“Murphy Brown” is keeping up with the times.
Speaking Saturday at Paleyfest NY, series star Candice Bergen discussed how the show’s writers have given the CBS reboot a millennial touch.
“The new writers, they’re younger, so we know now what things like ‘woke’ mean,” Bergen, 72, said, noting that seven out of the 10 writers on the show are from the original series, which first debuted in 1988.
“That was a big advantage because they’re so familiar with the characters, and the rhythms of the show, the type of humor,” she added.
The current series, which premiered last month, has made those attributes fit for modern day, where the #MeToo movement, the Trump administration, female empowerment and diversity are at the forefront.
“We had a pretty white show,” said sitcom creator Diane English, who also took part in the conversation at the Paley Center for Media, which was moderated by entertainment corespondent Chris Witherspoon.
“When we came back, we decided we weren’t going to make that mistake again,” she added, mentioning actress Merle Dandridge will play a high-powered executive in future episodes.
As for casting an actual TV personality today, Bergen said the “Daily Show’s” Trevor Noah and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow are at the top of her list.
“I’m just shocked you know who Trevor Noah is,” English replied.
While it remains to be seen if Noah will one day share the spotlight with Bergen, the cast and crew had nothing but kind words for former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who had a cameo in the September premiere.
“It was a heavy veil of secrecy,” Bergen said of Clinton’s appearance. “We had a lot riding on nobody finding out.”
She also said Clinton was “very gracious,” and joked that the former First Lady “corrected me on my lines.”