by Joy Press
I am so lucky to have Rakesh Satyal as the editor for this book. As well as being a great prose-smith, he is a true TV devotee who seems to have perfect recall of plot twists in many of the shows documented here. I cannot imagine a more ideal reader; the finished product owes much to his interventions. At Atria, I am also grateful to have the support of Judith Curr and Peter Borland, and the aid of Loan Le and Paul Olsewski.
Thanks to my agent, Daniel Greenberg, who instantly understood what I wanted to achieve with this project and helped me shape the idea and find a home for it.
Finally, thank you to my family—to Tasmin Press-Reynolds, who joined me in my viewing research and delightedly watched series like Roseanne, Murphy Brown, and Gilmore Girls for the first time; and Kieran Press-Reynolds, who patiently watched me secede from domestic life for weeks on end as I sat hunched over my laptop. And to my husband, Simon, love of my life, who urged me to step off the treadmill of journalism and into the long-form space of this book; served as my first editor; offered guidance on every stage of this book; watched ridiculous amounts of TV with me; and cheered me on, even when the election results threatened to send us all into a permanent depression. I began this book and finished it thanks to him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
* * *
Joy Press has been writing about TV for more than fifteen years. In the 2000s, she was the chief television critic at the Village Voice. She later served as entertainment editor of Salon and then as pop culture editor at the Los Angeles Times, where, in addition to commissioning television coverage, she wrote and reported features on the medium. She has contributed to publications such as the New York Times, Slate, New York, Salon, and the Guardian. She lives in Los Angeles.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Joy-Press
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.
* * *
Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.
INDEX
* * *
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Page numbers of photographs appear in italics.
A
Abbott, Christopher, 178
Abbott, Michele, 235
ABC, 2, 5, 27, 55, 63, 66, 90–91, 108–19, 133, 149–50, 210, 286
network censor, 64
ratings, 108, 114
vajayjay controversy, 117
See also Grey’s Anatomy; Roseanne; Private Practice; Scandal
ABC Family, 99
abortion, 13, 17, 34, 36, 37, 58, 182
Girls and, 181–82
Grey’s Anatomy and, 117–18
Scandal and, 132
Absolutely Fabulous (TV show), 67–68
Adams, Nick, 277
Aduba, Uzo, 238, 246
Afternoon Delight (film), 261–64, 266
Agena, Keiko, 92
Akil, Mara Brock, 8
Albert, Lisa, 41–42
Albright, Madeleine, 92
Alexandra, Rae, 190
Allen, Woody, 171
Alley, Kirstie, 79
All in the Family (TV show), 46
Alterman, Kent, 206, 211
Altman, Mara, 174
Amanpour, Christiane, 92
Amazon, 164, 257, 263, 266, 271, 280, 287
Ambrose, Lauren, 98
AMC, 235
American Horror Story (TV show), 285
American Pie (film), 91
Andelin, Helen, 51
Anderson, Louie, 41
AngryBlackBitch (blog), 146
Aniello, Lucia, 210, 212, 213, 216
Annoyance Theatre, 258–59
Antonoff, Jack, 196
Apatow, Judd, 70, 172, 175, 177, 179, 180–81, 189, 196, 219, 280
Appleby, Shiri, 189, 284
Arfin, Lesley, 180
Armstrong, Jennifer Keishin, 6
Arnaz, Desi, 4, 41
Arnold, Andrea, 266, 280
Arnold, Tom, 48, 53, 56–59, 64–67
Aronofsky, Darren, 268
Aronsohn, Lee, 150
Arquette, Patricia, 207
Atlanta (TV show), 141
ATX Television Festival, 83, 95
Avedon, Barbara, 6–7
B
Baby Boom (film), 31
Baby Mama (film), 140
Backlash (Faludi), 18
Bacon, Kevin, 280
Bad Moms (film), 61
Bad Mother (Waldman), 61
Baer, Brett, 141, 143–44, 148, 153, 154, 156, 158
Baldwin, Alec, 138, 140, 142
Ball, Alan, 259, 260, 278
Ball, Lucille, 4, 7, 41, 47
Barinholtz, Ike, 161
Barnes, Van, 279
Barr, Roseanne, 11, 45, 45–71, 78
ABC and, 55, 63, 66, 69
background, 47, 48–52, 57–58, 62
comedy career, 47–48, 51–52
Emmy Awards, 60
as feminist, 47–48, 53
marriage to Tom Arnold, 48, 56, 57, 59, 66, 67
My Life as a Woman, 49, 50
My Lives, 53, 56
post-Roseanne life, 68–71
production company, 66, 69
Roseannearchy, 69
She-Devil (film), 57
“Star-Spangled” debacle, 59, 60
Beatts, Anne, 8
Beatty, Warren, 104
Bechdel, Alison, 92
Bechdel Test, 92, 153
Bedard, Bridget, 264
Beers, Betsy, 10, 103, 134–35
Grey’s Anatomy and, 108–19, 131, 135
Private Practice and, 119
Scandal and, 135
Shonda Rhimes and, 104, 105, 107, 108, 111, 118–19, 123, 124, 135
Benabib, Roberto, 233–34
Bening, Annette, 42
Berg, Gertrude, 4
Berg, James, 62–63, 65
Bergen, Candice, 23–24, 25–26, 28, 30, 38, 43, 60
Emmy Awards, 38, 60
motherhood and, 32, 35
Murphy Brown controversy and, 38
The Women and, 42
Bernhard, Sandra, 62
Beyoncé, 13
Bichir, Demián, 231
Bicks, Jenny, 8, 169, 174, 288–89
Big C, The (TV show), 8, 235, 288
Big Girls Don’t Cry (Traister), 13
Biggs, Jason, 239
Bishop, Kelly, 82, 99
Black Lives Matter, 130, 248, 249
Blake, Whitney, 6, 7
Bledel, Alexis, 74–75, 82, 84–85, 86, 97–98
Bloodworth-Thomason, Linda, 7, 37
Bloomberg, Stu, 90–91
Blossoms and Veils (film), 106
Bogado, Aura, 246
Bogosian, Eric, 227
Borowitz, Andy, 8
Boston Common (TV show), 228
Bowser, Yvette Lee, 8
Boylan, Jennifer Finney, 265
Breaking Bad (TV show), 76, 127, 235–36
Breitbart, 14–15, 194
Brenneman, Amy, 119
Brice, Fanny, 222
Bridesmaids (film), 149, 175
Brixius, Liz, 235
Broadcast News (film), 25
Broad City (TV show), 11, 199, 201, 208–16, 222–23
Amy Poehler and, 211, 213
> comparisons to Girls, 213–14
Hillary Clinton and, 222
nudity and sex on, 213, 214–16
origins of, 211
pilot, 209
pitching to Comedy Central, 211–12
showrunners, 212–13
writers, 212, 215
Brooks, Danielle, 238
Brown, Helen Gurley, 30, 110
Brown, Stacia L., 127
Brownfield, Paul, 114
Brownstein, Carrie, 194, 268
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV show), 9–10, 12, 59, 79, 89, 91, 106–7, 127
Bujalski, Andrew, 171
Bunheads (TV show), 89, 94, 98–99, 101
Burditt, Jack, 141, 143, 148–49, 161
Buress, Hannibal, 209
Burley, Mark, 225, 230, 233, 238, 250
Bush, George H. W., 35, 40, 124
Bush, George W., 77, 145
C
Caddell, Patrick, 86
Cagney & Lacey (TV show), 6–7, 32, 180
Callaghan, Sheila, 260–61
Camp, Anna, 162
Cannon, Kay, 141, 142–43, 148
Caplan, Lizzy, 155
Caprica (TV show), 9
Carlin, George, 69
Carlock, Robert, 10, 141, 145
Caroline, or Change (Kushner), 112–13
Carroll, Diahann, 123
Carsey, Marcy, 52, 53, 54
Carson, Johnny, 36
Casey, Mara, 83–84, 85, 97
Casual (TV show), 288
CBS, 2, 4, 7, 8, 21, 22–23, 26–27, 32, 34, 286
sitcoms on, 4, 8, 21, 228
standards, 32–33
2 Broke Girls and, 149
See also Cagney & Lacey; Murphy Brown
Chambers, Justin, 113
Charen, Mona, 18
Charles, Glen, 19
Charles, Josh, 218–19
Chase, David, 10
Cheers (TV show), 19, 95
Chenoweth, Kristin, 112, 113
Chung, Connie, 34
Clinton, Bill, 36, 37, 40
Clinton, Hillary, 13, 14, 37, 48, 77, 93, 134–35, 194, 216, 220, 222, 250, 286
Close, Glenn, 18
Coates, Ta-Nehisi, 186
Cody, Diablo, 235, 260, 261
Cohn, Harry, 104
Colbert, Stephen, 99
Colin, Margaret, 21
Colored Museum, The (Wolfe), 105
Comedy Central, 200–206, 211–13
Broad City and, 211–13
Inside Amy Schumer and, 203–6, 211
Comedy Store (LA), 52
Community (TV show), 141, 184
Conrad, Neil, 64
Corday, Barbara, 6–7, 32
Cosby, Bill, 218
Cosby Show, The (TV show), 46, 47, 52
Couric, Katie, 34
Cox, Laverne, 240–41, 257–58
Crane, David, 79
Creative Nonfiction (film), 168
Crosley, Sloane, 174
Crossroads (film), 103, 106
Crouse, Lindsay, 178
Cukor, George, 42
Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting, The (Warner), 122
culture wars, 14, 17, 33, 35–38, 43, 48, 70, 227
See also Murphy Brown
Cummings, Whitney, 149, 150
Cunningham, Marta, 266
Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV show), 185, 210
Czuchry, Matt, 74, 92, 95
D
Daly, Mary, 47
Daly, Tim, 119
Daniels, Greg, 159
Daniels, Susanne, 80–81, 83
Dargis, Manohla, 172
Dávalos, Raúl, 85
Davis, Viola, 133–34
Dawber, Pam, 21
Dawson’s Creek (TV show), 75, 79, 93
Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, The (TV show), 33, 76, 227, 230
Deadwood (TV show), 10, 173
DeGeneres, Ellen, 63
Delusional Downtown Divas (Web series), 171, 210
Dempsey, Patrick, 115
Deschanel, Zooey, 150, 152–55, 157, 186, 261
Designing Women (TV show), 7, 22, 27, 37
Desperate Housewives (TV show), 108, 114
Dewhurst, Colleen, 31
Dey, Susan, 41
Dick Van Dyke Show, The (TV show), 5
Diff’rent Strokes (TV show), 56
Diggs, Taye, 119
Divorce (TV show), 8
Donovan, Martin, 231
Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23 (TV show), 149–50, 181
Double Rush (TV show), 41
Downs, Paul, 209, 212, 213
Doyle, Sady, 146–47
Dratch, Rachel, 139, 140, 142, 143
Driver, Adam, 178–79
Drucker, Zackary, 265
Dungey, Merrin, 119
Dunham, Carroll, 170
Dunham, Lena, 3, 11, 14–15, 167, 167–98, 200, 221, 261, 271, 287
background, 170–71
controversy and, 170, 183–84, 186, 191–94
Delusional Downtown Divas, 171, 210
female sexuality and, 168, 172, 176, 181–82, 190–92
Golden Globe Awards, 186
HBO and, 172–73, 175
Hillary Clinton and, 194
indie films, 168, 171–72, 179, 210
Lenny Letter, 196, 219
Not That Kind of Girl, 188–89, 193, 194
production company, 196
Tiny Furniture, 168, 171–72, 174–75, 261
Duplass, Jay, 255, 256, 264
DuVernay, Ava, 285
E
Eastbound & Down (TV show), 160
Emmy Awards, 2, 7, 30, 106, 116, 226, 228, 230
Gilmore Girls and, 75
Inside Amy Schumer and, 2
Murphy Brown and, 30, 32, 38, 59, 60
Orange Is the New Black and, 241
Roseanne and, 59–60, 76
Scandal and, 127
30 Rock and, 145, 147
Transparent and, 2, 254, 271, 277
Empire (TV show), 11, 95
English, Diane, 19–43, 70–71, 289
background, 20–21
CBS and, 21, 22–23, 26, 32–33, 34, 36
Emmy Awards, 30, 32, 38
Murphy Brown, 19, 22–24, 26–27, 29–30
Murphy Brown controversy, 35–38
partnership with Joel Shukovsky, 20, 21, 25, 40–42
projects after Murphy Brown, 41–42
Enters, Warren, 20
Ernst, Rhys, 263, 265, 276
Espenson, Jane, 9, 89, 99
Essman, Susie, 215
Euston, Jennifer, 177–79, 238, 243
F
Falco, Edie, 200
Falk, Stephen, 251
Fallon, Jimmy, 140
Falls, Kevin, 86
Faludi, Susan, 18
Falwell, Jerry, 17
Family Guy (TV show), 88
Family Ties (TV show), 47
Fascinating Womanhood (Andelin), 51
Fatal Attraction (film), 18, 19
Felicity (TV show), 91
Feminine Mystique, The (Friedan), 4
Feministing (blog), 13, 146
Ferraro, Geraldine, 17–18
Fey, Tina, 3, 10, 11, 137, 138–49, 166, 186, 205, 207, 216
Amy Poehler and, 139, 140
background, 138–39, 140
Emmy Awards 145, 147
motherhood and, 147
NBC and, 140, 141–42, 145, 147
at Second City, 139, 210
SNL, 138–40, 145, 205
30 Rock, 138–49, 153, 156
Fine Romance, A (Bergen), 23
Finkel, Dave, 141, 148, 153, 156, 157
Finley, Karen, 227
Fisher, Carrie, 42, 145
Fisher, Lang, 147–49, 161–63, 165, 166
Fitzerman-Blue, Micah, 264, 279
Fleabag (TV show), 283, 287
Floyd, Ayanna, 11
Fluke, Sandra, 182
Flynn, Gillian, 221
Foley Square (TV show), 21, 26
Ford, Faith, 24
Foster, Sutton, 99, 101
Fox TV, 42, 79, 88, 98, 151–52
The Mindy Project and, 159, 164
New Girl, 149, 152
Franklin, Aretha, 30, 132
Franklin Furnace, 227
Frasier (TV show), 141, 228
Fresh Off the Boat (TV show), 70
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV show), 8, 227
Friedan, Betty, 4
Friedman, Liz, 236
Friends (TV show), 79, 90, 141, 142, 228
Frohna, Jim, 254, 263, 265, 266, 271, 272
From Reverence to Rape (Haskell), 7
Front Page, The (Hecht), 25
Full House (TV show), 47
Fury, David, 9
G
Game of Thrones (TV show), 188
Ganatra, Nisha, 166, 266, 284
Garcia, Risa Bramon, 53
Gasteyer, Ana, 139
Gelber, Danielle, 229
Get Christie Love! (TV show), 124
Giamatti, Paul, 207
Gianni, Sophia Grace, 269
Gilbert, Bruce, 261, 267
Gilbert, Sara, 60
Gilligan, Vince, 235
Gilliland, Eric, 68
Gilmore Girls (TV show), 3, 9, 73, 73–77, 79–102, 105, 109, 126–27, 246, 278
Bechdel Test and, 92
casting, 82–84
creative control of, 89
directors, 89–90, 94
as “dramedy,” 75
Emmy Awards, 75
influence of Roseanne on, 76, 80
last season and finale, 97–98
motherhood and, 87–88
Netflix and, 95, 99, 100, 101
pilot, 80–81, 83, 84, 90
premiere, 75, 86
ratings, 90, 93, 96
WB and, 79–81, 91, 93
writers, 84, 86–89, 97–98, 120, 228
A Year in the Life, 73–75, 77, 95, 99–102
Gimme a Break (TV show), 84
Giridharadas, Anand, 194–95
Girlboss (TV show), 141
Girls (TV show), 2, 15, 76, 167, 167–98, 200, 213–14, 261
awards, 2, 186
backlash and, 182, 183, 220
casting, 177–79
final season, 196–98
HBO and, 172–74, 175, 177, 181, 184, 186, 196
motherhood and, 31
nudity and, 183, 184, 188, 192
pilot, 175, 176–77
premiere, 167, 181
race and, 183–86
ratings, 188
sex and, 176, 182, 189–91
writers, 179–80, 189
Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, The (Schumer), 201, 221
Glatter, Lesli Linka, 90