Murphy Brown returned with a vengeance. Candice Bergen’s famous news sitcom returned on Thursday, September 28, and wasted no time getting comfortable. The premiere not only featured a surprise cameo by Hillary Clinton (playing Hilary Clinton, with one L), it also took on President Donald Trump head-on.
The episode began on election night in 2016, with Murphy screaming at her television when Trump won. Fast forward two years and she was protesting in the city with her closest friends. It didn’t take time for the gang to get back together and decide to take on the news again. Murphy’s son is now an adult and a journalist himself. Avery (Jake McDormand) works for the rival network, a Fox-style channel appropriately titled, Wolf.
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Ahead of her TV return, Avery signed his mother up for Twitter, where she tweeted, “I once went on a date with Trump. He made us split the check.” Earlier this month, Bergen, 72, revealed that she and Trump had actually gone on a date once when she was in college. The tongue-in-cheek moment was filled of howls of laughter from the studio audience.
After Murphy gets excited by a retweet from Elizabeth Warren, her son tells her, “Think before you tweet, Mom. Shows have been canceled for less.” The quote was seemingly a jab at Roseanne, the revival that was axed by ABC after Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist comment.
Before she takes her seat at her new job, Murphy must hire a secretary. Yes, the running joke of rotating secretaries continued, with Clinton herself coming in to meet with Murphy for the position. “I do have some experience with emails,” Clinton says, before adding she’s very into team work. “Everyone works together. It takes a village.”
She even gave Murphy her card, which revealed her email address: “Hilary@YouCouldHaveHadMe.com.”
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Once back on air, Murphy was alerted that “Trump” has responded with a tweet. “Old Murphy doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Turbines bad. Kill all your birds. I’m against wind,” the message read.
Confused by the tweet, Murphy quipped, “If I had your hair, I’d be against wind, too.”
In addition to the heavy and hilarious current events theme, the show also took a moment to honor the late Robert Pastorelli. He portrayed Eldin Bernecky in the original series and died of an overdose in 2004.
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“I’m just lying here staring at the ceiling remembering when Eldin painted that mural of the industrial revolution,” Murphy said to her son. “I wish he were here with us.”
After Avery reminds her, “you told him not to run with the bulls,” the two then raised their teacups to Eldin.
Murphy Brown airs on CBS on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET.