Diane English gives capable women permission to be difficult, and Murphy Brown makes that a good basis for comedy. We rate her writing most when it trusts the character, least when it reaches for a routine.
Fi1m perspective
In Murphy Brown (1988), Candice Bergen plays a professional whose confidence can make her exhausting company. Diane English allows that to be funny without continually assuring us that there is a nicer woman underneath. We warmed to Murphy more than we expected, because Bergen makes her competence as convincing as her self-importance. The series is good workplace comedy, though its leading character is sharper than some of the material surrounding her. The pleasure is in watching her encounter people who have judgements of their own.
English's earlier writing was not confined to sitcoms. She wrote the telefilm The Lathe of Heaven (1980), adapted from Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, before creating Foley Square (1985). She went on to create Love & War (1992) and to make her feature directing debut with The Women (2008). She also wrote and produced that remake of George Cukor's 1939 film. Murphy Brown returned in 2018, though the original remains the work on which our recommendation rests.
English's research with journalists including Dan Rather and Diane Sawyer helps explain the attention to professional competence. Murphy has a job she can do, rather than a job supplied simply to put a sitcom character in an office. English also leaves actors room to contribute, and Bergen's unsentimental performance is particularly well suited to the writing. She does not make Murphy's ego a problem that needs correcting before the audience can enjoy her. That is a useful freedom for a comic lead.
The weaker material is easy to recognise: secretary gags, musical routines and stretches where the jokes become broad. These matter because a convincing central character cannot make every routine worth the time. English has found enough comedy in Murphy's certainty without needing quite so many diversions, and the writing is less assured when it wanders away from her. At 24 minutes an episode, the series asks for a manageable commitment, which helps when a joke takes longer to get where it is going than we would like. Start with the original Murphy Brown if an abrasive colleague sounds like good company for an evening, and keep some patience for the songs.
Biography
Diane English is an American screenwriter, producer and director. She created the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–1998, with a 2018 revival), on which she also served as writer and executive producer. The series received 18 Primetime Emmy Awards from 62 nominations.
English began her career in public television at WNET in New York. She wrote the 1980 PBS television film The Lathe of Heaven and created earlier series including Foley Square (1985) and My Sister Sam (1986–1988). She wrote, directed and produced the 2008 feature film The Women. She was married to her frequent producing partner Joel Shukovsky from 1977 until their divorce in 2010.
