bear and raise a child out of wedlock without a . Quayle argued that the portrayal glamorized single motherhood as a mere "lifestyle choice," thereby mocking the societal importance of fathers and contributing to broader family breakdown, which he linked to urban unrest such as the recent Los Angeles riots. He contended that such depictions ignored the tangible disadvantages faced by children in fatherless homes, including higher risks of poverty, educational failure, and criminal involvement, echoing concerns raised decades earlier in Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 report on the destabilizing effects of rising single-parent families in urban communities. Diane English, the show's creator, defended the storyline in a statement shortly after the speech, asserting that policies restricting out-of-wedlock births would represent undue intrusion into personal decisions, and framing Quayle's critique as an attack on women's autonomy. During her acceptance speech for Outstanding Comedy Series at the on August 30, 1992, English directly addressed detractors by declaring, "If you want to blame for the state of the American , go ahead—blame me," positioning the show as a celebration of independent womanhood rather than a promoter of irresponsibility. Supporters of the episode, including many in outlets, praised it for normalizing single motherhood as a viable path for professional women, viewing Quayle's remarks as emblematic of outdated patriarchal values that undervalued female self-reliance. Quayle's position aligned with empirical evidence documenting adverse outcomes for children in single-parent households, which subsequent studies have corroborated. For instance, children in single-parent face poverty rates over three times higher than those in two-parent —31.7% versus 9.5% in 2021 data from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Longitudinal analyses, including those from the Institute for Family Studies, indicate that cities with high single-parenthood rates exhibit total crime rates 48% above those with low rates, attributing this partly to reduced paternal involvement and economic instability rather than mere socioeconomic correlation. Research from the and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further links single-parent structures to elevated risks of youth violence victimization and mortality, underscoring causal pathways from family disruption to intergenerational disadvantage that predate and extend beyond the Murphy Brown controversy. Conservative commentators reinforced Quayle's critique by arguing that media glamorization obscures these data-driven realities, potentially exacerbating fragmentation, while liberal responses emphasized and dismissed statistical correlations as products of systemic inequities rather than parental structure itself. The episode's , however, reflected English's intent to portray single motherhood as compatible with professional success, a view that garnered acclaim for challenging traditional norms but which empirical trends—such as persistent gaps in child outcomes persisting across racial and economic lines—suggest may overlook the stabilizing role of two-parent involvement. coverage largely amplified defenses of the show, often portraying Quayle as , though this framing has been critiqued for sidelining from and academic sources in favor of cultural .

Political satire and perceived liberal bias in her work

Diane English's Murphy Brown series featured political satire that consistently targeted conservative positions and figures, such as in the Season 6 episode "Political Correctness," where staff comments led to mandatory sensitivity training satirizing overreach in progressive norms while portraying conservative resistance as outdated. Similarly, Season 4's "Send in the Clowns" drew from the hearings, with Murphy lecturing a panel on , emphasizing feminist critiques of institutional power without parallel examination of liberal policy flaws. These arcs, alongside jabs at Republican policies, lacked equivalent right-leaning counterpoints or self-satire of left-wing excesses, fostering perceptions of one-sided liberal advocacy as observed by contemporary conservative analysts who described the FYI team as "liberal journalists who regularly attack conservatives and their causes." The original run's unabashedly liberal tone, prioritizing pro-feminist and anti-conservative narratives, aligned with English's vision but contributed to critiques of imbalance, where reinforced partisan divides rather than bridging them through even-handed scrutiny. Episode analyses highlight this asymmetry: while conservative targets like vice-presidential critiques dominated, liberal-leaning media hypocrisy or policy shortcomings received minimal ribbing, reflecting broader patterns in network comedy that privileged empirical left-wing cultural shifts without causal pushback on their societal impacts. In the 2018 revival, English amplified this approach with Trump-centric episodes, explicitly motivated by the administration's perceived and demeaning of women, as she articulated in interviews. Content like Murphy's feuds with Trump and parodies of rally violence shifted satire toward overt , drawing for preachiness and dated partisanship that prioritized applause over nuanced humor amid polarized media landscapes. English openly stated the show would not court conservative viewers, acknowledging limited appeal to that demographic. This intentional exclusion exacerbated audience fragmentation, with the revival averaging 6.5 million viewers per —far below original peaks—and leading to cancellation after one 13- on May 10, 2019. Such outcomes mirrored empirical trends in partisan media consumption, where perceived liberal bias in entertainment prompted conservatives to disengage, deepening cultural rifts as evidenced by studies showing Republican audiences abandoning outlets viewed as ideologically slanted. Rather than advancing balanced , the work's unreciprocated reinforced echo chambers, prioritizing ideological affirmation over comedic universality.

Awards, recognition, and legacy

Major awards and nominations

Diane English's most significant accolades stem from her creation and production of Murphy Brown, which earned her three . In 1989, she won the for the series' pilot episode. She also received the as an executive producer in 1990 and again in 1992. These wins reflect the series' critical acclaim during its peak years, with English credited alongside other producers for the show's sharp satirical writing and ensemble performance. Beyond Emmys, English garnered recognition from the . She won the WGA Award for Episodic Comedy in 1993 for a episode. In 2011, the honored her with the Laurel Award for Television, acknowledging her lifetime contributions to television writing, particularly through 's influence on workplace comedies. Her 2008 film The Women received the Women in Film Crystal Award, shared with its ensemble cast, for excellence in promoting women in film. However, it earned no major Academy Award or Golden Globe nominations. English's later projects, including the 2018 Murphy Brown revival, generated few notable award nominations, underscoring that her recognition concentrated on the original series' run from 1988 to 1998.
YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1989Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Writing for a Comedy SeriesMurphy Brown (pilot)Won
1990Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Comedy SeriesMurphy BrownWon
1992Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Comedy SeriesMurphy BrownWon
1993Writers Guild of America AwardEpisodic ComedyMurphy BrownWon
2008Women in Film Crystal AwardExcellence in FilmThe WomenWon
2011WGAW Paddy Chayefsky Laurel AwardLifetime Achievement in Television WritingCareer (primarily Murphy Brown)Won

Long-term cultural and professional impact

Diane English's creation of Murphy Brown contributed to a shift in television sitcoms toward portraying ambitious, independent female protagonists, departing from earlier stereotypes of women primarily in domestic roles. The series, which aired from 1988 to 1998, featured a hard-nosed who prioritized career over traditional family structures, influencing subsequent comedies with multifaceted female characters, such as those in Tina Fey's (2006–2013), where leads balanced professional drive with personal flaws. This portrayal aligned with a wave of feminist-leaning television that emphasized women's agency in workplaces historically dominated by men, building on predecessors like (1970–1977). However, the normalization of single motherhood in Murphy Brown—exemplified by the protagonist's decision to raise a alone—has drawn retrospective scrutiny for potentially downplaying empirical risks associated with family fragmentation. Children in single-parent households are six times more likely to live in than those in two-parent , with long-term effects including higher dropout rates and persistent economic . Single motherhood rates in the U.S. rose from 22% of births in 1990 to over 40% by 2018, correlating with increased family instability metrics like elevated and behavioral issues, prompting analysts to argue that cultural endorsements like English's overlooked causal links between family structure and outcomes. While praised by some for empowering women against societal pressures to marry, critics contend it fostered media narratives that prioritized individual choice over aggregate data on child well-being, contributing to polarized views on gender roles without addressing trade-offs. English's professional in the industry appears limited, with her influence manifesting more through direct production roles than widespread of successors, contrasting with figures who established formal pipelines for emerging writers. Her impact peaked in the feminist TV surge but waned in fostering sustained innovation, as later shows often recycled empowered-lead tropes amid broader genre fragmentation. Retrospective assessments highlight this as emblematic of episodic cultural shifts rather than transformative structural change in comedy writing.

Critical reception and retrospective assessments

The original Murphy Brown series received widespread acclaim for its sharp wit, ensemble chemistry, and willingness to address social issues like , cancer, and single motherhood through humor rather than preachiness. Critics highlighted creator Diane English's ability to craft a flawed yet resilient female protagonist in Candice Bergen's portrayal, drawing comparisons to irascible male leads like while proving women could anchor sitcoms with edge and irreverence. Early seasons earned strong aggregate scores, with Season 1 holding a 100% approval on based on nine reviews praising its potential as a winner despite needing refinement. In contrast, the 2018 revival faced predominantly negative reviews, with a score of 54 indicating mixed-to-poor reception amid complaints of irrelevance, forced topicality, and a shift toward applause-seeking commentary over genuine laughs. Outlets described it as heavy-handed in engaging contemporary , prioritizing feistiness against the Trump era at the expense of the original's nuanced flaws and unapologetic talent. Variety noted the series' eagerness to comment on current events but critiqued its loose handling of specifics, rendering it more strident than satirical. Retrospective assessments position English's work as emblematic of liberal-leaning Hollywood television, innovative in elevating female voices but hampered by an overemphasis on ideological messaging that prioritized partisan jabs—such as routine attacks on conservatives—over universal humor, contributing to its dated appeal today. Conservative media analysts have long identified such patterns in shows like , where journalistic characters embodied a liberal worldview that skewed portrayals of political opponents, reflecting broader systemic left-wing bias in network programming documented by groups like the . This hindsight reveals how the series' cultural impact, while pioneering for women-led comedy, often subordinated comedic universality to advocacy, limiting its timelessness compared to apolitical peers.

References

  1. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/76230-diane-english?language=en-US
  2. https://bendintheroadprod.com/bio-1
  3. https://awards.wga.org/awards/awards-recipients/laurel-awards/tv-laurel-award/diane-english
  4. https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/diane-english
  5. https://www.lifestories.org/interviewees/diane-english
  6. https://scriptmag.com/features/recap-the-writers-guild-foundation-presents-diane-english
  7. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0257606/
  8. https://murphybrown.fandom.com/wiki/Diane_English
  9. https://library.buffalostate.edu/c.php?g=1154832
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Z-rLFFeG8
  11. https://www.facebook.com/groups/30353137398/posts/10156142042667399/
  12. https://getinthegroove.com/in-conversation-diane-english/
  13. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/09/21/diane-english-joel-shukovsky-the-duo-behind-love-war/
  14. https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-5/english-diane
  15. https://variety.com/2011/tv/news/fearlessness-powers-diane-english-1118031213/
  16. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/d-diane-english-diane-debella
  17. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-20-ca-1664-story.html
  18. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094514/
  19. https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/news/diane-english-on-murphy-brown-my-sister-sam-and-more
  20. https://tvcatchup.com.au/show/channel-9/murphy-brown/
  21. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/12/30/murphy-brown-candice-bergen-encore/4061159/
  22. https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/murphy-brown-by-the-numbers
  23. https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/2019/09/19/tv-shows-with-the-most-emmy-wins-of-all-time/40075175/
  24. https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/love-war-1200433282/
  25. https://variety.com/2011/film/awards/fearlessness-powers-diane-english-1118031213/
  26. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430770/
  27. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Women-The-%282008%29
  28. https://deadline.com/2018/01/murphy-brown-revival-candice-bergen-creator-diane-english-cbs-2018-2019-season-1202267897/
  29. https://ew.com/tv/2018/01/24/murphy-brown-returning-to-cbs/
  30. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/arts/television/murphy-brown-candice-bergen.html
  31. https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/murphy-brown-cbs-donald-trump-metoo-alex-jones-1201991255/
  32. https://mashable.com/article/murphy-brown-revival-metoo-donald-trump
  33. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/murphy-brown-premiere-tv-ratings-sept-27-2018-1147698/
  34. https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/murphy-brown-ratings-cbs-1202960511/
  35. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/murphy-brown-revival-canceled-at-cbs-1208759/
  36. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/arts/television/murphy-brown-reboot-review.html
  37. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/09/27/murphy-brown-revival-review-cbs-candice-bergen-makes-shaky-return/1420055002/
  38. https://deadline.com/2018/09/murphy-brown-review-recap-candice-bergen-donald-trump-diane-english-cbs-1202471678/
  39. https://variety.com/2018/tv/reviews/murphy-brown-review-1202957150/
  40. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0257606/bio/
  41. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1993/03/21/diane-english-and-joel-shukovsky/c728bffd-bdcf-4f7c-9a93-de8f6461a821/
  42. https://unicourt.com/case/ca-la2-diane-english-vs-joel-shukovsky-779527
  43. https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/quayle-murphy-brown-speech-text-2/
  44. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/moynihan-report-1965/
  45. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/27/how-dan-quayles-speech-about-black-poverty-became-murphy-brown-speech/
  46. https://publicapologycentral.com/apologia-archive/political-2/dan-quayle-murphy-brown/
  47. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/arts/television/murphy-brown-dan-quayle.html
  48. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/statistical-briefing-book/population/faqs/qa01203
  49. https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/reports/ifs-strongerfamilies-final-1.pdf
  50. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7466844/
  51. https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/commentary/daniel-patrick-moynihans-unheeded-warning-about-the-collapse-the
  52. https://www.educationnext.org/moynihan-and-the-single-parent-family/
  53. https://archive.org/details/murphy-brown-s06E04-political-correctness
  54. https://jacksonupperco.com/2017/03/07/the-ten-best-murphy-brown-episodes-of-season-four/
  55. https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/3/18928896/conservative-tv-critic-targets-liberals/
  56. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/9/27/17903826/murphy-brown-review-cbs-candice-bergen-explained
  57. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/22/entertainment/dan-quayle-murphy-brown-cat-ladies-cec
  58. https://thefederalist.com/2018/10/02/new-murphy-brown-just-biased-touch-last-one/
  59. https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/liberal-critics-murphy-brown-trump/
  60. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2018/09/26/the-new-politics-of-television-how-murphy-brown-breaks-barriers-again/
  61. https://news.uga.edu/study-finds-fragmentation-of-tv-news-audiences-along-party-lines/
  62. https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/1989/outstanding-writing-for-a-comedy-series
  63. https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/1990/outstanding-comedy-series
  64. https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/1992/outstanding-comedy-series
  65. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0257606/awards/
  66. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/diane-english-women-receive-wif-113994/
  67. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2018/03/26/how-murphy-brown-paved-way-women-television
  68. https://medium.com/cinemania/diane-english-and-candice-bergen-made-feminism-politics-and-journalism-funny-313f644d2747
  69. https://time.com/5180885/murphy-brown-legacy-politics/
  70. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/04/dan-quayle-was-right/307015/
  71. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/twenty-years-later-it-turns-out-dan-quayle-was-right-about-murphy-brown-and-unmarried-moms/
  72. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/single-motherhood-in-america-has-soared-since-murphy-browns-feud-with-dan-quayle-2018-01-25
  73. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/arts/television-radio-in-comedies-signs-of-a-new-women-s-movement.html
  74. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/murphy_brown/s01
  75. https://www.goldderby.com/tv/2018/murphy-brown-reviews-revival-donald-trump-news-408697153/
  76. https://www.mrc.org/journalists-admitting-liberal-bias-part-one
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.