Murphy Brown cast gets their close-ups in exclusive EW portraits

By Lynette Rice
September 13, 2018 at 01:00 PM EDT

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The cast of Murphy Brown reports for duty

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

Joe Regalbuto (Frank) says the revival's very first studio audience blew them away. "We knew they were going to be friendly, but they were over the top," he recalls of premiere night last month in New York City. "We had been rehearsing for a little while so things get a little dry. Is it still funny? But oh my goodness, they went ballistic. It was so rewarding. You could see how much they appreciated Murphy's responses, things that they'd been wanting to say, it was a joy."

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Candice Bergen (Murphy) and Faith Ford (Corky)

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"I was just trying not to burst into tears," Bergen said of their premiere night taping in New York City. "Faith came up to my trailer to give me a hug before the show, and she was emotional. We hugged, and I could barely talk, I said, 'It's so much.'"

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Hair today, hit tomorrow?

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"I feel so lucky," says Bergen. "I love Murphy. She's so much fun to play. It's like coming home in a really deep way."

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Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"You're going to find Corky on a budget," Ford explains of her character in 2018. "It's grown her up. She lost her job on a morning show called Wake Up America to the weather girl who went away and got a boob job. She came back and hello! She's popular."

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Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"We've gotten smarter. We've gotten better at what we do, especially Frank and Murphy because they are linked in their love of being journalists," Regalbuto says of the characters today. "They're both driven by their professional love of that game."

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Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

Miles will still be as anxious as he used to be in the new version, but that's all Shaud is comfortable saying for now."Just because of the element of surprise. I can say, they come and get me."

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Jake McDorman as Avery

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

Like his mother, Avery covered the 2016 presidential campaign but for a competing network called Wolf. "It's a conservative network but he's still Murphy Brown's son," McDorman explains. "But unlike Murphy he's interested in moving towards the middle and having conversations with some of these people who he met on the campaign trail who really care about their country and feel like they hadn't been represented. He's a liberal voice on the Wolf Network."

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Nik Dodani as Pat Patel

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"I play the director of social media and technology for Murphy in the Morning, which is a new morning show that Murphy is doing," Dodani says. "My job is to bring the crew into the 21st century, teach them about the internet and social media, and all that kind of stuff. Kind of be the young guy in the office who's keeping them fresh."

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Lasting legacy 

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"I hate the word empower, but Murphy Brown did empower a lot of young girls growing up," says Bergen. "I'm sort of jealous of it because I would've loved someone like that. It was such a positive influence in young women's lives."

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Pioneer at work

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

"The sitcom put a woman on top," Ford says of Murphy Brown's legacy. "Murphy never saw a glass ceiling to break. That's really what I always felt from her. It wasn't like she was asking, 'what ceiling?' She just didn't see it. Whatever was coming out of her mouth was from her gut. It wasn't a woman being strong. It was a person seeing obstacles and she wasn't going to let them stand in her way."

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The return of Murphy Brown

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW

The 11th season of sitcom remieres Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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Fall TV Preview

Credit: Robert Trachtenberg for EW (2); Matthias Clamer for EW; Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal; Robby Klein/Contour by Getty Images; Ari Michelson for EW; Jeff Riedel for EW (2)

For more on Murphy Brown and more fall TV, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday, or buy it here now. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

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