Welcome to Season 3!
Sharon and Susan kick off a new season with Jennifer Keishan Armstrong, the New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything, When Women Invented Television, Sex and the City and Us, and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted. 

Jennifer writes about entertainment and pop culture for the New York Times Book Review, Fast Company, Vulture, BBC Culture, and Entertainment Weekly. Her latest book So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We're Still So Obsessed with It) was published this year.

In this fascinating interview, Jennifer takes us behind the scenes with four different women who, in their own ways, invented television: Irma Phillips, Hazel Scott, Gertrude Berg -- and Betty White. Each of them faced sexism -- and racism -- but triumphed during a time when opportunities for women in television were limited -- but strangely also more open than you may think….

THE CONVERSATION

• How The Mary Tyler Moore Show gave a voice to women everywhere when they gave a voice to a host of female TV writers.
• The Oprah of the 1950’s was… Gertrude Berg?
• The Beyoncé of the 1940s was... reknowned Black jazz pianist, Hazel Scott.
• Find out how Scott became the first Black person to host a national primetime  television show -- in 1950.
• The character of Suanne Nivens that Betty White played on The Mary Tyler Moore Show was based on a woman who did a LIVE Homemaking Show played by… Betty White!
• Irma Phillips was asked to make something that would appeal to women -- so she invented the Soap Opera.
• Phillips created As The World Turns -- AND the longest running show of all time, The Guiding Light.
• Gertrude Berg’s ground-breaking sitcom about a Jewish family -- The Goldbergs -- was so successful that it was considered to be the lead-in for a new, untested show that might need some help -- I Love Lucy.
• Why was 1955 the death knell of women working in television -- both in front of AND behind the camera?
• According to network executives in 1969, what were the THREE THINGS Americans didn’t want to see on television?
• How The Mary Tyler Moore Show made Ed Asner a feminist.

So join Susan and Sharon -- and Jennifer -- as they talk “fat farms”, Mean Girls, the Black List, Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Shonda Rhimes, Father Knows Best -- and “On Wednesdays we wear pink”!

AUDIO-OGRAPHY
Find Jennifer Keishan Armstrong at her website, jenniferkarmstrong.com.
Buy The Women Who Invented Television (and all Jennifer’s books) at Bookshop.org.
Find Jennifer on Instagram.

Find Women Who Invented Television at YouTube:
Watch The Betty White Show (1954)
Watch Betty White in her sitcom, Life with Elizabeth.

Learn more about Hazel Scott.
The Goldbergs with Gertrude Berg, Episode: “A Sad Day”
Check out an Irma Phillips episode of The Guiding Light (1952). 

CONNECT
Visit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. 

VOTE
We're NOMINATED for Best Film & TV Podcast.
Please VOTE for 80s TV Ladies at Women in Podcasting Awards.
REMEMBER: Register or Check your US Election Registration at Vote.org

This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. 

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

In this special bonus episode, Susan, Sharon and Melissa spill a few secrets about our upcoming season and fun guests coming soon to 80s TV Ladies. Can you guess what female-driven television shows from the 1980s we’ll be covering in our upcoming season?

THE CONVERSATION

• Do we know what we did this summer? How was your summer?
• What is that feeling in the air? Is it hope?!! Are you ready to Vote?
• Does Melissa even want to talk about her summer?
• Okay, for real: what shows are we gonna cover in Season THREE?!
• Can you guess the shows?
  • The Vickie Lawrence-starring, Carol Burnett Show spin-off sitcom, Mama’s Family.
  • You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have… The Facts of Life.
  • Yes! And finally yes: The Golden Girls!

• What are the recurring themes we are discovering through Season 1 and 2 interviews?
• Yes, there will be more special series guests this season: More Director Ladies, Star Trek Ladies, Stunt Ladies and more surprises!

So join us as we spill Season Three secrets about what guests we will for sure be talking to: like Mama’s Family’s Dorothy Lyman and Eric Brown, women in television expert and pop-culture author, Jennifer Keishan Armstrong. And can you guess who will be our very special guest from The Golden Girls?

AUDIO-OGRAPHY
Read about our first guest for Season 3: Jennifer Keishan Armstrong at jenniferkarmstrong.com 
Get info on Jennifer’s books and prep for episode 301:

• Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic at Jennifer's website. 
• When Women Invented Television by Jennifer Keishan Armstrong at Bookshop. At Barnes & Noble. At Amazon.

CONNECT
Visit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.

VOTE
We're NOMINATED for Best Entertainment Podcast. Please VOTE for 80s TV Ladies in the Entertainment category at Women in Podcasting Awards.

REMEMBER: Register or Check your US Election Registration at Vote.org
This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“I was quite set on theater. I was going to go out to Los Angeles for one year -- and that was it. Then I was going to go back to New York and devote myself to the theater. It didn’t work out that way.” -- Jan Eliasberg

80s TV Ladies "Director Ladies" series continues as Susan and Sharon welcome legendary director Jan Eliasberg. Jan began her television director career in the 1980s with an episode of Cagney & Lacey -- and she went on to be the first female director ever on Miami Vice, Crime Story and 21 Jump Street. She has also directed episodes of Dirty Dancing, L.A. Law, Dawson’s Creek, Party of Five, Sisters, Parenthood, Nashville, Supernatural, Bull and NCIS: Los Angeles. Jan recently published her first novel, Hannah’s War.

In this enlightening conversation, Jan discusses how the American Film Institute (AFI) and “The Original Six” opened up opportunities for her and other female directors; how to navigate directing a network television show for the first time -- and how courage, tenacity and little guile can make all the difference …

THE CONVERSATION

• How do you get 10,000 hours of experience when directing requires so much time, money and people: Europe or Yale?
• What can Shakespeare and Ibsen teach you about directing TV? Everything…
• Frances McDormand, Angela Bassett, John Turturo, Tony Shalhoub and Courtney Vance -- how do you quickly figure out what different actors need to create great performances?
• What happens when you direct a play about South African apartheid in St. Louis in the early 1980s?
• On shadowing directors: “I’m already a director -- what am I doing watching these people? I mean, they’re good, but I’m good, too. And that was the kind of confidence -- or maybe you could say arrogance, fearlessness - -that it takes to go into a field that is predominantly male and actually make a dent and get a job.”
• How a twisty game of cat-and-mouse with Barney Rosensweig led to Jan’s first directing gig -- on Cagney & Lacey. (S5, EP13 -- “Act of Conscience”).
• Directing L.A. Law -- and David Kelly’s very first script!
• How asking others for advice is a gift that goes both ways.
• Directing two classic, fan-favorite episodes of Miami Vice.
• Jan gets her first feature film in 1988: How I Got Into College -- but you won’t believe what happened to her on Day Two of filming…
• Past Midnight -- working with the great Rutger Hauer and Natasha Richardson.
• Is the window for women directors opening or closing? Jan gives us her take.

So, join Susan, Sharon -- and Jan -- as they talk Dennis Farina, Michael Moriarty, Rutger Hauer, Paul Giamatti, Daniel Craig, Meg Foster, Sela Ward, Swoosie Kurtz, Kirsten Dunst, George Clooney, Patricia Arquette, Stanley Tucci -- and creamsicles!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more about Jan at JanEliasberg.com.
Buy Jan’s new novel Hannah’s War at Bookshop.
Read Michael Cieply's 1988 article on Jan and other fired women directors at LA Times.  

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Catch 90s TV Baby Serita Fontanesi’s “Not Ugly” podcast at Apple.

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.


Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

The Best Indie Podcast nomination IS the award!

Susan and Sharon thank ALL the listeners who came out to support “80’s TV Ladies” as Best Indie Podcast for the WEBBY AWARDS. A big welcome to all our new listeners! And a sincere thank you to all who voted and to our listeners who reached out.  

BIG THANKS to our friends who shouted us out, including:

• Chris Stachiw from Weirding Way Media Network and the Kulturecast Podcast.
• Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess of the Astonishing Legends podcast.
• Richard Hatem of Richard Hatem’s Paranormal Bookshelf podcast.
• And an extra special thank you to TikTok superstar and creator of Phineas and Ferb, Dan Povenmire, and all his fans.  

All of you went the extra mile to support us and bring new listeners to the show, so THANK YOU!

And of course, the biggest thank you of all -- TO OUR LOYAL FANS!
And listen in on the first official 8TL Mailbag, where we get feedback and answer questions and get feedback from you, our fans! PLUS --  an April 2024 “In Memorium Salute”.

AUDIOGRAPHY 

Check out the Webby Nominee Press Release with our names and Michelle Obama. We’re 26 lines ABOVE Michelle Obama. Just saying.
Watch Matt Baume’s YOUTUBE Channel episode “Bewitched: It Was Gay All Along?”
Listen in on the new podcast, Richard Hatem’s Paranormal Bookshelf
And Chris Stachiw’s movie review podcast, The Kulturecast.
Explore the world of Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess’s Astonishing Legends podcast.
Find Dan Povenmire on TikTok And Twitter.
Watch Hamster and Gretel and Phineas and Ferb.

Abortion access in America is severely limited – if you need help go to Abortionfinder.org.

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Tell us what shows we should cover at 8TL Facebook or via 80sTVLadies.com.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.


Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

Help us win a Webby Award - Vote at WebbyAwards.com.

Vote for 80’s TV Ladies for Best Indie Podcast at the Webby Awards Now!
Voting ends Thursday, April 18th, 2024. Vote: tinyurl.com/vote80tvl

Thanks to our dear friends, Weirding Way Media and Astonishing Legends for all their support!
Cheers and welcome to any Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf fans. 
One Day More!

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BREAKING: 80s TV Ladies has been nominated for a Webby Award! Help us win. VOTE HERE!  

Back to our episode: Sharon and Susan burst into the Blue Moon Detective Agency and hire Maddie and David to help them answer ONE BURNING QUESTION: What are their Top 8 favorite episodes of the entire series?

Maddie: “Eight? Eight? Why not ten?” David: “Can’t do it. It would make them too tens.”  In the words of Miss Dipesto: “We’re never late, we won’t make you wait, but if you want favorite episodes -- you only get eight!”

1) The Pilot (S1; EP 1)
2) The Next Murder You Hear (S1; EP 4)
3) The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice (S2; EP 4)
4) My Fair David (S2; EP 5)
5) ‘Twas The Episode Before Christmas (S2; EP 10)
6) Big Man on Mulberry Street (S3; EP 6)
7) Atomic Shakespeare (but only for one of them!) (S3; EP 7)
8) It’s A Wonderful Job (but only for one of them!) (S3; EP 8)
9) The Straight Poop (S3; EP 9)

THE CONVERSATION

• WHAT WAS HE THINKING? Glen Gordon Caron had a secret plan for what he wanted Moonlighting to do to network television: he wanted to kill the detective genre once and for all!
• Why were the seasons so short? Well, there was a little problem with getting episodes done on time...
• If Maddie was the “parent” and David was the “child” -- did David ever grow up?
• Is the show feminist? Or progressive? Susan and Sharon have thoughts!
• Why is the agency always broke? Maybe it’s all those people in the office who don’t do anything!
• That time when Susan got thrown off the set of The A-Team by George Peppard!
• Which Season of Moonlighting is the Moonlighting-est?
• What the hell happened with Season 4?? Warring stars, a missing showrunner -- and Die Hard!

So join Susan and Sharon as they talk Dirk Benedict, Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Melissa’s candy, The Princess Bride -- and the challenges of producing a show AND a baby at the same time!

AUDIOGRAPHY
What are YOUR favorite Moonlighting episodes?  Let us know!!
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu. On Apple TV or at Amazon Prime Video. 
Check out Moonlighting: The Podcast.
Read Moonlighting: An Episode Guide and Moonlighting: An Oral History. Both ON SALE at Tucker Press.  

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Catch 90s TV Baby Serita Fontanesi’s “Not Ugly” podcast at Apple.
80s TV Ladies is nominated for a Webby Award! Help us win. VOTE HERE!  

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Tell us your fav Moonlighting episodes at 8TL Facebook or via 80sTVLadies.com.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.



Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

Encore! Encore! In celebration of the premiere of Cagney & Lacey 42nd years ago this week, here is a look back at the special Sharon Gless interview we dropped one year ago today! 

Sharon and Susan are at Podcast Movement Evolutions and The Ambies this week! So here's a look back to when they go to sit down with show business legend Sharon Gless. Multi-Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Sharon Gless has appeared in dozens of television shows such as “Nip/Tuck”, “Rizzoli & Isles”, “The Rockford Files”, “House Calls,”The Bob Newhart Show”, “Station 19” and “The Exorcist.” She has created iconic and ground-breaking characters in the shows “Burn Notice”, “Queer as Folk”, “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” and of course “Cagney & Lacey”.

In 2021 she published her bestselling, no-holds-barred autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints”. In this in-depth interview, Sharon Gless talks frankly about feminism, her ongoing friendship with Tyne Daly, her affair, marriage and almost-divorce from Barney Rosenzweig, her struggles with substance abuse and recovery -- and the lasting legacy of the characters she’s played.

THE CONVERSATION

• The moment Sharon Gless knew she wanted to be an actress – and knew she would not fail
• “The first feminist I ever met…” -- Barney Rosenzweig??
• How Cagney and Lacey we’re NEVER friends.
• How Sharon was actually the VERY FIRST person approached to play Christine Cagney – and why she turned it down.
• Earning $186 a week as the last contract player at Universal.
• “The Woman Behind the Woman”: how talent manager Monique James left her position as VP at MCA/Universal to become Sharon’s personal manager – and changed her life.
• Being forced to watch herself on film to learn what she was doing right -- and wrong.
• Hashing out billing, and rehearsing her first table read as Cagney, with Tyne Daly over a bottle of champagne.
• Why Christine Cagney wanted to be first through the door with a gun.
• Improvising and window shopping for the Cagney & Lacey main titles.
• Participating with Tyne Daly and Gloria Steinem in the 2004 Women’s March on Washington –- and seeing the true impact of “Cagney & Lacey” for the first time.
• Being Stephen J. Cannell’s “good luck charm!”
• Falling in love with Debbie Novotny on “Queer as Folk”.

So join Susan, Sharon – and Sharon Gless -- as they talk poker nights with Tyne, the “C”-word, the other “C”-word -- and what did she really say to that flasher??

AUDIOGRAPHY
Official website: SharonGless.com
Sharon Gless Facebook page.

Sharon Gless’ autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints” at Bookshop.
Watch the trailer for Sharon’s Award-winning documentary - Show Her The Money

WHERE TO WATCH
Cagney & Lacey on ROKU. On https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/ad336151b4b45ec2bdc282aaabc29ed9/cagney-and-laceyPLUTO. On Apple TV.
Trials of Rosie O’Neill on Roku. On Amazon Prime.
Queer as Folk on Amazon. On Apple TV.
Burn Notice on HULU. On Apple TV.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for podcast episode transcripts.
Help us AND get ad-free audio, video and other goodies: We're ON PATREON!
https://www.80stvladies.com/

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

The 90’s TV Babies return: Serita Fontanesi, Sergio Perez and Megan Ruble are back to do a little Moonlighting! Do you agree with the 90s Kids about Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis' hit show?

Susan and Sharon served up five key episodes for the Babies' viewing pleasure:
S1: E1 – “Pilot”
S2: E3 – “Money Talks, Maddie Walks”
S2: E4 – “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”
S2: E18 – “Camille”
Bonus Episode: S3: E6 “Big Man on Mulberry Street”
Plus -- YouTube scenes and snippets….

So, did the Babies ask for seconds – or send their meal back? Do bears bear? Do bees bee? Do wah diddie diddie dum diddie do? We’re going to find out! 

THE CONVERSATION

• DON’T FIGHT HIM ON THIS: Sergio, on his mom and the recipes of Pampanga, the culinary capital of the Philippines.
• Megan struggles with translating her personal worth into a dollar amount!
• Serita’s dog gets sent to reform school!
• Wait?!? Sergio has never seen “Die Hard” or “The Sixth Sense” – or any other Bruce Willis movie! What?!?
• ACCORDING TO THE BABIES: Moonlighting feels like Bruce’s show – Cybill feels like a secondary character.
• 90’s BABY ADVANTAGE: Megan just skipped ahead to the “good parts” episode – where David and Maddie finally get together! No fair!
• Which Baby thought the show was too… SLOW?!?!
• And which Baby thinks the show isn’t feminist but “femin-ish”?
• When Serita’s mother was a baby, she was quieted from crying by… ORSON WELLS?!?! 

So join Susan and Sharon – and Megan, Sergio and Serita – as they talk civil rights, shoulder pads, “throwing vases”, Judd Nelson, Whoopi Goldberg – and “Muppet-level nonsense”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch the special Moonlighting playlist clips at YouTube.com/80sTVLadies.
Check out the book Sergio raved about: Atching Lillian’s Heirloom Recipes.
Watch Megan in Bardic Inspiration’s Twelfth Night’s on Twitch.
Catch Serita’s “Not Ugly” podcast at Apple.
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu.
See more great Moonlighting content at Moonlighting21.com.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
History - and Herstory - is happening right now. Abortion access in America is severely limited – if you want to help or need help go to Abortionfinder.orghttps://www.abortionfinder.org/

80s TV LADIES NEWS
March 26 - 29: The 80s TV Ladies will be at Podcast Movement Evolutions. Come say hello! 

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“I was never so tightly wound as the night we transmitted the show directly from ABC in Los Angeles to New York. We basically went live.”– Sheryl Main, post-production supervisor, Moonlighting

Susan and Sharon take you “behind the scenes” with Moonlighting post-production supervisor – and legendary publicity strategist Sheryl Main. As a Unit Publicist, she’s worked on such films as Creed 3, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Expendables, Terminator 3, The Perks of Being A Wallflower and collaborated with hundreds of celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Emma Watson – and everyone in between!

But she "cut her teeth" with Moonlighting. Sheryl talks about the “insanely creative” atmosphere created by Glenn Gordon Caron, the long hours and crazy good times – and the lifelong friends she “met on the way.”

THE CONVERSATION

• Experiencing sexism and harassment in the movie industry: The Pope of Greenwich Village director “Stuart Rosenberg sent me home for wearing pink jeans. So Mickey Rourke said: “$*@! him. Work with me. Be my assistant.”
• When she interviewed to be Bruce Willis’s assistant, she recognized him – as “Bruno Radolini” – his musical alter ego from New York!
• Moonlighting on Moonlighting: “The editors pulled all-nighters. They slept there. But we had fun.”
• On Glen Gordon Caron: “He changed TV when you think about it. Everything we did from ‘Atomic Shakespeare’ to the black and white episode to… well, we thought we killed Orson Wells.”
• ARNOLD AND SLY AND BRUCE AND ME: “They all impacted my career and my life in different ways."
• On Arnold the Governor: “We went up there thinking ‘Woo-Hoo! We’re gonna change the world! But the mechanism in place doesn’t want you to change the world.”
• On Bruce Willis: “He was a craftsman with words. He could memorize a scene in a minute. What’s happening with him… it’s heartbreaking. I wouldn’t have a career without him.”

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Sheryl – as they talk crisis-managing Rust, partying in Cybil’s trailer, Dennis Dugan, The Expendables, Jed the Fish on KROQ -- and the “Curtis Armstrong Day” parade!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Check out Moonlighting: The Podcast: https://moonlightingthepodcast.com/
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu.
Stream it on Apple TV or at Amazon Prime Video.
Follow Glenn Gordon Caron on Twitter.com/GlennGCaron.

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Susan’s new play Confidence (and the Speech) has been published!Now available for purchase and licensing at DPS via Broadway Licensing.

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Tell us your fav Moonlighting episodes at 8TL Facebook or via 80sTVLadies.com.
• Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.



Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“I said to Cybill Shepherd, ‘You are a Prima Donna!’
And she said, ‘Yes. I am. Do you know what ‘Prima Donna’ means, Glenn? It means First Woman. And don’t you forget it.”
– Glenn Gordon Caron

In the second of our two-part conversation with Moonlighting and Medium creator Glenn Gordon Caron, we cover everything from Al Jarreau’s iconic theme song to sparring with Cybill Shepherd, to a forty-year career spent working with “audacious people”…

Moonlighting, which ran from 1985-1989 starred Cybill Shepherd, a then-unknown Bruce Willis, Allyce Beasley and Curtis Armstrong, and become a landmark classic of 1980s television. Glenn also directed movies such as Clean and Sober, Picture Perfect and Love Affair.

THE CONVERSATION

• Getting invited to the horse races by Cary Grant – who then dies before they could go!
• How dinner with Stanley Donen led to Glenn asking him to direct the dance sequence from “Big Man on Mulberry Street” as a favor. But what did Donen ask in return? That Glenn co-write that year’s Academy Award show with Larry Gelbart!
• How a chance meeting with Rona Barrett resulted in one of the weirdest -- and most talked-about -- episodes of Moonlighting ever!
• On Cybill Shepherd: “The topography of her life fit the topography of the story. She was a model. She became a huge movie star. And then she lost everything.”
• On Bruce Willis: “He was like thirty guys I grew up with. And I understood, underneath all that bravura, and all that jazz, there’s a genuineness that’s hard to resist."
• WHEN LES IS MORE: How Now and Again was born when Les Moonves told Glenn: “Write me a pilot, and if I don’t make it, I’ll give you one million dollars.”
• How for Glenn, the TV show Medium is less the story of a mystic – and more the story of a marriage.

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Glenn – as they talk Pierce Brosnan, Love Affair, Jennifer Aniston, Clean and Sober, -- and Susan’s Vicodin mood swings!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu.
Stream it on Apple TV or at Amazon Prime Video.
Follow Glenn Gordon Caron on Twitter.com/GlennGCaron.

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Susan’s new play Confidence (and the Speech) has been published!
Now available for purchase and licensing at DPS via Broadway Licensing.

CONNECT

• Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
• Tell us your fav Moonlighting episodes at 8TL Facebook or via 80sTVLadies.com.
• Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
• Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“They said I could do whatever I want. So I thought, I’ll write a boy-girl detective show that kills this stupid genre.” – Glenn Gordon Caron, creator of Moonlighting

Some walk by night, some fly by day… Susan and Sharon cross paths with legendary writer, director, producer and creator of the classic 80’s series Moonlighting for a rollicking conversation about David, Maddie, Ms. DiPesto – and everything in between!

Moonlighting ran from 1985-1989. It starred Cybill Shepherd and a then-unknown Bruce Willis and would become a landmark classic of 80s television. Tasked with making “one of those boy-girl detective shows” Caron agreed on the condition that he could do whatever he wanted. What he – and as it turns out, we – wanted, was Moonlighting. Glenn Gordon Caron has been a force in television for over four decades, since his first job on Taxi – followed by a stint on Remington Steele -- before going on to create the seminal 80s romantic comedy/detective series Moonlighting. Caron later went on to create the long-running Patricia Arquette show, Medium. Moonlighting is now streaming on Hulu.

THE CONVERSATION

• 300 SONGS in 66 episodes – the MANY hurdles of getting the music rights for Moonlighting for the Hulu broadcasts.
• Glenn’s first pilot turned out to be for a little actor named… James Stewart.
• Steven Bochco asked Glenn to come work on his new show, then called Hill Street Station: “I said no – this is never gonna go.”
• On the crazy tone of Moonlighting: “I’m showing the episodes to my youngest child, who’s fourteen. He’s come to believe that I’m mentally ill.”
• Cybill Shepherd signed on to Moonlighting -- after reading only half the pilot!
• On casting the role of David Addison: “I brought Bruce Willis in to audition eleven times. They rejected him ten times.”
• The role of David Addison’s brother was originally written for… David Lee Roth?!
• GETTING PAST THE CENSORS: ABC censors wouldn’t allow David & Maddie to say “frig”. But “fig”? Um, Okay.
• On being a maverick: “I was young and arrogant and didn’t care about my reputation. I would live to regret that.”

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Glenn – as they talk Aaron Spelling, Pierce Brosnan, Peter Peter Bogdanovich, 100-page scripts, directing Orson Wells – and getting kicked by nuns!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu.
Check out the Moonlighting fan website, DavidandMaddie.com
Susan’s new play Confidence (and the Speech) has just been published! Now available for purchase and licensing at DPS via Broadway Licensing.

8TL EXCLUSIVE OFFERS!
Special 80s TV Ladies offer!
Invest in yourself at TheNextish.com - Get 10% off an already 30% off promotion on their newest online course that will help you chart a course forward: "Be The Disruptor" - Use code "8TL24" at checkout at TheNextish.com. Act now. Offer expires: Feb 15.

CONNECT

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• Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

The 80s TV Ladies traveled to ShePodcasts UNPLUGGED and Podfest Expo 2024! We were thrilled to be learning from and meeting many wonderful fellow podcasters.


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Susan and Sharon sit down with actor, director, and writer Elayne Heilveil. Elayne has worked with Mike Nichols and Mark Rydell in the classic 70s television series Family and has guested on such shows as The Rockford Files, The Waltons, Emergency!, Hawaii 5-0, Hill Street Blues and The Mary Tyler More Show. She has appeared opposite such legendary stars such as James Garner, Rip Torn, Ben Vereen, Jeff Goldblum, Valerie Bertinelli, David Jansen, Robert Culp and Dame Judith Anderson.

In this layered conversation, Elayne discusses standing up for yourself on set, learning to trust your instincts, navigating dicey auditions -- and discovering the joy and artistic rewards of writing.

THE CONVERSATION

• How a “mystical” experience reading “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson at eleven years old led to Elayne’s start in show business.
• Going to the Fame school –the movie and TV show barely scratched the surface!
• Topless go-go dancers and drunk bodies in the streets: living and acting in 70’s New York.
• What do you say when an agent wants you to change your name – to Daisy Astor?
• On being asked to take her top off at an audition: “I broke out laughing and said, ‘Are women buying this bullshit?’ ”
• On casting quirks: “I’ve played three nuns. It’s every Jewish girl’s dream to be a nun.”Being “beyond nervous” auditioning for Mike Nichols.
• Doing the TV movie, A Cry For Help – and wearing Columbo’s trench coat the whole time!
• What do you do when your lines aren’t quite right on The Waltons? Give them to Richard Thomas’ John-Boy!
• LIVING WITH AN ‘ANGEL’ – what’s it like secretly living with Stuart Margolin, and then getting “married” on-screen?
• What’s the best therapy after an abusive moment on set? Try throwing drinking glasses at a brick wall.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Elayne – as they talk nude photos, James Garner, reverse nepotism, finding your sweet spot – and getting tear-gassed by Rip Torn!

AUDIOGRAPHY
The Rockford Files is streaming FREE on Roku.
So Fetch, The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still Obsessed with It) by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. Get it at Bookshop or your favorite bookstore.
Pre-order the book: The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore by Stan Zimmerman. Will ship Feb. 13.
Read The Creation by James Weldon Johnson.

8TL EXCLUSIVE OFFERS!
Invest in yourself at TheNextish.com - Special 80s TV Ladies offer! Get 10% off an already 30% off promotion on their newest online course that will help you chart a course forward: "Be The Disruptor" - Use code "8TL24" at checkout at TheNextish.com.

CONNECT

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The 80s TV Ladies travel to Podfest 2024! If you'll be there, find us and say hello to Sharon and Susan.

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BONUS: Check out this exciting encore episode from Season 1: Part TWO of our interview with true show business icon and classic 8os TV Lady --  “Remington Steele’s” one-and-only Laura Holt -- Stephanie Zimbalist.

In a career spanning six decades, Stephanie has performed on stage and screen with everyone: Alec Baldwin, Walter Matthau, Jessica Tandy, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Patricia Neal, Alfred Molina, Tommy Tune, Jimmy Stewart AND her own father, the legendary Efrem Zimbalist Jr.


Steele Talking: Susan and Sharon continue their interview with the award-winning stage, TV and film actress…

THE CONVERSATION

- Working with her real-life dad – showbiz legend Efrem Zimbalist Jr – How he became a father figure for co-star Pierce Brosnan. (And how he taught Stephanie the secret to “playing drunk”…!)
- Her decades-long friendship with Alec Baldwin.
- When James Stewart was almost on Remington!
- The Amazing Remington Steele Guest Stars, including…
- Paul Reiser – and how Pierce broke up every time he said a line.
- Louie Anderson – and that horse…
- And Beverly Garland – Laura’s mom! (Wait -- were Laura Holt and Amanda King sisters??)

- How she was cast in – but had to quit – ROBOCOP.
- Why she has never gone back to rewatch “Remington Steele.”
- Why “the blood isn’t real on “Remington Steele” -- and how humor on TV has changed…
- How curiosity leads to love.
- New York, noodles – and a “rude awakening” in the theater…

Listen in as Susan, Sharon and Stephanie talk “Moonlighting”, memories and Mary Tyler Moore!

AUDIO-OGRAPHY
Stephanie Zimbalist on Facebook/StephanieZimbalistFanPage.
Steele Watching Podcast w/ Kerry Carlock. 

CONNECT
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VOTE
We're NOMINATED for Best Film & TV Podcast.
Please VOTE for 80s TV Ladies at Women in Podcasting Awards.
Register or Check your Registration at Vote.org

This is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.

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“Every new Star Trek show ‘ruins’ Star Trek.” – Nana Visitor

In the second episode of their two-part conversation, Susan and Sharon open a channel into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with Nana Visitor who starred as “Kira Nerys” on the classic television series. Nana reflects on the differences between working in television then vs. now, balancing work and personal life -- and what it’s like to forever be a part of the singular Star Trek family.

THE CONVERSATION

• GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Auditioning for L.A. Law – casting director Junie Lowry told her, “You’re not getting it. But there is a show you’d be great for…” Yes - It was DS:9
• On the demands of a Star Trek television show: "Deep Space Nine was forty-nine of the best years of my life. I know it was just seven. But it felt like forty-nine.”
• On Star Trek - Discovery: “Women are writing, women are directing, women are executive producing... Women being in the room changes the dynamic.”
• On the set: David Hasselhoff or Andy Griffith? Daniel Hugh Kelley or Brian Keith? Who was “lovely”? And who definitely was not?
• On attending a Star Trek convention: “It was like a flock of exotic birds had descended. It was fascinating.”
• Being a role-model: What was it like talking to astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti while she was in orbit on the International Space Station as Cristoforetti told Nana she followed her dreams into space because of Kira Nerys?
• On Sci-Fi fandom: “A percentage of (the fans) are weirdos, but if you take any apartment building in New York – it’s the same percentage. And it’s wonderful.”
• Doing Cameos for parents who named their daughters “Kira”.
• On being a working actress and a mother: “I was in labor on the set. And I went behind the set to get through the worst of it… I tried to have my baby and have it bother no one. And I said to myself, ‘If anyone has to suffer because I’m working and I have an infant, it’s gonna be me’. And that’s not sustainable.”

So join Susan and Sharon – and Nana – as they talk Avery Brooks, podcasting with your son, managing fear -- and “Opening A Channel” to greater opportunities for women!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Visit the “Nana Visitor Library” on Youtube.
Listen to Nana Visitor’s podcast, Sunday Dinner with Nana and Django.
Find Nana Visitor on Instagram and Twitter.
Pre-order Nana Visitor's book: Star Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman's Trek

Where to begin? How to Watch Star Trek in chronological and release order on ToyNK.

8TL EXCLUSIVE OFFERS!
Invest in yourself at TheNextish.com - Special 80s TV Ladies offer! Get 10% off an already 30% off promotion on their newest online course: "Be The Disruptor" -
Use code "8TL24" at checkout at TheNextish.com.

CONNECT

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• Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

LISTENER FEEDBACK
Send us a message on our 8TL website:

• What Star Trek Lady should we cover next?
• Who is your favorite Star Trek Lady?
• What show should we cover at 80s TV Ladies?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s get more out of 2024.

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“I remember an agent saying to me: ‘You’re not pretty, you’re not fat – I don’t know what to do with you.’… They still don’t know what to do with me.” – Nana Visitor

All-New 8TL Pop-Up Series - "Star Trek Ladies". Explore out-of-this-world conversations with and about the women of the Star Trek universe! Sharon and Susan begin with Nana Visitor, who starred as “Kira Nerys” on the classic television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

In Part One of a two-part conversation, Nana talks about her early days as a Broadway dancer in the 70’s, and starring in 80’s TV favorites such as Remington Steele, Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Matlock, Hunter, Knight Rider, MacGyver, Highway to Heaven, and In The Heat Of The Night.

THE CONVERSATION

• A Dancer's Life: Growing up with Jerome Robbins, Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse dancing around your parent’s apartment!
• All That Jazz – singing, acting and dancing with Bob Fosse -- and the life-changing advice he gave her about doing drugs.
• What is it like kissing your best friend’s husband for a guest role in 1991's Baby Talk – especially when it’s George Clooney?
• Riding horses for years on Wildfire… even though she’s terrified of horses!
• Vixen, Murderer or Dead Body – Nana has played them all. But which one is almost always blonde?
• Getting a warm welcome on the Remington Steele set – from Stephanie Zimbalist and especially Pierce Brosnan!

So join Susan, Sharon – and Nana – as they talk It’s A Living, Angela Lansbury, Ryan’s Hope, Kate Jackson – and “dancing through the pain”….

AUDIOGRAPHY
Sharon’s favorite: Watch Deep Space Nine on Paramount+.
Susan’s favorite: Own the OG Star Trek Original Series on Special Edition DVD.

Find Nana Visitor on Instagram and Twitter.

Keep the Holiday fun going: Susan, Sharon, Melissa and 90s TV Baby Serita Fonanesi recorded a hilarious live watch-thru of Lifetime’s Ladies of the 80’s: A Diva’s Christmas!Try it for FREE ON PATREON!


CONNECT
Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
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Check out Instagram/80sTVLadies.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.
Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

LISTENER FEEDBACK
Send us a message on our 8TL website:

• What Star Trek Lady should we cover next?
• Who is your favorite Star Trek Lady?
• And what is your favorite show or movie in the Star Trek universe/franchise?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s get more out of 2024.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“The thing I loved about the theater was ‘the puzzle’. And in television, it was a new puzzle every week. And I LOVED that.” – Mary Lou Belli, on the joy of directing.

In a career spanning five decades, Emmy Award-winning director Mary Lou has directed episodes of Charles In Charge, Major Dad, The Hughleys, Girlfriends, Monk, The Game, Heart of Dixie, Devious Maids, Station 19, Black Lightening, NCIS: New Orleans, Sweet Magnolias and The Ms. Pat Show. She is the co-author of four books: Director’s Tell the Story, The Sitcom Career Book, Acting For Young Actors and The NEW Sitcom Career Book.

She has also opened doors for the next generation of women directors through diversity programs at ABC and CBS, and teaching and mentoring young directors through DGA, AFI, Women in Film, Film Fatale, Women in Media and Alliance of Women Directors. Ms. Belli reflects on her transition into directing, and how the landscape of opportunities has changed for women in Hollywood over the past four decades.

THE CONVERSATION

• STARTING SMALL: After graduating college at Penn State, Mary Lou still “looked 14 years old” -- so she went to New York where she immediately got roles playing children on stage and in films.
• Domestic Life – learning about “perfection, refinement and improvement” with Steve Martin and Martin Mull.
• Teaching “Anne Shirley” (Megan Follows, Anne of Green Gables) how to drive on the back lot at Universal Studios!
• How Jack Riley – Mr. Carlin from The Bob Newhart Show – lit the fire that led to Mary Lou becoming a director.
• Getting her start as a director at Betty Garrett’s Theater West in Los Angeles.
• Being mentored by Debbie Allen, Nancy Malone, Lee Shallat-Chemel, Linda Day, Joan Darling.
• MARY LOU IN CHARGE: Directing Ellen Travolta and Scott Baio on Charles in Charge.
• How identifying women as minorities opened up the playing field – and how affirmative action overwhelmingly helps open up career pathways.
• How being “the only woman in the room” leads to a lack of opportunity – but with MORE women in the room, generosity of opportunity follows.
• Running into CCH Pounder at Trader Joe’s!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Mary Lou – as they talk road trips, Estelle Getty, Sydney Pollack, Emmy nominations, “Don’t Touch My Hair”, the joy of Scott Bakula – and the wisdom of passing out Xerox copies of your good reviews!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more at her website, MaryLouBelli.com.
Buy Mary Lou Belli’s books at Bookshop.org.
Watch The Ms. Pat Show on BET. On Amazon Video.
Listen to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast Wiser Than Me.

SPECIAL PATREON-ONLY EPISODE! – Listen to a live watch-thru of Lifetime’s Ladies of the 80’s: A Diva’s Christmas with Susan, Sharon, Melissa and 90’s TV Baby Serita Fontanesi! Don't miss it on Patreon (Try it for FREE for 7 days!).

CONNECT
Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.
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Check out Instagram/80sTVLadies.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.
Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

LISTENER FEEDBACK
Send us a message on our 8TL website:
What 80s Ladies Directors should we have on the show?
What show should we cover next on 80s TV Ladies?
And let us know: Do you watch holiday movies? Where do you watch them? What are your favorites?

Wishing you a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

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Is “Reservations for Eight” your favorite or LEAST favorite episode of “Designing Women”? How can a simple television comedy cause us to dive into a deep discussion of First Wave Feminism? Yes, it’s time for the 90’s TV Babies to weigh in on Linda Bloodworth-Thomason’s Designing Women.

Serita Fontanesi, Sergio Perez and Megan Ruble were given the assignment: Watch nine seminal episodes of the series, from the first season to the last, that feature all seven main cast members -- and be prepared to discuss. Find out who loved it, who hated it – and who wants a reboot!

Here are the episodes they watched – in case you want to check them out, too:
S1, EP1: “The Pilot”S1, EP2: “The Beauty Contest”
S2, EP22: “Reservations For Eight”
S4, EP11: “They Shoot Fat Woman, Don’t They?”
S6, EP8: “The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita”
S7, EP1: “Of Human Bondage”
S7, EP7: “Fools Rush In”
S7, EP 18: “It’s Not So Easy Being Green”
S7, EP 20: “A Difficult Cross To Bear” (a.k.a. “The Lying Game)

THE CONVERSATION

• Can Serita, Sergio and Megan agree what makes the best Thanksgiving sides?
• Did Designing Women help invent First Wave Feminism?
• Was Anthony straight? Gay? Gay coded? Or just Southern?
• A 90’s TV Babies drinking game?? It’s on. Let’s go!
• Shipping Anthony and… Julia? Okaaaaaaaay…
• Did Sheryl Lee Ralph confront Harry Thomason at a political event for the Clintons – and end up with a role on the show?
• Cos-playing Mary Jo? Megan’s considering it…
• SERITA ON DELTA: How discussions of body image issues have – and haven’t -- changed over the past 30 years.
• Sharon and Megan could NOT be further apart when it comes to their feelings for “Reservations for Eight” (S2, EP22)
• THE LEVEL OF DISCOURSE: What the show got right in its political discussions and comedy – and what hasn’t aged as well.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Megan and Sergio and Serita – as they talk sweet potato mash, big Texas hair, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Beyoncé – and “the 11:00 o’clock rant”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch Designing Women on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pluto!
Read the 2016 MTV News article on "Confirmation" and The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita.
Watch Ladies of the 80’s: A Divas Christmas on Lifetime.

THE 90s TV BABIES
Listen to Serita Fontanesi's podcast: Not Ugly Pod. Also on Apple Podcasts and Goodpods. A weekly podcast challenging traditional colonial beauty standards one conversation at a time.

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
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Check out Instagram/80sTVLadies.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.
Find more cool pods on WeirdingWayMedia.

LISTENER FEEDBACK
Send us a message on our 8TL website:

• What modern day show talks to current events in ways similar to Designing Women? When the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were taking place, did any scripted show – comedy or drama – do an episode highlighting their characters' reactions?
• And let us know: Do you watch holiday movies? Where do you watch them? What are your favorites?
• What are your favorite episodes of Designing Women? And what do you prefer: mashed potatoes or rice pilaf?

Have a beautiful Holiday season!

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On this special Bonus Holiday-themed episode, Susan and Sharon welcome Stan Zimmerman, co-writer of Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas.

Stan Zimmerman is a prolific producer and director but is perhaps best known for his work with writing partner James Berg on A Very Brady Sequel and on the classic television as Roseanne, Gilmore Girls and The Golden Girls. In Ladies of the 80’s: A Divas Christmas, Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicolette Sheridan star as five glamorous ‘80s soap opera icons who reunite to share the spotlight to shoot the final Christmas episode of their long-running soap opera.

Lifetime’s Ladies of the 80’s: A Divas Christmas premieres tomorrow!
-- Friday, December 2nd @ 8:00 EST!

THE CONVERSATION

• STAN TV: As a kid Stan created an imaginary “Fourth Network” in his bedroom, programming a show lineup 7-days a week -- including giving Lily Tomlin her own comedy-variety series!
• Stan started out as a writer so young he had to wear a pair of fake glasses to pitch meetings to appear older.
• In 1985, Stan and his writing partner James Berg were one of the first gay writing teams on network TV – but their agents insisted they stay in the closet for fear they’d be fired.
• LOOKING FOR A ‘BEA ARTHUR TYPE’: How Susan Harris – the creator of The Golden Girls -- ended up snagging the real thing!
• THE BIRTH OF ST. OLAF: Stan tells the story of finding Betty White’s character Rose Nylund’s hometown in the first season of The Golden Girls.
• How Stan and James had to trim their scripts -- because they were getting too many laughs!
• In the 1980’s, you could walk down Santa Monica Blvd on a Saturday night and hear The Golden Girls playing in all the gay bars!
• What happened the night they filmed an episode on the day Bea Arthur’s mother died.
• “ADULT EDUCATION” – how this classic episode came about when Rue McClanahan specifically asked the writers to “challenge my character”.
• The huge network fight about airing the “Lesbian Kiss” episode of Roseanne.
• Which Golden Girl was Stan’s favorite to write for?
• And which one had terrible stage fright every time they filmed an episode?
• How Joan Collins and Jacklyn Smith were almost in A Divas Christmas!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Stan – as they talk Meryl Streep, Fame, teachable moments – and emailing with Lily Tomlin!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Premieres Friday, December 2nd. Watch Ladies of the 80’s: A Divas Christmas on Lifetime.
Pre-order Stan’s book on Bookshop.org: The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore.

CONNECT
For transcripts and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Follow 8TL on Facebook.
Check out Instagram/80sTVLadies.

Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.
Find more cool podcasts on our network, Weirding Way Media.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

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Susan and Sharon continue their discussion with the creator of Designing Women, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (also Evening Shade, Hearts Afire, Filthy Rich, and more!).

In Part Two of their conversation, Linda touches on the challenges of television production, her experiences with Dixie Carter, Delta Burke’s struggles on the show -- and the differences between the north and south.

THE CONVERSATION

• LOVE IS IN THE AIR: We get the inside scoop on the real-life romances between the cast members of Designing Women and their male co-stars.
• When CBS refused to cast Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker – and only changed their minds three days before the pilot was shot!
• How Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker’s mother was almost played by Elizabeth Taylor!
• DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH: How Linda and casting director Fran Bascom discovered Jean Smart and Annie Potts -- playing a pair of Arkansas diamond thieves… in Amsterdam?!?
• The president of CBS actually apologized for Designing Women at the network upfronts in New York – and was booed by the press who had seen the pilot and loved it!
• “KILLING ALL THE RIGHT PEOPLE”: How a comment Linda overheard while caring for her mother who was dying of AIDS led her to write one of her most memorable scripts.
• SEND THE MESSENGER! Most of the first season scripts were written by Linda on the weekend before they were shot.
• The telegram Oprah Winfrey sent Linda that she still has to this day.
• “RESERVATIONS FOR EIGHT” – this “Battle of the Sexes” episode is a favorite of Sharon’s – and Linda’s!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Linda – as they talk therapy, Dolly Parton, southern racism -- and Designing Women: The Play!

BONUS EPISODE COMING: Find us THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st --With special guest, television writer/producer Stan Zimmerman (“Gilmore Girls” “Golden Girls”), talking about “The Girls”, working with Rosanne, Betty White, and most recently – writing the new Lifetime Network movie, Ladies of the 80’s: A Diva’s Christmas!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Read Linda's 2018 Hollywood Reporter column: Not All Harassment is Sexual
Read Linda’s 2017 Hollywood Reporter column: Lessons From Witnessing Four Decades of Harassment in Hollywood

Stream Designing Women on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pluto!
The Facebook page: Facebook.com/DesigningWomenOfficial
Read Designing Women producer/director Harry Thomason’s autobiography:
“Brother Dog: Southern Tales and Hollywood Adventures” on Amazon.
Read Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s romantic Southern novel, “Liberating Paris” - on Amazon.


CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
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Check out Instagram/80sTVLadies.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Susan and Sharon are honored to speak with the creator and writer of Designing Women, Linda Bloodworth Thomason. Novelist, playwright, documentary filmmaker and philanthropist, Linda is a five-time Emmy Award nominee who has created, written and produced such signature hits as "Evening Shade", "Hearts Afire", "Women of the House" and "Filthy Rich".

Her TV writing career began with episodes of classic shows including "Rhoda", "Paper Moon" and "MASH". In a career spanning six decades, Linda Bloodworth Thomason is known for her singular style, mixing humor with serious topics; her lovable, outspoken characters; her unique blending of the romantic and the political, and her indelible portrait of the modern South.

In Part One of a wide-ranging conversation, Linda touches on her early days working with TV legends James L. Brooks, Larry Gelbart, and Norman Lear; her astonishing success with Designing Women; living through – and writing about – historic times, and the challenged state of feminism in 2023.

THE CONVERSATION

• BUILDING THE PERFECT CAST: How legendary casting director Fran Bascom helped Linda nab everyone from Burt Reynolds to Delta Burke to John Ritter – and discover future Oscar winners Billy Bob Thornton and Hilary Swank!
• Bringing the Southern accent back to primetime TV – by way of Dixie Carter’s eloquent, melodic voice. And wait, how did Susan lose her accent, anyway?
• All of the original four Designing Women were from the South and used their real, regional accent – except one. Can you guess who??
• A BOOK OF VERSE, A JUG OF WINE AND THOU -- Jimmy Carter’s romantic nights at the White House with First Lady Rosalynn!
• The Designing Women Foundation (also known as The Claudia Foundation) – started with Linda’s income from Designing Women under the umbrella of The Claudia Foundation to honor of her mother, Claudia Bloodworth. The Foundation provides scholarships and opportunities for young women in Southeast Missouri.
• BENEVOLENT MASCULINITY: How a certain kind of Southern man became a new archetype on Linda’s shows: “Find yourself a jock who also reads poetry and loves his mother.”
• A GIRL, A CANOE AND THE WORLD: How a canoe from her father changed Linda’s life – giving her the courage to discover herself and the world by exploring the Current River in Missouri.
• DARKNESS AND LIGHT: Finding out that Designing Women was picked up to series on the same day as finding out that her mom had AIDS from a blood transfusion.
• "What's Happened to Women?" Podcast - How the next generation of women is facing our culture’s onslaught of misogyny and greed with kindness and equality – and how we can help.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Linda – as they talk The Idol, Shakespeare, the KKK – and Hilary Clinton’s mom!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Check out the fan website: Designing Women Online.
Stream Designing Women on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pluto!
The Facebook page: Facebook.com/DesigningWomenOfficial
Find more cool podcasts at Weirding Way Media.
Visit our friends Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess at their podcast “Astonishing Legends".

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

NOMINATED
80s TV Ladies is shortlisted for an International Women’s Podcast Award!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“She didn't twirl just a baton. That baton was on fire. And when she threw that baton into the air, it flew higher, further, faster than any baton has ever flown before, hitting a transformer and showering the darkened arena with sparks!” - Julia Sugarbaker

Susan and Sharon continue “‘Designing Women’ November” with an episode devoted to the actresses – all seven of them – who played all those outspoken Southern Women! We’re talking the Original Fab Four: Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Jean Smart and Annie Potts – PLUS the three cast members that joined up later in the run: Jan Hooks, Julia Duffy and Judith Ivy.

With audio clips from the show, we’ll learn about each of the women, who they are, what they stand for (and what they won’t stand for), and how each of the actresses carved out a special place for themselves and their characters in a show that was designed to be all about women!

THE CONVERSATION

• Who was Number One on the call sheet at Designing Women?
• Delta Burke was born in Orlando, Florida – and was named “Miss Flame” for the Orlando Fire Department!
• DELTA & GERALD & SIMON & SIMON: Delta Burke met her future husband Gerald McRaney on HIS show “Simon & Simon” – and then she brought him on to HERS…
• SIX DEGREES OF “REMINGTON STEELE”: How many Designing Women also shared the screen with Steele and Laura? Almost all of them…
• Julia Duffy shows up Season 6 as Sugarbaker cousin, Alison. Didjaknow? She almost played Diane Chambers on “Cheers” – and appeared later on that show as Diane’s best friend!
• SNL alum Jan Hooks played Carlene – sister to Charlene.
• MORE SHERYL LEE RALPH! She turns up in Season 7 as Anthony’s new wife.
• Alice Ghostly -- as the hilariously loopy Bernice Clifton – appeared in all 7 seasons!
• BY THE NUMBERS: How many women behind-the-scenes helped created the show? 20 writers, 6 producers, 3 directors – a significant percentage and huge numbers for the 80s!

So join Susan and Sharon as they talk Peter Scolari, “Hacks”, ex-husbands – and our upcoming interview with the creator of Designing Women herself -- Linda Bloodworth-Thomason!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Check out the fan website: Designing Women Online.
Stream Designing Women on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pluto!
The Facebook page: Facebook.com/DesigningWomenOfficial
Find more cool podcasts at our network, Weirding Way Media.
For spooky Halloween Season fun, visit our friends Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess at their podcast “Astonishing Legends".

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

NOMINATED
80s TV Ladies is shortlisted for an International Women’s Podcast Award!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon get to sit down with writer/producer/show-runner Maggie Friedman to talk about the show that inspired her to embark on a career in television: Designing Women.

Designing Women (1986-1993) was created by the legendary Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and starred Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Jean Smart, Annie Potts and Meshach Taylor as the owners and staff of the Atlanta-based interior design firm “Sugarbaker & Associates”. In its seven-year run, Designing Women was known for sharp writing, big laughs and taking on issues from a feminist angle in a way that no other show had done before – or since.

Maggie Friedman is best known for creating, writing and executive producing Witches of East End for Lifetime Television and Firefly Lane currently on Netflix. She has also written and produced episodes of Dawson’s Creek, Jack & Bobby, Once and Again, Wasteland, Spellbound and No Tomorrow.

THE CONVERSATION

• How an Ally McBeal spec script got Maggie into a room with Kevin Williamson – and onto the staff of his first show, Dawson's Creek.
• Maggie set her sights on getting into AFI – and did -- because a mean girl told her she couldn’t!
• HE DID IT/SHE LIED: Those T-Shirts from the Designing Women Anita Hill episode, and the impact it had on Maggie.
• Which of the Designing Women are you? Sharon is a Julia, but is Susan Mary Jo – or Anthony?
• “Guns, and AIDS, and condoms – OH MY!” How Designing Women took on all the current issues, that are unfortunately still current today.
• SPOILER ALERT: What happens when you write HUGE CLIFFHANGERS – and then your show gets cancelled!
• Big Hair, Big Shoulders! Was the Atlanta of Designing Women accurate? Susan grew up in Georgia -- and has thoughts.
• Republican Dixie Carter’s deal: “For every liberal rant you make Julia say, I get to sing a song!”
• “Georgia On My Mind”: Ray Charles sings with the Designing Women!
• Young Susan’s brush with fame: Mark Harmon and Peter Scolari – both in one hour!
• “WOMEN OF THE HOUSE” – the little-known 1995 “sequel” where Suzanne Sugarbaker goes to Congress to fill her late husband’s house seat.

So join Susan, Sharon – and Maggie – as they talk Jackie Collins, Witches of East End, Scott Bakula, --- and how sexy Richard Hatem is!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Follow Maggie Friedman on Instagram.
Check out the fan website: Designing Women Online.
Stream Designing Women on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pluto!
Find more cool podcasts at our network, Weirding Way Media.

For spooky Halloween Season fun, visit our friends Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess at their podcast “Astonishing Legends".

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies has WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!




NOMINATED: Best Moment of Raw Emotion
80s TV Ladies is nominated for an International Women’s Podcast Award!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“Our ethical language lives in our popular culture.” – Bryan Edward Hill

Susan and Sharon welcome writer, producer, filmmaker, pop-culture philosopher and good friend Bryan Edward Hill. Bryan has spent the better part of the last 40 years processing the hundreds of TV shows and movies he watched as an only child – then later, creating his own work –- and then reflecting on how the two experiences speak to each other. Along with Susan and Sharon, Bryan talks about being raised by television in the 80’s -- and how the images we see and the stories we hear make us the people we are.

Bryan’s TV credits include “Ash vs. the Evil Dead” and Max’s “Titans”. His comic book titles include “Blade”, “Black Panther”, “Fallen Angels”, “Angel & Spike”, “7 Days From Hell” and “American Carnage”. Bryan is a NYU Film School graduate and is currently writing and developing several projects for film, television and comic books.

THE CONVERSATION

• How writing for TV is like being in grad school!
• RAISED IN WAYNE MANOR: After losing his dad at age 7, comic books became Bryan’s refuge – and a place to learn how to be a man.
• CRUSHING IT: From Kate Jackson (“Scarecrow & Mrs. King”) to Jane Badler (“V”) to Susan Dey (“L.A. Law”) to Jackée Harry (“227”) – young Bryan in love!
• Why TV was better before social media – when you only got to see your favorite shows and stars once a week.
• How Lynda Carter taught Bryan to be a feminist – and how Roger Moore taught him how to be polite.
• CHILDREN WILL LISTEN: How TV lets kids hear adult conversations they’d never hear from their own parents.
• The challenges of writing movies and TV and comic books – and which one is the hardest.
• Meeting Pierce Brosnan – and making James Bond laugh.
• How watching “Casino Royale” is great training for working in Hollywood!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Bryan – as they talk “Miami Vice”, Mark Harmon, 80’s banter – and helping Lucy Lawless find the pretzels!


AUDIOGRAPHY
Connect with Bryan Edward Hill on Twitter (X) at https://twitter.com/bryanedwardhill
Or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanehill/
Or on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thehilladministration3773


Get Bryan’s Comic Book “American Carnage” at https://www.amazon.com/American-Carnage-Bryan-Hill/dp/1401291457/ref=sr_1_4crid=3RBL6LS9XQZBY&keywords=american+carnage&qid=1697488015&s=books&sprefix=american+carnage%2Cstripbooks%2C155&sr=1-4

Or “Angel & Spike” at https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Spike-Bryan-Edward-Hill/dp/1684155894/ref=sr_1_1crid=36JONOYM57G4M&keywords=angel+%26+Spike+bryan+edward+hill&qid=1697488137&s=books&sprefix=angel+%26+spike+bryan+edward+hill%2Cstripbooks%2C149&sr=1-1

Also – read more about “American TV Comic Books” with Peter Bosch’s book of the same name at https://www.amazon.com/American-TV-Comic-Books-1940s-1980s/dp/1605491071/ref=sr_1_1?crid=W2SOJYH1PMYE&keywords=american+tv+comic+books&qid=1697488202&s=books&sprefix=american+tv+comic+books%2Cstripbooks%2C155&sr=1-1


PLUS – We answer LISTENER QUESTIONS!

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Help us make more 8TL, get ad-free episodes and cool stuff on PATREON.

“80’s TV Ladies” HAS WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards! Check it out at https://www.podcastawards.com/ !!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

It's more Summer Reruns. Check out this cool encore episode from Season 1:
Susan and Sharon sit down with a true show business icon and classic 8os TV Lady --  “Remington Steele’s” one-and-only Laura Holt -- Stephanie Zimbalist.

In a career spanning six decades, Stephanie has performed on stage and screen with everyone: Alec Baldwin, Walter Matthau, Jessica Tandy, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Patricia Neal, Alfred Molina, Tommy Tune, Jimmy Stewart AND her own father, the legendary Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

THE CONVERSATION 

• Growing up Zimbalist: what it’s like to be born into a true show business dynasty.
• How Stephanie started writing, directing and producing – at the age of seven.
•  How she attended Julliard with friends and classmates Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve -- and then got kicked out!
• Winning – or not winning – an “Enema” (oh wait -- “Emmy”)
• A Life in the Theater: performing award-winning roles in classic plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Tennessee Williams and more.
• The gift of making “big choices” on stage – and screen. And the pleasure of refining and reinventing a performance over a long run.
• Playing Katherine Hepburn in “Tea at Five” – and how she discovered they’re cousins!
• Turning down the role of Laura Holt three times before finally taking it on.
• “Backwards and in High Heels” – on water skis!  Stephanie takes us through doing her own stunts on “Remington Steele” -- and working with legendary stuntwoman Debbie Evans. 

Join Susan and Sharon (and Stephanie) as we talk fame, fedoras – and wet-biking in France with Pierce. PLUS -- MORE listener mail!!

AUDIO-OGRAPHY
Stephanie Zimbalist on Facebook/StephanieZimbalistFanPage.
Steele Watching Podcast w/ Kerry Carlock. 
Native Land Digital at Native-Land.ca https://native-land.ca/
Read about Land Acknowledgment at LAist.

CONNECT
Visit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.

VOTE
We're NOMINATED for Best Film & TV Podcast. Please VOTE for 80s TV Ladies at Women in Podcasting Awards.
Suppport Kamala Harris for President - KamalaHarris.com
Register or Check your Registration at Vote.org

This is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“When you’re doing the right thing, the right things happen” – Lynda Carter to David Johnson about creating “The Ultimate Fan’s Guide to Scarecrow and Mrs. King”.

Susan and Sharon geek out with SMK experts David R. Johnson, Taya Johnston and Sabine Ludewig – the authors of “The Ultimate Fan’s Guide to Scarecrow and Mrs. King” - a #1 Bestseller in TV and Film on Amazon Books!

How do three people from far-flung parts of the world come together to write the ultimate book about their favorite show? All it takes is forty years of love, dedication – and an attic full of TV Guides!

THE CONVERSATION

• David’s parents made sure to never plan anything on Mondays so he wouldn't miss a single episode!
• In Germany, the show is called “Agent with Heart”.
• How the network tried to NOT run SMK's pilot episode "The First Time" first! They wanted it fourth? Big mistake, which other 80s shows have made…
• “QUIET DOWN, YOU KIDS!” -- The time Kate Jackson had to personally pay off some noisy neighbors so SMK could get their scenes completed.
• COMFORT VIEWING: Taya returned to the show during a difficult time, when her son was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. And Sabine re-found the show after a break-up. She binged them to re-discover who she was and what she wanted out of life – including learning English.
• BARBIE AND KEN… AND LEE, AMANDA, KATE AND BRUCE: Taya named her Barbies after the characters and actors from the show!
• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: David, Taya and Sabine have discovered over 1,000 SMK filming locations! Such as…
  
  • The inside of the IFF is The Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.
  • The Ballroom where the chandelier explodes in “The Triumvirate” is at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.
• TOP RULE FOR FIRST-TIME BOOK WRITERS: Write your table of contents first!
• Wait! Is the concept of "Riptide" really three men and a robot living on a boat and solving crime?
• What other 80s show did David research? The short-lived detective duo show, "Partners in Crime" starring Lynda Carter and Loni Anderson!
• Getting the cast interviews – including the one they thought would never happen…

So join Susan and Sharon – and David, Taya and Sabine – as they talk Kate Jackson, Bruce Boxleitner, Martha Smith, Mel Stuart, Beverly Garland, breaking into secret locations, claiming the family TV for yourself -- and David’s personal replica of “Mrs. King Mobile”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Get your own copy of “The Ultimate Fan’s Guide to Scarecrow and Mrs. King” at Amazon.
Visit the “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” Facebook Fanpage.
Listen to “Mrs. King Chronicles” podcast at Mrs. King Chronicles.

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Join the fun. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

BEST FEMALE HOSTED - BEST TV & FILM - BEST ART PODCAST
80’s TV Ladies has WON three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“The key to good women-driven stories is… Sheryl Lee Ralph” – 90’s TV Babies

Susan and Sharon welcome back the 90’s TV Babies! It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, but they’re back and ready for action. Serita Fontanesi, Sergio Perez and Megan Ruble take a look at “It’s A Living” – and they do not hold back!

THE CONVERSATION

• Too many characters in Season One? The Babies don’t think so.
• Was Season One too sexy – or too sex-positive?
• Did the more conservative outfits make the jokes funnier? Serita says yes!
• SO MUCH BUTT PINCHING! – Is this what happens when men write about women’s issues?
• Where are the “all-women” shows now?
• THE REBOOT – Serita’s got it all figured out. Even more diversity: girls -- plus gays and “theys”!
• ON A VERY SPECIAL “IT’S A LIVING…” The Babies say it’s refreshing to see “issues” handled well – without going earnest or dark.
• Megan’s favorite character is Nancy – Someone’s got to keep this place running…
• Wait – Anthony on Designing Women isn’t gay?
• Sergio: “Everyone is gay until proven otherwise.”
• Is Sonny Mann a creep – or a Ken!?!
• The Gun Episode: which character are you? Would you keep a gun under the bed? And Megan wants to know -- where was the real conversation?
• Serita’s secret Patreon content: how to use VPN and wall-to-wall encryption to secure your privacy and improve your life!
• Naked Hockey Players and wallpaper? Megan and Sergio – and Susan – are in!

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Serita and Sergio and Megan – as they talk sunburns, heartworms, “Killing Mr. Griffin” -- and yelling at protesters at RuPaul’s Drag Con!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch “It’s A Living” on Amazon. On Tubi. Or YouTube.
For safe gun storage check out Be Smart For Kids and Moms Demand.

9TB HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The 90s TV Babies watched the following episodes of “It’s a Living”
Season 1: Ep 1 & Ep 13
Season 3: Ep 2
Season 5: Ep 2
Season 6: Ep 1

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Join the fun. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

80’s TV Ladies has been nominated for three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

What’s your favorite 80s television theme songs?
Susan and Sharon were invited to be on Dave Sloan and Holly Cantos podcast “What Difference Does It Make?” to talk 80s TV theme songs and retro music -- and they all had so much fun they’re bringing Part Two of the conversation here!

If you want to hear Part One, here’s the link to the 80s TV Ladies episode of “What Difference Does It Make?” And get ready to relive – and rehear -- some great TV theme songs! (“Moonlighting” with Al Jarreau, anyone?)

THE CONVERSATION

• Whatever happened to TV theme songs?? Sharon has a theory…
• What pop song stalled at 79 on the Billboard charts in 1981 – then climbed to number one six years later when it was featured on “Family Ties” in 1987?
• Thirty-two Oscar winners set sail on the “Love Boat” – can you name five? (We’ll spot you Jamie Lee Curtis)
• The magic of those old network promotional specials with all the stars - from Battle of the Network Stars to ABC's Love Boat Fall Preview Special!
• “Remington Steele”’s bizarre Season Two opening credit sequence where Laura and Steele sit in a theater and watch scenes of themselves -- from their own show!
• Which “Golden Girl” are Susan and Sharon? Which one are you?
• That weird “Wednesday” dance song, Goo Goo Muck by The Cramps!
• “Skyfall”-ing with Susan and Rich – just don’t do it around the kids…
• TV HOUSES – THEY’RE ALL HERE IN L.A.! Sharon walked past the Brady Bunch house a million times before realizing it! (And no, she didn’t buy it…)

Join Susan and Sharon – and Dave and Holly – as they talk “Night Court”, “China Beach”, “Bosom Buddies” – and why Susan’s afraid to watch “The Last of Us”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Check out Dave and Holly’s 80s Music podcast “What Difference Does It Make?”
Watch the shot-by-shot opening credits remake of Simon & Simon at The Greatest Event in Television History on adult swim.
Listen to the 8TL212: Fav TV Theme with WDDIM Spotify playlist!

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The 90s TV Babies have to watch the following episodes of “It’s a Living”
Season 1: Ep 1 & Ep 13
Season 3: Ep 2
Season 5: Ep 2
Season 6: Ep 1

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.

80’s TV Ladies has been nominated for three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“It seemed possible in the ‘80s that someone would walk up to you at a train station and hand you a package – and you would take it!” -- Jeanette Valliere

Welcome to Susan and Sharon’s very first “Fanbar” event – where we talk with outstanding fans of 80s shows. We’re starting off with a big one! Jeanette Valliere has been organizing the "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" Anniversary events since 2003, and she’s got lots of stories – including meeting with and getting to know cast members Bruce Boxleitner, Martha Smith and Beverly Garland!
This year’s Scarecrow and Mrs. King 40th Anniversary Event will be held on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton!

THE CONVERSATION

• From 1990’s IRC chat rooms through to today -- Jeanette has been rallying SMK fans for more than 30 years!
• “Bohemian Fling”: it’s Amanda’s drink -- and Jeanette’s pseudonym for SMK fan fiction!
• SMK -- OR REMINGTON STEELE -- OR MOONLIGHTING?: Which one was the most realistic?
• What do women in IT -- and “Remington Steele’s” Laura Holt -- have in common??
• REPRESENTATION MATTERS: Women cops (T.J. Hooker), women spies (Charlie’s Angels), women stunt-people (The Fall Guy)… When the young girls of the 70’s and 80’s began to have a range of role models!
• How many children does Amanda King have? Three – if you include Lee…
• The budget, the Warner Bros. tour, the stars, the goody-bags… The challenges of organizing a fan event!
• MEMORIES OF BEVERLY GARLAND…. She was a mom to everyone and a HUGE supporter of the first fan event – even hosting it at her own hotel!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch Scarecrow and Mrs. King: On Tubi, Roku, Amazon, Apple.
Find out more about the 40th Anniversary Event October 13-14 on Facebook.
Get details and register for the event.
Read Bohemian Fling's stories at Fanfiction.net.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The 90s TV Babies have to watch the following episodes of “It’s a Living”
Season 1: Ep 1 & Ep 13
Season 3: Ep 2
Season 5: Ep 2
Season 6: Ep 1

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.

Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.
80’s TV Ladies has been nominated for three People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“Life’s not the French Riviera; life’s not a charity ball…” – theme song by George Tipton & Leslie Bricusse

Susan and Sharon wrap up their thoughts on “It’s A Living” with a global look at everything “IAL” -- from their top favorite episodes, to the amazing careers of the stars – and don't forget that unforgettable theme song! So, if you’ve ever wanted to hear Sharon sing “You Only Live Twice” – this is the episode for you!

Plus -- The 5 Things You Need to Know About “It’s A Living”!

THE CONVERSATION

• What ever happened to TV theme songs?
• “Above the Top” – is there really a restaurant on the top floor of the Bonaventure Hotel?
• Why did Proctor & Gamble pull out as a sponsor after the very first episode?
• OPERATION: SALAD STATION! Why is it in the break room? And where’s the sneeze guard?
• The Weirdest Episode: where Jan dies giving birth, meets the “Angel of Death” – Danny Thomas – and strangest of all, gets three months off for maternity leave!
• Susan Sullivan or Marian Mercer – who mothered the wild waitresses best?
• Stu Silver, Jenna McMahon & Dick St.Clair or Paul Younger Witt and Tony Thomas: Who created the show – and who ran it?
• RUN THE NUMBERS: How many female writers and directors did “It’s A Living” have? Maybe more than you think… (Including Neema Barnette – the first African American woman to direct a sitcom!)

So join Susan and Sharon as they talk pay phones, Sizzler, “Beauty and the Beast”, Burt Reynolds, the Bona Vista Lounge -- and safe gun storage!

Plus – fan shout-outs! And some big “Scarecrow & Mrs. King” news! And a salute to some 80’s TV Ladies we’ve lost this year…

BREAKING NEWS: 80’s TV Ladies has been nominated for three People’s Choice Podcast Awards! Check us out at Podcast Awards.

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch “It’s A Living” on Amazon, Tubi or YouTube.
Learn about real-life safe gun storage at Be Smart For Kids and Moms Demand.
Disarm Hate at Everytown.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The 90s TV Babies have to watch the following episodes of “It’s a Living”
Season 1: Ep 1 & Ep 13
Season 3: Ep 2
Season 5: Ep 2
Season 6: Ep 1

SCARECROW AND MRS. KING
Find out more about the 40th Anniversary Event October 13-14 on Facebook.
Get details and register for the event.

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Join the fun on Facebook, Insta and Twitter.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Please help us make more 8TL on PATREON.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

“Sonny Mann is a guy with great talent -- but no taste” – Paul Kreppel

Continuing their deep dive into “It’s A Living”, Susan and Sharon sit down with beloved Tony award-winner, actor and director Paul Kreppel, known to 80s TV lovers as the “always on the make” singer and piano player ‘Sonny Mann’ on “It’s A Living”.

Paul’s stage career began in 1968 with the Boston Improvisational theater group “The Proposition” where he performed with Jane Curtin, Judith Kahan, Josh Mostel and Fred Grandy. Since then, Paul has appeared in dozens of classic television shows including “Laverne & Shirley”, “Love Boat”, “Fantasy Island”, “Night Court”, “Remington Steele” (S2, EP8, “Scene Steelers”), “Murder She Wrote”, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”, “Cybil”, “Suddenly Susan” and “E.R.” as well as recurring as ‘Mr. Burkhart’ on “That 70’s Show”.

THE CONVERSATION

• INTO THE WOODS we have to go! -- what it’s like to travel the country performing in the new Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical.
• Paul plays several musical instruments – just not the piano!
• ‘Sonny Mann’ was an afterthought – he was only supposed to be in six episodes. So how’d he end up doing all 120??
• Getting the Job: Paul’s manager heard that “It’s A Living” needed a lounge lizard – “Do you know how to be a jerk?”
• How Sonny always “walked up to the line” -- but the ladies never let him cross it…
• No Audience, No Network, No Problem –doing the last four seasons was totally different from the first two!
• The Big Question – were there any backstage romances? Well, there was plenty of flirting…
• Why Sonny started singing original tunes – written by head writer Tom Whedon!
• PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY, AND PAUL: Going beatnik on “Laverne & Shirley” -- with Penny Marshal, Cindy Williams and... Art Garfunkel!
• The Other Side of the Camera – Paul steps out from behind the piano to direct six episodes of “It’s A Living”!
• Getting to “be the sage” – and other benefits of growing older and having a life.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Paul – as they talk Jerry Lewis, Louise Lasser, Martin Short, Bob Denver's hat -- and Tom Hanks’ hair!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find Paul Kreppel at PaulKreppel.com. And on Twitter.
Check out “Into The Woods”.
See Paul’s niece Kelsey Kreppel on YouTube.
Watch “It’s A Living” on Tubi or YouTube.

SUPPORT THE STRIKE!
Read up on LA's Hot Union Summer!
Visit the WGA Strike hub.
Visit the SAG AFTRA strike hub.

CONNECT
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"You could tell that they were afraid the show was too sexy..." - Jane Espensen

Susan and Sharon start their look back at the under-the-radar 1980’s comedy “It’s A Living” with modern-day TV writer/producers Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg. Jane Espenson has written for shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Once Upon A Time”, “Gilmore Girls”, “Jessica Jones”, “Battlestar Galactica” and “Game of Thrones”. Drew Greenberg’s credits include “Dexter”, “Warehouse 13”, “Firefly”, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Arrow”.

Jane and Drew grew up as 70’s and 80’s “TV Babies” and each found their way to their dream career along twisting paths back when getting into the business was just as difficult – but even more mysterious. When the COVID-19 quarantine began, Jane and Drew came up with a unique way of keeping themselves entertained -- and sane: they embarked on a rewatch of “It’s A Living”. After almost 40 years, what did they remember? What did they forget? What surprised them? Does it hold up? And what happened to Susan Sullivan and Ann Jillian??

THE CONVERSATION

• TO BOLDLY GO – How two separate chance meetings with Star Trek writer/producer René Echevarria paved the way for both Jane and Drew.
• Jane remembers Drew’s first day at “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – and so does Drew!
• Who is “It’s A Living” creator Jenna McMahon – and why is she using a pseudonym??
• What are the hidden similarities between “Facts Of Life”, “Desperate Housewives”, “Golden Girls”, “Sex And The City”… and “It’s A Living”?
• In Season One – are six characters too many? Can you have too many women?
• THE “CHARACTER TYPES” OF “IT’S A LIVING”: the Innocent, the Maneater, the Grounded Realist and the Smart Aleck – but who is who?
• What’s up with those ever-changing waitress outfits?
• How Ann Jillian was the “secret comedy weapon” of the show – and what happened when she got de-sexy-ied in Season Two?
• Could you have a character like Sonny today? And is he really playing that piano?
• What it means to re-watch a show with “nostalgia goggles”.
• Jane reveals her “Secret Trick” to writing Iconic Women!
• When Anne met Jane! Susan's sister and 8TL superfan, Anne Lambert, joins in to say hello and keep us talking during the break.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Jane and Drew – as they talk “Small Wonder”, syndication, “success pie”, swim-top switches -- and Piggy Barbecue!!

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the WGA and SAGAFTRA strike.

AUDIOGRAPHY
Read “Girl in the Show: Three Generations of Comedy, Culture and Feminism” by Anna Fields at Bookshop.
Check out Molly Ringwald’s New Yorker essay “What About ‘The Breakfast Club? Revisiting the Movies of My Youth in The Age of #MeToo”
Follow Drew Greenberg on Twitter @DrewZachary
Follow Jane Espenson on Twitter @JaneEspenson
Watch “It’s A Living” on Tubi or YouTube.
Visit the WGA Strike hub.
Visit the SAG AFTRA strike hub.

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Please help us make more 8TL. Get ad-free episodes and more on PATREON!

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“On Sundays, I couldn’t wait for Monday.”
– Eilish Zebrasky, Head of Wardrobe for Aaron Spelling.

Susan and Sharon get all dressed up and strut their stuff with legendary 80s TV and Film costume designer Eilish Zebrasky. For over 25 years, Eilish Zebrasky was the Costume Department Head for Aaron Spelling Productions, responsible for all the amazing clothes you saw on classic shows like “Murder, She Wrote”, “Dynasty”, “The Love Boat”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Hart to Hart”, “Hotel”, “Fantasy Island”, “Vega$” and “Charmed”.

In her five-decade career, Eilish has pretty much seen every major celebrity in Hollywood in their underwear -- and she has personally costumed such stars as Faye Dunaway, Goldie Hawn, Alyssa Milano, Barbara Streisand, Angela Lansbury, Paul Newman, Robert Wagner, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gabor, Jaclyn Smith, Connie Seleca, Shanen Doherty, Rose McGowan, Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Joan Collins.

From her childhood in Belfast, Ireland – to the glamorous boutiques of Beverly Hills – to Elizabeth Taylor’s “Closet of Jewels”, Eilish has seen – and dressed – it all!

THE CONVERSATION

• What's the perfect training for a career as a Hollywood costume designer? Working in a Belfast button-sewing factory!
• How new boyfriend – and future husband -- Tony helped her get her first gig at Warner Bros. -- on the movie “Camelot”.
• What happens when a hot, young male star arrives for his fitting -- with no underwear??
• SAVING BEN VEREEN’S BUTT – How a split pant-seam on the set of “Funny Lady” almost led to disaster, until Eilish (and a used T-shirt) saved the day!
• How not getting the on-screen credit she deserved led Eilish to leave Warner Bros. – and finally accept the job of Head of Wardrobe for Aaron Spelling Productions!
• 50 FAKE FUR COATS: What do you do when “The Love Boat” goes to Alaska, and all the stars end up freezing?
• GETTING AWAY WITH “MURDER, SHE WROTE”: How Angela Lansbury grabbed Eilish away from Aaron Spelling – but only for Jessica Fletcher’s outfits!
• Did the stars get to keep their fabulous costumes? No! (But they could buy them -- at half-price!)
• MISTAKEN IDENTITY: The mystery of the Marvel Universe’s other Eilish Zebrasky.
• Where did Alyssa Milano's Valkarie costume for "Charmed" end up?
• How approaching your life and work with kindness leads to all good things!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Eilish – as they talk “Cuppa and Bicky” with Angela Lansbury, Dynasty “Dress-Up” Parties – and Goldie Hawn’s stolen underwear from "Butterflies are Free"!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Buy second-hand costume creations from your favorite TV shows and movies at “It’s a Wrap”.
Interview with Eilish Zebrasky at the Costume Designers Guild.
Check out “Fifty Fashion Looks That Changed the 1980’s” by Paula Reed at ThriftBooks.
Listen to SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher’s Fiery Call to Action strike speech.

CONNECT
For transcripts, contact info and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
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Please help us make more 8TL. Get ad-free episodes and more on PATREON!
https://www.patreon.com/80sTVLadies

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Tumble out of bed/and stumble to the kitchen/pour yourself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and listen in as Susan and Sharon talk "Nine to Five": The TV Series with podcaster and founder of Weirding Way Media, Chris Stachiw.

On this special cross-over episode with The Kulturecast, we dig into one of the strangest, funniest and least-known film-to-TV transplants: Nine To Five. The film “9 to 5” debuted on December 19th, 1980 starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton.

Running 85 episodes from 1982-1988, and executive produced by Jane Fonda, Nine to Five went on a wild journey -- from ABC (1982-83) to first-run syndication (1984-88), from film to video, and featuring an amazing and ever-changing cast that included Rita Moreno, Sally Struthers, Peter Bonerz, Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Marsh, Jack Reilly, Herb Edelman, Valerie Curtin -- and Dolly Parton’s sister, Rachel Dennison!

THE CONVERSATION

• HOW A MOVEMENT SPURRED A MOVIE: The “9 to 5 Labor Movement”, which sprang up with the influx of women in the workplace in the early 1970s, caught the attention of Jane Fonda, who decided she wanted to make a movie about how “You can run a business without the boss – but not without the secretaries.”
• Why a television series? Maybe beause the movie was a massive hit, earning over $100 million dollars making it the second highest-grossing film of 1980, behind “The Empire Strikes Back”?
• WHERE’S THE SHOW? From 20th Century Fox to the Disney vault – why is it so hard to find Nine to Five?
• “When The Secretaries Met The Nanny”… Who’s that locked up in a jail cell with Rita Moreno, Valerie Curtin and Rachel Dennison (Season 2, Episode 15, “The Oldest Profession”)? Yup -- it’s The Nanny, Fran Drescher
• From Dabney Coleman in the movie to Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”, “The Larry Sanders Show”, “Transparent”) and Peter Bonerz (“The Bob Newhart Show”) in the TV show – who’s your favorite “Boss From Hell”?
• How – and why – the Franklin Hart character transformed from a misogynistic predator in the film to a bumbling incompetent in the TV series.
• IT WAS A MUSICAL, too!?! The “9 to 5: The Musical” premiered in 2009! Featuring songs by Dolly Parton (including her unforgettable title song), and written by the screenwriter of the film, Patricia Resnick, running six months on Broadway.
• The long-delayed “9 to 5” film reunion – Well, practically happened when Dolly Parton guested on Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s Netflix show Grace & Frankie.

So join Susan and Sharon – and Chris – as they talk sexual harassment, singing telegrams – and the 1986 “The Real Ghostbusters” animated cartoon show!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Listen to Susan and Sharon talk about “9 to 5” (the movie!) on Chris Stachiw’s movie podcast “The Kulturecast” on Apple or Spotify or Podlink.
Learn about the 9 to 5 Labor Movement at 9to5.org.
Read the book: Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie. Check it out at Bookshop.
Watch the Netlfix documentary: “9 to 5: The Story of a Movement”.
Watch all the opening title sequences of all five seasons of 9 to 5 on YouTube.
Follow Rita Moreno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheRitaMoreno

CONNECT
Let us know your thoughts on 9 to 5 and if you have any ideas where to watch all the episodes - Email us at 80sTVLadies@gmail.com
For transcripts and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.


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“What do we want? Fair Pay! When do we want it? NOW!”

The 80’s TV Ladies fast-forward from the 1980s to the RIGHT NOW – for a special "breaking news" episode about the ongoing 2023 WGA Writer’s Strike that is having a major impact on television production – and the future of entertainment as we know it. As the strike enters its third month writers and other guilds are calling out for “transformative change” and insisting “now is not the time to meet in the middle.”

But what’s really going on? It's time for Writer's Strike 101. WGA Strike Captain and TV writer/producer Katherine DiSavino (“Silo”, “Nancy Drew”, “Outpost”) joins Susan and Sharon to help break down the issues from the inside.

THE CONVERSATION

• How Kate got her start as a playwright – in her parent’s dinner theater!
• WATCHING JESSICA FLETCHER: How “Murder She Wrote” star Angela Lansbury gave Kate the mystery writing bug.
• Why did writers overwhelmingly support the Strike Authorization Vote?
• Why is this strike so different from the last one in 2007-2008?
• Is it fair that streaming profits have gone up exponentially, but writer pay has gone down 24% since 2014?
• “I AM THE STRIKE CAPTAIN NOW!” How Kate and other strike captains organize hundreds of picketing writers every day – right in front of all the major studios in Los Angeles!
• What do the writers want? Are the Studios willing – or able – to meet their demands? How does AI figure in? What does all this mean for women, BIPOC, disabled and LGBTQ writers?
• And what happens if the actors in SAG-AFTRA go on strike, too?
• Does writing end when the script is finished? Nope. Kate discusses how the writing task continues – on set, in post-production and all the way to your screen.
• HONK THOSE HORNS! Learn how you can support the WGA, striking writers, teamsters, IATSE crew and actors.
• What is a “mini-room”? Why is it such a sticking point in negotiations? And how are they leading to the end of TV writing as we know it?
• Guess what the 80s TV Ladies learned from Jane Fonda on the picket line? (Spoiler: Actors are ready to strike.)

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Kate – as they hit the Hollywood picket lines, strike back at the $3 Trillion dollar Apple Empire, and get to the bottom of our East Coast/West Coast “Hot Labor Summer”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more about the writers guild at WGA.org.
See the WGA asks and the AMPTP "response": WGAcontract2023.org.
Affected by the work stoppage or want to help? Go to Entertainment Community Fund.
Learn more about SAG-AFTRA.
Let them eat Pizza! Donate and find Pizza Queen Jess Morse here. On Venmo. $10.97 = 1 Pizza.
Follow the upcoming 9 to 5 movie, sitcom and actors cross-over episodes here at 8TL and The Kulturecast!

For transcripts and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Signup for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more 8TL, get ad-free episodes and cool stuff on PATREON.


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Encore! Encore! For the summer break, Sharon and Susan take you back to the 80s with reruns, and back to Season 1 with a very special encore presentation of Ep. 119. 

Meet the woman behind Mary Beth Lacey. Sharon and Susan are excited and honored to talk with Emmy and Tony Award winning actress and the star of Cagney & Lacey, Tyne Daly. In a career spanning eight decades, Tyne Daly has appeared on stage and screen in over 100 roles in everything from “The Mod Squad” and “Judging Amy” to co-starring with Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry film “The Enforcer”.

She has received six Emmy awards – four of them for her outstanding portrayal of Mary Beth Lacey on “Cagney & Lacey.” In this intimate interview, Tyne Daly shares stories of her childhood, barely finishing high school, her early days acting in New York, her eventual move to Los Angeles with then-husband actor/director Georg Stanford Brown -- and a lifetime of acting, politics and poetry.

THE CONVERSATION

• How Dustin Hoffman opened the door for “non-perfect” people on film and TV.
• Coming to California -- and being “done at 21”!
• How the internet is the death of conversation.
• The power of words. 
• Doing her early pilots – and hoping they didn’t go!
• “I Did My Cop” - How Dirty Harry almost kept Tyne from doing “Cagney & Lacey”
• How Tyne went to the mat for Meg Foster at the end of season one – and almost lost her job for it.
• What it was like to read with the (many) actresses auditioning to play the third Cagney – and how it felt to hear what the producers said about them when they left the room.
• Why Tyne hasn’t re-watched the show – and doesn’t want to.
• Tyne’s idea for a new holiday: Interdependence Day – a day celebrating everything we have in common as a people.
• Tyne reads the poem “Life While You Wait” by Wisława Szymborska
• How after a lifetime of striving and struggling – as an actress and woman – Tyne sees that certain battles are never over…
• What's Tyne's one word to explain the 21st century? And what's yours?

So join Susan, Sharon – and Tyne -- as they talk Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Jimmy Stewart, “Colleagues with penises” and “Lining up with the pigs”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Keep up with Tyne Daly at Tynedalyonline.com 
Visit the Official Cagney & Lacey Facebook page.
Tyne Daly’s Official Facebook page.

WHERE TO WATCH
Cagney & Lacey on Roku.
The Bread Factory, Part 1 and Part 2 - Stream it for free using your library card or university log-in at Kanopy.com
On Apple TV.

BOOKS
Remembering Cagney & Lacey with Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly by Brian McFadden
Poems New and Collected by Wisława Szymborska
The New Handbook for a Post Roe America by Robin Marty

CONNECT
Visit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.
Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.
Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.

VOTE
VOTE for us at the PodcastAwards.com 
Suppport Kamala Harris for President - KamalaHarris.com
Register or Check your Registration at Vote.org

It's the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.

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“To be able to see it represented on TV means so much to a young mind."
Susan and Sharon continue their celebration of Pride Month by welcoming JD and Denise, hosts of "The Rainbow Remix", a podcast featuring LGBTQ lifestyle news, music, arts, media -- and mixology!

Denise Warner is an out lesbian and veteran podcaster going all the way back to 2006 with “The Lesbian Lounge". JD Danner is a musician and songwriter who came out after a 25-year marriage. She reached out to Denise during the COVID quarantine and together they created The Rainbow Remix, shining a light on LGBT creatives in all the arts.

In a fascinating and deeply personal conversation, we talk about queer characters on TV, the way representation changed from the early to the late eighties – and using television as a mirror, both then and now, to figure out who we are and where we fit in.

THE CONVERSATION

• “Pretending to be Gay”: From Jack Tripper on Three’s Company to Norm on Cheers -- What’s up with that?
• How going to a Pride event can feel like a life-or-death choice.
• Jamie Farr’s “Klinger” on MASH – was he gay? Trans? Or just trying to get out of the Korean War?
• “You Might Be A Lesbian If…”: How Kristy McNichol, an obsession with Charlie’s Angels, and a Cagney & Lacey birthday cake all helped Denise realize she just might be gay.
• How "Friends" got it right with TV’s first lesbian wedding – but then fumbled five years later with the transphobic “One About Chandler’s Dad” episode – and what show creator Marta Kaufman says about it now.
• Were Darlene on "Roseanne" and Jo on "Facts of Life" coded as gay?
• “The Secret Audience”: why straight viewers watch "The L Word" and "Queer as Folk" – juicy story-lines and hot crushes!
• The importance of supporting lesbian and diverse creative projects and creators.
• “We Want Ellen to Come Out”: How the show approached her “big life change” – and why the network suggested she just get a puppy instead.
• The "Ellen" Backlash: How Ellen’s coming out episode got Oprah hate mail, the Ellen TV show cancelled and almost destroyed DeGeneres’ career.
• The night Susan went to Ellen DeGeneres’ apartment -- with the Indigo Girls!
• How could you not know? In the 70s and 80s, we - and our moms - all loved Boy George, Prince, Grace Jones, Liberace and Paul Lynde.
• So join Susan and Sharon – and Denise and JD! – as they talk Golden Girls, best lesbian kisses -- and make-up tips from drag queens!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Listen to The Rainbow Remix Podcast.
Listen to Sharon and Susan on Rainbow Remix's 80s TV Ladies episode!
Catch The Rainbow Remix on Youtube and at TheRainbowRemix.com. https://www.therainbowremix.com/
Learn about the The Trevor Project's work to support LGBTQ youth and Donate here.

Listen to JD Danner’s "Come out and Dance" on Spotify.
Read about Friends creator Marta Kauffman on the lack of diversity in Friends and the mis-gendering of Chandler’s parent on HuffPost.

For transcripts and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Signup for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

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What did Queer representation look like in 70s, 80s and 90s television? Could you say gay?

Susan and Sharon kick off their Pride Month celebration with author, podcaster and video maker Matt Baume. His latest book, “Hi Homey, I’m Homo!” traces the evolution of LGBTQ+ characters on American sitcoms. His previous book - “Defining Marriage” - chronicles the personal stories of people who fought for marriage equality over the last forty years.

In this fun, fact-filled interview, Matt shares stories from his childhood and early life that led to his career as a chronicler of queer history on TV – and then we discuss the highlights (and lowlights) of TV history as seen through rainbow-colored glasses…

THE CONVERSATION

• How the Civil rights movement led to the first subtextual whispers about Queer culture and characters on TV. “Bewitched” anyone?
• AND – how the “Bewitched” episode “The Witches Are Out” (S1, Ep 7) eerily and hilariously anticipates future struggles for representation within marginalized cultures.
• The 1971 “All in the Family” (S1, Ep 5) “Judging Books By Covers” features one of the first gay characters on primetime TV – even though the word “gay” is never used.
• AND – how another “AITF” recurring character, drag queen Beverly La Salle, becomes part of “the family” in “Archie, the Hero” “Beverly Rides Again” “Edith’s Crisis of Faith”
• AND – how “AITF” 1975 episode “Cousin Liz” may have swayed a California election about whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to teach in public schools.
• Do you remember the 1992 Nickelodeon "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee" special "A Conversation with Magic" about HIV/AIDS featuring Magic Johnson and a group of HIV-positive kids? Matt does – and it led directly to what he does now.
• “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Heterosexual!” - a deep dive into the classic sitcom “discovery moment” when a character suddenly realizes another character is gay.
• Gay Kisses on TV: LA Law, Picket Fences, and Rosanne. Why is it one thing for women to kiss – but way different for men?
• What do “Fraggle Rock” and “Star Trek” have in common?
• “80’s Star Trek Ladies”? It might be coming your way soon-ish…!
• “Designing Women’s” groundbreaking episode “Killing All The Right People” about AIDS and safe sex.
• How TV struggled then and still today with trans representation.
• The Incredible Life of George Takei!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Matt – and they discuss Muppets, Maude – and the Magic of asking for “100 percent of what you want – 100 percent of the time!”

AUDIOGRAPHY
Check out everything Matt Baume is doing – including his podcast “Sewers of Paris” -- at his website, MattBaume.com
Get Matt Baume’s new book “Hi Honey, I’m Homo” at Bookshop.
SIGNED COPIES are available at Elliott Bay.
Watch Matt’s YouTube Videos.

LGBTQ Advocacy
Consider supporting orgs like The Trevor Project and The Okra Project.

CONNECT
What does representation mean to you? Email us at 80sTVLadies@gmail.com
For transcripts and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

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In Part Two of our conversation with Cynthia Bemis Abrams, host of the “Advanced TV Herstory” podcast, we continue our discussion of feminism in American culture and its effect on television as we delve into sports, politics, female stereotypes – and the unsung feminist heroes of Hollywood’s mysterious “Secret Sisterhood”.

THE CONVERSATION

• WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE: What stereotypes were women assigned when they made their way into the offices of America in the 1970s? (“The Seductress” and “The Iron Maiden” are just two…) and how to avoid the pitfalls of the workplace.
• And then – what 4 archetypes do female sitcom characters often portray?
• The Unknown Dinah Shore – everything you never knew, and then some…
• How did the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and Title IX in 1973 change everything for women – and how the failure to pass the Equal Rights Amendment after 50 years is still holding us back…
• The “Secret Sisterhood” in Hollywood: Does it exist? And if so -- how does it work?
• What is known and unknown about abusers in the industry…
• What happened when Susan convinced her science teacher to coach the girl’s soccer team – even though her teacher knew nothing about soccer!
• Why can’t you find the actual film of the 1973 Billy Jean King/Bobby Riggs “Battle of the Sexes” anywhere? Sharon has a theory…

So join Susan and Sharon and Cynthia as they talk Lena Horne, “Grace & Frankie” – and Cynthia’s upcoming projects, including a non-fiction graphic novel!

IN MEMORIUM
We salute some 80s ladies we've recently lost:
Tina Turner
Jacklyn Zeman
Eileen Saki
Barbara Bryne
Garn Stevens
Carol Locatell
Elizabeth Hubbard
N'Neka Garland
Rita Latkin
Emily Marshall
Sharon Acker

AUDIOGRAPHY
“Men and Women of the Corporation” by Rosabeth Moss Kanter on Amazon.
“TV Female Foursomes and Their Fans: Featuring The Golden Girls, Designing Women, Living Single, Sex and the City, Girlfriends, Cashmere Mafia and Hot in Cleveland” by Wendy Burns Ardelino - on Bookshop.
Cynthia Bemis Abrams podcast “Advanced TV Herstory”

STOP THE HATE: PROTECT TRANS & QUEER RIGHTS
Take action at Aclu.org and ACLU map.
Teen Vogue info and support for the Trans community.

Help kids and families in Texas.
https://www.northtexasgivingday.org/organization/transkidsandfamiliesoftexas
Help LGBTQ+ in the South.

For transcripts and more, visit 80sTVLadies.com.
Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

Welcome to 80’s TV Ladies: Season Two!
Susan and Sharon kick-off the new season with Cynthia Bemis-Abrams, the host of sister podcast “Advanced TV Herstory” -- a fascinating deep dive into the backstory of women in television, that connects the dots between TV, feminism, American culture and politics.

In Part One of a two-part conversation, we’ll talk about the shows, actresses and characters that stood out as landmarks for women over the past five decades. We also tease what’s coming up as Susan and Sharon turn their attention from one-hour mysteries to half-hour comedies including “Designing Women”, “227”, “A Different World” and “It’s A Living”!

THE CONVERSATION

• What does one do when the kids have gone off to college and “some old people have died”? If you’re Cynthia Bemis-Abrams YOU START A PODCAST!
• How Charlie’s Angels (and women’s tennis?!) helped Cynthia find her way toward what she wanted to be.
• 80’s MONIED MATRIARCHS: Jane Wyman of Falcon Crest, Barbara Bel Geddes of Dallas and the importance of BIG power, BIG hair – and BIG SHOULDER PADS!
• SAVING FAMILY DINNERS: When you’re struggling to find common ground with older relatives at family functions, ask them what their favorite shows from the 60’s and 70’s were…. And WHY.
• From James L. Brooks to Barney Rosenzweig: how feminist men helped women writers and directors advance in Television.
• The importance of staking out time and space to recognize and elevate women’s achievements – and why it’s so hard for women to do…
• Some favorite episodes of “Advanced TV Herstory”: Robin Means Coleman on “A Different World”; Margaret Cho on “American Girl” and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason’s game-changing “Designing Women” episode “They Shoot Fat Women, Don’t They?”
• The Legend of the “Difficult Woman” – how do powerful, creative women navigate a career through the maze of male Hollywood?
• Betty Thomas, we want to interview you!
• What is it like living a mile from Mary Tyler Moore’s apartment?!

So join Susan, Sharon – and Cynthia – as they talk what to do about "problematic men", “WKRP in Cincinnati” turkeys – and the importance of a good VHS cassette.

Thank you all so much for joining us as we begin our journey into Season Two of 80’s TV Ladies!
Tell us what shows you love -- Go to 80sTVLadies.com and give us feedback.

AUDIOGRAPHY
Cynthia Bemis-Abrams podcast “Advanced TV Herstory”
Find Advanced TV Herstory on Twitter.
Find Kenya Rothstein’s podcast, “Thank You For Saying NO”
Check out Totally 80s 90s Recall podcast.

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Episode 23 - Who ever thought we’d get this far?!?

Susan and Sharon celebrate their first season finale with a wrap-up on “Cagney & Lacey.” How did a little idea about having a female “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid” buddy movie turn into a legendary, award-winning TV series that spanned 7 seasons, 125 episodes and 4 TV movies?

We discuss the show’s origins and controversies, its impact on American culture in the 1980s and how network television used to be the most powerful way for cutting-edge topics to enter the public conversation. Susan and Sharon also share their favorite episodes, scenes and their big love for John Karlen’s Harvey Lacey – the best TV husband ever!

THE CONVERSATION

• How Sharon Gless replaced Lynn Redgrave on “Housecalls” before replacing Meg Foster on “Cagney & Lacey”.
• Was “Housecalls” a love connection for Sharon Gless and co-star, MASH alum Wayne Rogers?
• How did Cagney & Lacey reflect the real-world challenges of female cops in the 80s?
• The night Cagney & Lacey taught America about… microwave ovens?
• “Buckle Up, Christine!” - how a nation of police officers – and Mary Beth Lacey – finally got Cagney to click that seatbelt.
• The complicated, behind-the-scenes affairs on-set between the show creator, the cinematographer and one of the stars!
• That Emmy-winning scene from “Turn, Turn, Turn: Part Two” (Season 6, Episode 22)
• Tyne Daly or Sharon Gless – who was number one on the call sheet, whose name came first in the credits -- and what does it all mean…
• So join Susan and Sharon as they talk cigarettes, lottery tickets -- and undercover nuns!

PLUS – Special Guest: Amy Engelhardt, the composer of the 80’s TV Ladies Theme Song!

AND -- 80’s TV Ladies wishes you all a very HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY – with a special shout-out to a great episode of “Golden Girls”: Season 3, Episode 25 – “Mother’s Day”

Thank you all so much for joining us on our journey through Season One of 80’s TV Ladies. We’ll be back in two weeks with Episode One of Season Two – and we can’t wait to see you there!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Cagney & Lacey Appreciation Facebook Group.
Amy Englehardt official website.

Help send Amy’s show, IMPACT to the Ediburough Fringe Festival via Fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/impact

Please, help us make Season TWO spectacular! Support us on Patreon.
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What do those crazy 90s kids think of 80s Cagney & Lacey? We’re gonna find out!
Susan and Sharon welcome back Serita Fontanesi, Megan Ruble and Sergio Perez – the 90’s TV Babies!

We asked them to watch three episodes: the original one-hour pilot, starring Tyne Daly as Lacey and Loretta Swit as Cagney; the “new” pilot with Meg Foster in the role of Cagney; and finally, Sharon Gless’s first turn as Cagney, the Season Two opener “Witness to an Incident”.

The 90’s TV Babies loved “Scarecrow & Mrs. King”, but two of them DIDN’T love “Remington Steele”. What will their verdict be for “Cagney & Lacey”? And what's their personal connection to this show?

THE CONVERSATION

• The eternal comfort-food pleasure of police procedurals.
• “Ain’t That The Way”: what’s with that amazing original theme song?
• Which Baby liked Loretta Swit the best? And which one loved Meg Foster??
• Is Christine Cagney coded as lesbian? (And what does “coded” mean, anyway?)
• Does Meg Foster have “F@%k Me” eyes?
• Why does Susan want to be “Magnum, P.I.”?!
• Sergio Perez on the heat of “Heat” (Season 4, Episode 2)
• Turns out Serita is friends with (Detective Petrie) Carl Lumbly’s son, Brandon!
• Ripped From The Headlines: Was Cagney & Lacey an “issue show”?
• Harvey Lacey: the revolutionary evolution of Mary Beth Lacey’s Husband, played by John Karlen.
• What is the bar for representation on TV? Has it gotten better since the ’80s? Can you have more than two female leads? Black characters? Can you have racial diversity AND LGBTQ representation in the same show?

So, join Susan and Sharon – and the Babies – as we talk “MASH”-love, “Shadow & Bone” and the joy of raising puppies!

80s TV LADIES SALUTE and Fan Feedback
PLUS – 80’S TV LADIES salutes the recent passing of some legendary TV and film ladies…
AND -- listener feedback from our fans!

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What was it like to break into directing in the 1970s and '80s? Let's find out!
Sharon and Susan are honored to talk with Emmy-winning director Karen Arthur. Karen started out as an actress on such shows as “Get Smart”, “The Streets of San Francisco”, “Mannix”, “That Girl” and “The Monkees”. In 1975 she made the transition to directing and has since helmed episodes of classic TV series including “Judging Amy”, “Hart to Hart”, “7th Heaven” and “Remington Steele”, as well as the powerful true story TV movie “The Rape of Richard Beck” and the award-winning mini-series “The Jacksons: An American Dream” starring Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Angela Bassett.

In 1985, Ms. Arthur was the first woman to win a primetime Emmy award for directing, for her work on the “Cagney & Lacey” episode “Heat”. She has worked with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Ed Asner, Kirstie Allie, Delta Burke, Barbara Hershey, Diane Ladd, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Reeves, Jane Seymour, Susan Sullivan and Angelina Jolie.

THE CONVERSATION

• How drinking wine and dreaming of Hollywood with a friend in summer stock led to “Remington Steele” creator Michael Gleason going to bat for Karen to get her first TV directing job: “Rich Man, Poor Man Book II”.
• Almost getting kicked off the lot for parking in the “Director” spot – and then telling the Security Guard: “I AM the director!”
• Fun and heartache on “Hart to Hart” with the great Stefanie Powers.
• Meeting and falling in love on “Cagney & Lacey” with her husband of 39 years -- director of photography Thomas Neuwirth.
• Winning the Emmy and how it changed everything for Karen – and the women directors to follow.
• DOWN IN FRONT: How sitting in the front row when the bosses are watching your work is the best director trick she’s learned -- and why…
• Working with Lee Grant and Carol Kane on The Mafu Cage and learning to give actors – and herself – “room to fail”.
• The choreography of directing and creating intricate shots.
• Choosing her projects carefully -- and getting the nickname “Karen No”.
• Filming “The Rape of Richard Beck” with Richard Crenna -- and the message he showed the crew written on his own butt!

So join Susan and Sharon – and Karen – as they talk about bumping into Tyne Daly on Broadway, getting checks from Paul Newman and swallowing fire with Pierce Brosnan!

PLUS – 80’S TV LADIES TRIBUTE salutes the recent passing of some legendary TV and film ladies…

AND -- listener feedback from our fans!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Defining Women: Television and the Case of Cagney & Lacey by Julie D'Acci. Get it at Bookshop.
Primetime Feminism: Television, Media Culture and the Women’s Movement Since 1970 by Bonnie J. Dow. Get it at Penn Press or Amazon.

Part of Weirding Way Media with Mike White & Chris Stachiw

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Susan and Sharon are thrilled to sit down with show business legend Sharon Gless. Multi-Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Sharon Gless has appeared in dozens of television shows such as “Nip/Tuck”, “Rizzoli & Isles”, “The Rockford Files”, “House Calls,”The Bob Newhart Show”, “Station 19” and “The Exorcist.” She has created iconic and ground-breaking characters in the shows “Burn Notice”, “Queer as Folk”, “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” and of course “Cagney & Lacey”.

In 2021 she published her bestselling, no-holds-barred autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints”. In this in-depth interview, Sharon Gless talks frankly about feminism, her ongoing friendship with Tyne Daly, her affair, marriage and almost-divorce from Barney Rosenzweig, her struggles with substance abuse and recovery -- and the lasting legacy of the characters she’s played.

THE CONVERSATION

• The moment Sharon Gless knew she wanted to be an actress – and knew she would not fail
• “The first feminist I ever met…” -- Barney Rosenzweig??
• How Cagney and Lacey we’re NEVER friends.
• How Sharon was actually the VERY FIRST person approached to play Christine Cagney – and why she turned it down.
• Earning $186 a week as the last contract player at Universal.
• “The Woman Behind the Woman”: how talent manager Monique James left her position as VP at MCA/Universal to become Sharon’s personal manager – and changed her life.
• Being forced to watch herself on film to learn what she was doing right -- and wrong.
• Hashing out billing, and rehearsing her first table read as Cagney, with Tyne Daly over a bottle of champagne.
• Why Christine Cagney wanted to be first through the door with a gun.
• Improvising and window shopping for the Cagney & Lacey main titles.
• Participating with Tyne Daly and Gloria Steinem in the 2004 Women’s March on Washington –- and seeing the true impact of “Cagney & Lacey” for the first time.
• Being Stephen J. Cannell’s “good luck charm!”
• Falling in love with Debbie Novotny on “Queer as Folk”.

So join Susan, Sharon – and Sharon Gless -- as they talk poker nights with Tyne, the “C”-word, the other “C”-word -- and what did she really say to that flasher??

AUDIOGRAPHY
Official website: SharonGless.com
Sharon Gless Facebook page.

Sharon Gless’ autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints” at Bookshop.
Watch the trailer for Sharon’s upcoming Documentary - Show Her The Money

WHERE TO WATCH
Cagney & Lacey on ROKU. On https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/ad336151b4b45ec2bdc282aaabc29ed9/cagney-and-laceyPLUTO. On Apple TV.
Trials of Rosie O’Neill on Roku. On Amazon Prime.
Queer as Folk on Amazon. On Apple TV.
Burn Notice on HULU. On Apple TV.

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Join us to meet the woman behind Mary Beth Lacey! Sharon and Susan are excited and honored to talk with Emmy and Tony-award winning actress and the star of Cagney & Lacey, Tyne Daly.

In a career spanning eight decades, Tyne Daly has appeared on stage and screen in over 100 roles in everything from “The Mod Squad” and “Judging Amy” to co-starring with Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry film “The Enforcer”. She has received six Emmy awards – four for her outstanding portrayal of Mary Beth Lacey on “Cagney & Lacey.” In this intimate interview, Tyne Daly shares stories of her childhood, barely finishing high school, her early days acting in New York, her eventual move to Los Angeles with then husband actor/director Georg Stanford Brown -- and a lifetime of acting, politics and poetry.

THE CONVERSATION

• How Dustin Hoffman opened the door for “non-perfect” people on film and TV.
• Coming to California -- and being “done at 21”!
• How the internet is the death of conversation and the power of words.
• Doing her early pilots – and hoping they didn’t go!
• “I Did My Cop” - How Dirty Harry almost kept Tyne from doing “Cagney & Lacey”
• How Tyne went to the mat for Meg Foster (the 2nd Cagney) at the end of season one – and almost lost her job for it.
• What it was like to read with the (many) actresses auditioning to play the third Cagney – and how it felt to hear what the producers said about them when they left the room.
• Why Tyne hasn’t re-watched the show – and doesn’t want to.
• Tyne’s idea for a new holiday: Interdependence Day – a day celebrating everything we have in common.
• Tyne reads the poem “Life While You Wait” by Wisława Szymborska
• How after a life time of striving and struggling – as an actress and woman – Tyne sees that certain battles are never over…
• What's Tyne's one word to explain the 21st century? And what's yours?

So join Susan, Sharon – and Tyne -- as they talk Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Jimmy Stewart, “Colleagues with penises” and “Lining up with the pigs”!

AUDIOGRAPHY

Visit the Official Cagney & Lacey Facebook page.
& Official Tyne Daly Facebook page.

WHERE TO WATCH:
Cagney & Lacey on Roku
The Bread Factory, Part 1 and Part 2
Stream for free with library card or university log-in: Kanopy.com
- On Apple TV.
- On Amazon.

BOOKS & MORE

• Remembering Cagney & Lacey with Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly by Brian McFadden
• Poems New and Collected by Wisława Szymborska
• The New Handbook for a Post Roe America by Robin Marty
• Check out 80s TV Ladies Susan and Sharon on Rainbow Remix podcast

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Wait! There were THREE Cagneys?
In Part 2 of our conversation with creator/executive producer Barney Rosenzweig, we follow along as the massive success of the Cagney & Lacey TV movie launches it directly into a weekly series for CBS and into a very tumultuous road from multiple cancellations to hit ratings and 14 Emmys. The rest, as they say, is 80’s TV herstory…

THE CONVERSATION

• GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS, PART 1: “We want ‘Cagney & Lacey’ as a mid-season pick-up!” BUT… “You’ve got to be on the air in 20 weeks. And -- you need a new Cagney”.
• After Loretta Switt, but before Meg Foster… Susan Clark (Webster, Coogan's Bluff) was almost Cagney -- except for one small problem only Barney noticed. (“Lacey & Lacey” anyone?)
• GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS, PART 2: Cagney & Lacey premieres to a 38 share!” BUT… “Then it plummets to a 22 share. You’re canceled.”
• Time slot matters: Why would it be a bad idea to air Cagney & Lacey after massive-hit Magnum P.I.? After Cagney & Lacey is dropped, what 80s detective duo TV show was saved from the chopping block by taking the slot? Spoiler alert: Simon & Simon!
• How did Barney snatch victory from the jaws of defeat - and wrangle a last-minute reprieve that results in a second-season order.
• THE FINAL CAGNEY: How the second season renewal is dependent on replacing Cagney one more time. The end of House Calls gives us the third - and final - Cagney in the form of… drumroll… Sharon Gless!
• GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS, PART 3: “Your ratings are great! You’re nominated for Emmys!” BUT… “The Thornbirds came on and destroyed your ratings. You’re canceled – AGAIN!”
• The Barney & fan-driven letter-writing campaign to save the show from death -- AGAIN!
• The Abortion Episode – and why Barney thinks it’s one of their weakest.
• How Barney’s on-set affair led to the end of one marriage (to Barbara Corday, Cagney & Lacey writer/creator and then Columbia Television president) and the beginning of another (to series co-star Sharon Gless).
• Looking Back: Barney reflects on the many ways his journey with “Cagney & Lacey” changed his career, his personal philosophy – and his life.

So join Susan & Sharon – and Barney – as they talk Moonlighting, Dead to Me – and why you should always call your mom…

AUDIOGRAPHY

WHERE TO WATCH:
On Apple.
On Amazon.
On Pluto.
More Streaming Options on Decider.

Visit the Official Cagney & Lacey website.
Read Barney Rosenzweig’s Blog!
Get Barney’s book: “Cagney & Lacey… and me”
BOOK: “From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies” by Molly Haskell

Weirding Way Media (Mike White & Chris Stachiw)

Need help or want to help? ABORTIONFUNDS.ORG
Help people access abortion: ThePinkHouseFund.com

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"One of the things I love about looking back at 80s television is you get to see some early and amazing young stars and very exciting stunt casting."

It's Guest Stars Galore on 80s TV Ladies! We're taking a nostalgic trip back to the iconic 80s sitcom "A Different World." Susan and Sharon debate -- and celebrate -- the amazing roster of guest stars that walked the halls of Hillman College during the six seasons of A Different World. As one of the only black-centered shows of its time, A Different World was in many ways “the only game in town” for a certain generation of black performers, and under show-runner Debbie Allen it became a real showcase for black celebrities who -- even in the 80’s and 90’s -- didn’t have as many opportunities when it came to network television exposure.

Legendary performers—such as Lena Horne, Josephine Premice, Patti LaBelle, Diahann Carroll, Robert Guillaume, Gladys Knight—and modern stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Raven Symone, Halle Berry… and Tupac Shakur—found a spotlight. Susan and Sharon get out their red pens and grade books and fight it out, narrowing down who will finally be “Best in Class” -- The Top Ten Guest Stars of A Different World!

THE CONVERSATION

• THE TOP TWO: How Patti LaBelle and Diahann Carroll are so hilarious -- and perfectly cast -- as the moms of Dwayne and Whitley: two parents from very “different worlds”.
• Whoopi Goldberg was the secret weapon that allowed the show to do an “AIDS Episode” (“If I Should Die Before I Wake” S4; EP23). Once she signed on, the network couldn’t say no. It became the highest rated episode of the season.
• Josephine Premice played the art dealer that Whitley works for in S4 -- and is the mother of writer/showrunner Susan Fales-Hill! (She later plays Dwayne and Whitley’s landlord in S6!)
• The beautiful Billy Dee Williams plays a former baseball player (S6; EP23) who decides to finish college -- and ends up in the classroom of his old flame: Leslie Uggams!
• But is it a true 80s TV Ladies show? Sharon calls out showrunner Debbie Allen. She directed 83 episodes of the show (104 were directed by women) and steered it through most of its run.
• Jennifer Lewis -- as Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davidson -- hits the heights in the Lena Horne Episode -- “A Rock, A River, A Lena” (S6; E22)
• Susan calls out Gladys Knight in “Three Girls Three” (S2; EP5) -- a classic 80’s stunt casting coup that is everything you want it to be!
• Can you believe it? Susan also loves a very “guy-centric” episode: “Citizen Wayne” (S2; EP21) -- starring Jesse Jackson. But this isn’t on Sharon’s list for reasons…
• Who are the TWO GUEST STARS who get cut from the list? One is a guy… And one is… ALSO A GUY!

So -- join Susan and Sharon as they talk Brian’s Song, Kris Kross, Tisha Campbell, high-kicks, the “Evolution of Whitley,” Gilbert Gottfried, “checking the gate” -- and showering with Blair Underwear (we mean Under-wood!).

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more about “A Different World College Tour 2024” at adwtour.com.
Read about Whoopi Goldberg and the A Different World AIDS episode at Hollywood Reporter.
Read an oral history of A Different World in Vanity Fair.
Watch A Different World -- streaming on MAX.
Find out more about A Different World at the official Facebook page.

Check out Tammy at the true-crime podcast: Grits with a Side of Murder.

Sign up to nominate 80s TV Ladies for a Podcast Award! Go here to sign up & nominate us.We're in the running for Best TV & Film and Best Female Hosted podcast!
PS - You can also vote in other categories for our pals at Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf, SoCal Voices and Grits With a Side of Murder!

CONNECT
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Find more cool podcasts on our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

It's the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.





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Buckle up, kids - We’re kicking off our series on Cagney & Lacey!

Sharon & Susan begin their look back at the classic 80’s TV series Cagney & Lacey with a conversation with the show’s creator and executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig’s career spans five decades and hundreds of hours of television including Charlie’s Angels, Daniel Boone, Christie, Twice in a Lifetime, and The Trials of Rosie O’Neill.

But he made TV history when he approached writers Barbara Avedon and Barbara Corday with a simple yet revolutionary idea: “Write a Robert Redford/Paul Newman buddy movie -- but for women.” They in turn wrote Cagney & Lacey to answer the burning 1980s question: “Can women be buddies under pressure?” Together, they created a legendary television series that Rosenzweig elegantly describes as “a show about two women – who just happen to be cops”.

Cagney & Lacey is a police procedural drama - starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless - that premiered in 1982 and ran until 1988. The franchise included 125 episodes and five TV movies. The show has been the recipient of 37 Primetime Emmy nominations with 14 wins, including four wins for a leading actress in a drama for Daly and two wins for Gless.

THE CONVERSATION

• Three Cagneys, Two “pilots”… and One Lacey! - How Tyne Daly’s Mary Beth Lacey went through three Christine Cagneys: Loretta Switt, Meg Foster -- and finally Sharon Gless.
• But what’s a Showrunner? - Barney explains his role in collaborating with writers, directors, actors and artists to bring a singular vision to life.
• A Life-Changing Epiphany – How a night at the movies with future wife Barbara Avedon showed a “50’s guy” what sexism really is.
• How Cagney & Lacey were almost played by… Anne Bancroft & Raquel Welch??
• Working publicity for MGM's Howard Strickling and directors Martin Ritt and Tony Richardson - which one was "the worst experience of my life"?
• How to shoot Toronto for New York – there is a trick…
• How a chance meeting with Suzanne Levine got Cagney & Lacey on the cover of Ms. Magazine – and a 48 share!

So join us as we talk about University of Southern California yell-leaders, 1965 MGM-epic Ben Hur, car bombs – and throwing up over “director’s cuts”!

AUDIOGRAPHY
- Visit the Official Cagney & Lacey website.
- Read Barney Rosenzweig’s Blog!
- Get Barney’s book: “Cagney & Lacey… and me”

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Could you be a stuntwoman? Find out what it takes.
Susan and Sharon are honored to talk with legendary award-winning stuntwoman Debbie Evans Leavitt. In a career spanning six decades, Debbie has risked life and limb in classic television shows and massive blockbuster movies. She talks doubling Stephanie Zimbalist on Remington Steele and what that moment between take-off and crash-landing feels like. Debbie has flipped and fallen and raced in Charlie’s Angels, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Vega$, ChiPs, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Magnum, PI, Cagney & Lacey, CSI, NCIS: Los Angeles, Fear the Walking Dead, Major Crimes, and Criminal Minds.

Her many feature films include The Jerk, 1941, Jagged Edge, Heaven’s Gate, Witches of Eastwick, The Ring, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fight Club and Pineapple Express as well as Matrix: Reloaded and Matrix: Resurrection, this year’s The Batman -- and eight of the ten Fast & the Furious movies including the upcoming “Fast X”.

As one of the few women to survive and flourish in one of Hollywood’s most notorious boys' clubs – the world of stunts – Debbie Evans has navigated a treacherous career filled with challenges not limited to high-falls, fist fights and car chases. She takes Susan and Sharon over the hurdles and around the curves of a life that has been fast, furious, deeply rewarding – and never less than thrilling.

So buckle-up and grab your crash strap – here we go!

THE CONVERSATION

• Remembering 37 episodes of “Remington Steele” including
  • Learning to run “like Laura Holt”
  • Falling from a burning building!
  • Jumping Laura’s VW Rabbit into a pond!
  • Stunting for the guys! Using a fat suit and bald cap to double as Remington and Laura’s nemesis Norman Keyes – and getting punched by Pierce Brosnan!

• Riding motorcycles with her dad and her first time on a bike (she crashed)
• Building a Honda 55 step thru piece-by-piece at age 8 (took a year)
• Having fun on the set of “The Fast and the Furious” films with Michelle Rodriquez
• Getting her first movie gig with Roger Corman on the aptly named “DeathSport”
• Being mentored by “stunt mom” and veteran stuntwoman Jeannie Epper
• Doing her first car flip on “ChiPs”
• Doubling Stepfanie Kramer on Hunter.
• Taking the wheel of the Cody Coyote on Hardcastle & McCormick.
• Playing cowboys and guitar with Kris Kristofferson on the set of Heaven's Gate.
• Being inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003 – a dream come true.

Susan, Sharon and Debbie talk about crashing, flipping, speeding and Gosling! (Ryan, of course…) as Debbie explains the subtle art of giving people “the respect they don’t deserve”…

AUDIOGRAPHY
Debbie Evans Official website.
Learn more about women working in the field of stunts at WomenInStunts.com --
BOOKS
Stunts: The How-To Handbook: Secrets From an Award-Winning Hollywood Stunt Woman by Angela Meryl - Get it on Amazon.
THE STUNTWOMAN: The True Story of a Hollywood Heroine by David L. Robb and Julie Ann Johnson - On Amazon - Paperback - Kindle.
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Screen Classics) by Mollie Gregory - On Amazon - Kindle.

MOVIE
Check out the Stuntwoman movie directed by April Wright. Watch on Amazon.

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It’s the return of the 90’s TV Babies!
Susan and Sharon welcome back Serita Fontanesi, Megan Ruble and Sergio Perez to get their 90s TV take on “Remington Steele”. We asked them to watch three episodes and share their thoughts:

1. The pilot: “License to Steele”
2. S1, Ep21, “Sting of Steele”, featuring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Steele’s mentor Daniel Chalmers – and Beverly Garland, making a return appearance as Laura’s mother, Abigail Holt
3. S2, Ep03, “Red Holt Steele” – you know, the one where Laura’s house blows up and she almost sleeps with Remington…

The 90s TV Babies loved “Scarecrow & Mrs. King” – what will their verdict be about “Remington Steele”? Let’s find out!

THE CONVERSATION

• Why are 80s TV shows SO SLOW?! Or are they?
• Who knew Pierce Brosnan was SO skinny? Did James Bond fans think he wasn’t “man” enough to be 007?
• What’s more compelling? An intricate plot – or the “feels” between Laura and Remington?
• Was the villain in the pilot based on John DeLorean – or Elon Musk??
• Everyone knows Pierce Brosnan – but Sergio shares the joy of discovering Stephanie Zimbalist for the first time!
• Hey – why doesn’t Laura even know his real name?
• Where does the Venn diagram of beloved media overlap for Serita and Sergio?
• And what would a Season Six with no Pierce Brosnan look like?

The 90’s TV Babies (with help from the 80’s TV Ladies) dig deep into the romantic comedy soul of “Remington Steele”, discussing intersectionality, feminism, issues of identity and voice – and why can’t the show be just a little more like “Grey’s Anatomy”?!


PLUS – Listener Questions! “Remington Steele” writer Robin Bernheim sends us answers to your questions about the casting of Tony Roselli, and whether Laura Holt would have evolved differently as a character if women had been running the show?

New segment: “80’s TV Ladies Salute” where we recognize the ladies (and men) of 80’s TV who we recently lost.

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch all 5 seasons of “Remington Steele.”
Watch on Amazon.
On Apple TV.

8TL SALUTE - We salute the following 80s TV Ladies in Memoriam:

Kristie Alley
Earl Boen
Irene Cara
Carole Cook
Sonya Eddy
Diane McBain
Adam Rich
Helen Slayton-Hughes
Dorothy Tristan
Barbara Walters

For more information or to download a transcript of this podcast, visit our website - 80sTVLadies!

Don’t miss out on everything 80s TV Ladies. Sign up for our mailing list!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

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Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon sit down with “Remington Steele” assistant director Jerram Swartz. In a career spanning 5 decades, Jerram has worked on movies including “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” and “The Blues Brothers” as well as 80’s TV classics such as “The A-Team”, “Cagney & Lacey” and “Riptide”. In this episode, he shares stories about the fun, excitement and controversy of working on the fifth – and final – season of “Remington Steele”.

THE CONVERSATION
- Susan and Sharon’s fav Season 4 & 5 episodes and guest stars (Louie Anderson and Terry O’Quinn!).
- Pierce and Stephanie and the “Cancelled-and-then-NOT-cancelled” blues…
- How Stephanie Zimbalist almost starred in “Robocop”!
- What really happened with Pierce Brosnan’s whole “James Bond Thing” (and yes, he really was upset….)
- Jack Scalia as Laura Holt’s new love interest “Tony Roselli”. Was the plan to eventually replace Pierce with him??
- Shooting Season 5 in Dublin, Ireland -- and Pasadena, CA…
- Learning to tap dance from “Barnaby Jones” star Buddy Ebsen.
- Being punched by Robert Shaw on the set of “Swashbuckler”!
- Hanging with Kevin “the smart one” Tighe and Randolph “the sexy one” Mantooth on “Emergency!”
- Crashing cars into toy stores for “The Blues Brothers”.
- Being Mae West’s date to a studio screening of “Jaws”.
- Good times over the years working with TV ladies favs: Stephanie Zimbalist, Tyne Daly, Christina Applegate, Melissa McCarthy, Ellen Burstyn, Jacqueline Bisset and many others…

Join Susan, Sharon and Jerram as they talk Buck Rogers, Walt Disney and traveling the world with a very special Kermit the Frog!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Emmys.com - The Television Academy website
California Film Commission website
DGA.org - For DGA Training program and other directing programs.
Book: “Backwards and in Heels” by Alicia Malone -- Find it on Amazon.
All 5 seasons of “Remington Steele” are now available on Amazon Prime and AppleTV!
Watch: Amazon.
Watch on Apple TV.

For more information or to download a transcript of this podcast, visit our website: 80sTVLadies.com
Don’t miss out on everything 80s TV Ladies. Sign up for our mailing list!

Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.

Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.

Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!
Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.