On Thursday’s premiere of “Murphy Brown,” a special guest made a surprise appearance on the show: Hillary Clinton. The stars of the show, who were sworn to secrecy, talked to CBSN’s Vladimir Duthiers ahead of the premiere about working with the former presidential candidate.
Duthiers started, “So you have a special guest star … “
“We do! A very special guest star,” responded Bergen. “Hillary Clinton.”
Shaud joked about how carefully they guarded the secret. “I can’t believe I just heard it. We’re so conditioned to — we’re going to be shot now.”
Bergen laughed and said, “I know, I know. I was waiting for an electric shock to radiate.”
“We’re all wearing ankle bracelets,” said Shaud.
Bergen continued, “She came and did a beautifully written little sketch, but not only did she do it and she was so gracious, but she was humiliating because she was a wonderful actor.”
Bergen added, “She doesn’t overplay. She’s very honest. She’s very contained. She’s very, very real.” Clinton plays herself on the show.
Shaud started, “She’s so self-effacing that she’s so … ”
“The sketch was very self-effacing for her and she wanted to do it because she liked how the sketch was written,” said Bergen.
Ironically, Bergen also said that if Clinton were president, there would be no “Murphy Brown” reboot.
“If the election had gone another way, if Hillary had been elected, there would have been no discussion about the show coming back, because in our mind, life would have been good,” Bergen declared in the interview.
One person who won’t be a guest on “Murphy Brown”? Former vice president Dan Quayle, who once criticized the original show for allegedly glorifying Murphy’s single motherhood. In 1992, Quayle made headlines when he said the show was “mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another ‘lifestyle choice.'”
“[Show creator] Diane English doesn’t want him anywhere near us,” said Bergen. The actress told Duthiers, “He should be your secretary, because there’s no work for him.”
The new “Murphy Brown” premieres Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. ET/ 8:30 p.m. CT on CBS. You can also watch “Murphy Brown” on CBS All Access.
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