TIME

Murphy Brown heads back to work

From a 1993 episode: Bergen, Charles Kimbrough, John Hostetter, Shaud, Regalbuto and Ford

ON A STICKY AUGUST NIGHT AT A RESTAURANT near the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, N.Y., the reunited cast, writers and staff of CBS’s Murphy Brown, including Candice Bergen, are gathered for a drink and some food after a taping of the reboot of the iconic 1990s newsroom comedy. The series hasn’t premiered yet, and there’s a kind of wobbly joy in the room.

Most of the characters are familiar. Viewers will remember Murphy’s colleagues Corky (Faith Ford) and Frank (Joe Regalbuto) and her producer Miles (Grant Shaud). Then there are new additions like Nik Dodani as the social-media editor dragging the olds into the digital era and Tyne Daly as Phyllis the barkeep—as well as Jake McDorman, who plays Murphy’s now-grown son Avery.

But beyond the new characters, there’s also a new challenge: making a scripted show about journalists at a fake cable-news program who cover the presidency

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