• by Phyllis Fine , Staff Writer, March 1, 2018

Who was the father of Murphy Brown’s out-of-wedlock baby?

I Googled that question (answer below)* as I anticipated the return of one of my favorite shows ever, with 13 episodes set for this year’s fall season.

One big reason I’d forgotten the paternity detail: Unlike many other shows of that era — “Murphy Brown” ran from 1988 to 1998 — it didn’t stay in the public eye via reruns or streaming on Netflix. Presumably, those choosing shows to repurpose figured  “Murphy” was so period-specific, especially with mentions of political figures, that younger audiences just wouldn’t get all of the jokes. (“Who’s Dan Quayle, Mommy?”)

Now, of course, Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown, the esteemed — and liberal — journalist, is ideally positioned to react to our current hot-button political climate.

And while I like a good Trump ribbing as much as the next person, the show’s best moments (and laughs) were always firmly character-based. So I’m confident its new CBS incarnation, featuring almost all the old gang (Corky, Miles and Frank) as regulars — a fact confirmed this week — will find a suitable balance between political skewering and the funny foibles of its cast.

The show always did a lot with Murphy’s overbearing grumpiness — as with her firing of seemingly millions of crazy secretaries.

(Check out this clip where Bergen shows her comic chops by taking over a phone-sex call started by her secretary: “Bambi just got sent back to the forest — This is Thumper!”)

“Feisty” is Murphy’s middle name, as it is for another 1980s-to-‘90s character also getting a new chance to shine: Roseanne, played by comedian Roseanne Barr.

The reboot of ABC's eponymous series, set to premiere March 27 for nine episodes, also seems particularly timely. It's a way to dig deeper into the dynamics of working-class folks vulnerable to Trumpism.

In fact, the onscreen Roseanne will vote for Trump. And its creative team will feature, as Barr put it, “the conversation everyone is having,” tempered by a writers room with both conservative and liberal viewpoints, per The Hollywood Reporter. Barr, who voted for Trump in real life as a “radical” act, insisted on at least one Hillary joke.

As with “Murphy,” the ultimate payoff is not political.

I watched enough of the show way back when to agree with Whitney Cummings, executive producer and co-showrunner of the “Roseanne” reboot: “There’s no agenda, no judgment of the characters, just a deep devotion to the Conners’ fiscal and emotional reality. That, and a bravery around incendiary, progressive-themed stories.”

Still, if the return of both shows is partly linked to the politics of the time, I’ll say this: If I have to live through the fearfulness of the Trump era, at least I can take comfort in the return of two of the strongest, most independent women ever to grace a TV screen.

*Murphy’s ex-husband and radical Jake Lowenstein (played by Robin Thomas), who led an underground existence and chose not to help with the baby’s upbringing.