Murphy Brown
Happy New Year
TV Flash files “Happy New Year” as a desk essential hour — Murphy Brown (1988–1998) on CBS, season 11, episode 13, aired 2018-12-20, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S11E13: listed hour 260 of 260 in the Murphy Brown guide, last listed hour of season 11. It aired 2018-12-20 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “AWOL” (S11E12). No later hour is listed in this guide.
Essential hour: “Happy New Year”. Happy New Year is the 2018 revival's last toast — later politics again; the original FYI years are why the list exists.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The gang tries to distract Murphy from worrying about Avery's assignment in Kabul by getting her to attend the special 100th anniversary New Year's Eve celebration at Phil's Bar.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Happy New Year sit in the Murphy Brown guide?
S11E13 is listed hour 260 of 260 — last listed hour of season 11, season 11 episode 13.
When did Murphy Brown S11E13 air?
Happy New Year aired 2018-12-20 and is listed at 30 minutes.
What was the Quayle fight actually about?
Vice President Dan Quayle publicly criticized the storyline of Murphy having a child as a single mother. A sitcom plot became a 1992 campaign talking point — culture-war television in primary sources.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Bergen's Emmy-harvesting lead turn and culture-war television in primary sources. FYI's hard-charging journalist, a revolving-door secretary gag, and the Dan Quayle single-motherhood flap that turned a sitcom into a 1992 campaign subplot. Sharp workplace comedy with real newsroom texture. Umbrage never looked so tailored.
FYI, America: a newsmagazine diva with cigarettes, catchphrases, and zero interest in being likable on anyone else's terms. CBS's *Murphy Brown* (1988–1998, later revived) put Candice Bergen in a bullpen with Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, Grant Shaud, Charles Kimbrough, and a revolving-door secretary gag. Diane English mixed workplace comedy with topical fights. Then Vice President Dan Quayle attacked Murphy's single motherhood and a sitcom became a 1992 campaign subplot. **Comedy drove national political…
Filed against
- Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown
Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown made FYI a hard-charging newsroom sitcom and a 1992 campaign subplot — revolving-door secretary gag, single-motherhood flap, workplace comedy with real headlines stuck to the wall. Culture-war television in…
- Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood
Faith Ford played Corky Sherwood on Murphy Brown — FYI's newsroom farce, a revolving-door secretary gag around Candice Bergen's hard-charging journalist, and 1980s workplace comedy that wandered into a 1992 campaign subplot. TV Flash…
- Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana
Joe Regalbuto’s Frank Fontana sat in Murphy Brown’s FYI bullpen — hard-charging journalism, a revolving-door secretary gag, and the Dan Quayle single-motherhood flap that turned a sitcom into a 1992 campaign subplot. Bergen’s…
- Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial
Charles Kimbrough played Jim Dial on Murphy Brown — FYI's granite anchor opposite Bergen's hard-charging journalist, a revolving-door secretary gag, workplace comedy with real newsroom weather. Culture-war television in primary sources,…
- Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg
Grant Shaud's Miles Silverberg ran FYI on Murphy Brown — 1980s/90s workplace sitcom with a hard-charging journalist, revolving-door secretary gag, and a culture-war aftertaste that wandered into a campaign. Nervous producer as comic…