S8 E3 Extra Sugar - Golden Girls: Bea Arthur

In this week’s “Extra Sugar”, we’re going beyond the biosketch and learning much more about the real woman behind Dorothy Zbornak: Bea Arthur. 

We’re talking about her fearless advocacy, her trailblazing role in Maude — where she tackled issues like women’s rights, aging, and reproductive freedom — and how that legacy paved the way for Dorothy and generations of strong female characters to come.

So, grab a slice of cheesecake and join us as we celebrate the woman who proved that comedy could have a conscience — and that a well-timed glare could change the world.

And, as always, thank you for being a friend!

Or listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music.

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Transcript

S8 E3 Extra Sugar - Golden Girls: Bea Arthur

Hey, Nikki.

Hey, Salina.

Hey, y'. All. And welcome to this week's episode of Extra Sugar. Today we are talking. I feel like that's gonna be really loud. I apologize. Today. Sorry. We're gonna be talking about the incomparable queen of Deadpan. And the queen of our hearts, for that matter, Ms. B. Arthur. For seven years, she breathed life into the character of Dorothy Z On Golden Girls.

It's all I know to do. Delighting audiences with her wit and unparalleled comedic timing. But that is just a drop in the bucket. Today, we will start with some interesting background about Bea. And I'm gonna tell you, every time I look at her name, I want to go, bae. Oh, I don't know why, but we'll talk about her personal legacy. Hopefully, one or two things that you don't already know. Maybe more. Who knows? Time will tell. Time will tell. And then we're going to talk about Maude and, her time there and what that character in that show did to propel women's stories forward. And then finally, her groundbreaking moments on TV got me thinking about other groundbreaking moments for other women on television, so I thought we'd discuss a few of those as well. Sound okay?

Ah, we'll see.

Do you like it? When I ask this question, I don't mean every time. Does it sound okay?

Because the answer needs to be yes.

Because that's what I've prepared today.

So you don't really have a choice.

Sound good? I mean, I would try to pivot.

You know what, Salina? I think it sounds great. I think it sounds great. All I can hope is that you're going to mention when you talk about the legacy, the Family Guy crossover between Maude and Family Guy.

Oh, boy.

Well, actually, this tees me up for the next thing that I was going to ask you, Nikki Mayes, which is if, as our golden guru, will you jump in along the way with anything that we should know or that I'm missing? So it might be. It might be your golden opportunity. You know, I like being called a golden guru. Golden guru.

But it also kind of scares me.

That's a lot of pressure. Well, there's no test.

Okay. Perfect.

There's just you popping in with knowledge.

Okay.

As you see fit.

Sure.

Okay.

Sounds great.

Okay.

Thank you for the opportunity.

You're welcome. And eventually, I'll get tired of calling things the golden this and the golden that, but it hasn't happened yet.

You know when I think it'll happen? The end, after our last episode, then it can happen.

But until the Gilmore Girls time. Where are you searching yet for that thread? Is it just going to be food?

I don't know yet, Salina. I don't know.

It'll be tough. Yeah.

Don't push me. Don't push me.

I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I won't push you.

okay, so let's start with some Bea basics. Okay? Okay.

Okay.

We're not going to live in these details, but I thought some table setting would be nice. So for those who are not someone who just goes up and goes and looks up everybody's birthdays. She was born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1922, in Brooklyn, and she was raised in a Jewish home. Be would later marry and divorce twice, and she had two sons, both with her second husband, Gene Sachs. She had lung cancer, but reportedly passed peacefully in her sleep on April 25, 2009 in her LA home. She was 86 years old. So. But Bee was so much more than a bio sketch. She had some really surprising twists and turns in her career. So During World War II, she enlisted as one of the first members of the U.S. marine Corps Women's Reserve, reportedly only five days after they began enlisting women in 1943. So she goes on to serve as a typist in Washington, D.C. and then as a truck driver and dispatcher in North Carolina until she was honorably discharged in the rank of Staff sergeant and in September 1945. Now, I'm going to say for the record that they do have her transfer paperwork. She requested to be transferred from the typist to be a truck, you know, before she wound up as a truck driver and dispatcher. And I think that sounds right, because I think she was probably trying to subvert this idea that all she could do was be a typist. Not that that's not important, but I think that she entered the Marines for a different reason. That's just my guess. I also would have liked to seen her doing a little dispatching out there. Breaker, breaker and whatnot. in an incredible sliding door moment in 1947, despite becoming a licensed medical technician, she decided to enroll in the School of Drama at the new school instead of working as a lab technician. I had mentioned in our main episode earlier, in the week that in An Intimate Portrait. Thank you, Lifetime.

I'm gonna go back and look at some intimate portraits because I haven't watched those in a long time.

They're very important.

Television.

They're very important.

It's right up there with behind the Music.

It really is. she talks about, basically the bottom line was she wanted to be a star. She didn't want to run urine samples for her whole career. And you know what? Yeah, that's understandable.

Right. But thank you to those who are rock stars in the urine sample world.

That also is important. Absolutely. One could argue that that might be more important also. Golden. Awesome. Well, it depends on how much water you drink that day, Nick.

I'm dehydrated.

And you're welcome everyone, for that.

So that Sliding Doors, though, would eventually lead to her break as playing Yenta the Matchmaker in Broadway's original run of Fiddler on the roof in 1964, which I just want say is really cool. That was something I did not know is that she was in the initial cast, a few years later in 1966. And here's our Designing Women connection. She goes on to star as Vera Charles in the original Broadway run of Mame, opposite Angela Lansbury in the title role. This run earned her a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical. I didn't really like write about this for us to talk about today, but her and Angela Lansbury did continue a friendship for the rest of her life. after this, she would, did also go out for the main role and wound up being cast as Vera Charles. Okay, if you really are interested, this is for you. But just, everyone who's listening, if you really are interested in learning more about who Bea Arthur was, I really think that Intimate Portrait was excellent. And I think it shows that she's someone who, because of her height and because maybe she didn't have the same quote, unquote, beauty standard as Vivian Leigh or whoever, often got relegated to these supporting roles. and I think that really.

Ah.

Affected a lot of the trajectory of her life. And I do think that's an interesting thing to consider when you consider who Bea Arthur was.

when I was looking into what she ever said about Dorothy, something that just kept coming up was her insecurity with her physical appearance and how that played into, again, some of the way that she approached her work that played into her perspective on things. with Golden Girls, it certainly played into the way that she felt comfortable with certain scripts and certain jokes that were made at her expense or otherwise. and honestly, it just left me with sort of a feeling of sadness because I think she's in again. I think it's like beauty standards change and we're like, a lot more inclusive now than we've been before. But, like, she is so unique and singular that, like, it's just sad to me that she felt that were certain roles, she couldn't play or couldn't play as well because of the way she looked and that other people felt that way too.

I mean, I can't take my eyes off of her. And is that not beauty?

She's statuesque, she's charismatic.

Yeah, I think she's very stunning. and, I don't know if you ran across this, but apparently Tallulah Bankhead told her at some point. She just did. She just didn't have the bone structure, honey. and she was like, she had some choice words for her. So again, I'll point you to the intimate portrait. Nikki prefers we keep this a clean podcast. And I respect Nikki and I'm gonna do.

Thank you.

But she has some choice phrases is all I'm saying. so then let's fast forward a little bit. In 1971, Norman Lear invited her to guest star on his hit sitcom all in the Family as Edith Bunker's outspoken liberal feminist cousin, Maude Finley. And the rest is TV history. Of course, we know if anybody who's ever watched all in the Family Arch Bunker is used as, a way to, show, what certain lines of thought and small mindedness, kind of show how maybe that line of thinking doesn't always make sense. And she was the answer to that. So just, I mean, you can see how bringing on a feminist liberal, especially in that time period, just set those two free on each other. Watch the magic happen. CBS, loved her and Lear loved her. And in 1972, she got her own spin off Mod. We'll talk much more in much more detail about that here in a minute. I don't think we need to luxuriate in the golden era, but it's worth saying that Golden Girls would not only be her second mega hit television series, it would also be the second show that she starred in to push forward the narrative of older women. And that really is singular in the 70s and the 80s.

Also worth mentioning, Bea Arthur was not like Maude in real life. You did talk about this in the main episode. I'll just say it again here in case anybody is just a huge Bea Arthur fan and only tunes in for that. Anything could happen, right? but she wasn't like Dorothy, that outspoken quality that people loved in her. Those who knew her best. And it sounds like getting to know her wasn't that easy, by the way. Said that she was quieter, she was more reserved, much, much more so than the women that she so famously played. So another thing that I really think is very interesting about Bea Arthur is that she was an advocate at heart. She walked the walk and talked the talk. So that is in the characters that she portrayed. I mean, honestly, that's the things that really stand out, even though we don't always know that. All those things perfectly aligned. We kind of were taking guesses here and there. But she portrayed characters that were championing equal rights for women. They were speaking out against anti Semitism and, homophobia and speaking up for the elderly, you know. So these are really important, topics, always. But, on the early side of things, for some of these things, I found an upward. The article that spoke to some specific things that she said. She put on a one woman show in 2005 to raise money for the Ali Forney Center. And this is an organization that provides services to LGBTQIA + youth experiencing homelessness in New York City. And then her estate gifted the center $300,000 after she died in 09. And then she was also a huge animal activist. In 2004, she testified in the California Senate against the sell and production of foie gras in the state. If you are not familiar, it's made from the livers of force fed geese and ducks. They put tubes down their throats and pump food into their stomach several times a day to fatten up their livers. And she was also known, for picking up stray animals, including a German shepherd that she found on the highway, on the way to set. This, like, makes it into a playbill that a director mentioned that, like, this whole cast and crew is, like, waiting. It's because she was, like, chasing a dog around a median somewhere.

She good people.

Well, you know what's funny is that this turned out to be Barbra Streisand's dog. Okay, I just want to say that much like Atlanta, wherever she was at this time, I'm assuming New York, but I don't know for sure these are also not real places because how does that happen? How.

And I wonder, like, how did they find that out?

I, you know, did they have the.

Dog have, like, that tag in it? And then when they scanned it at the vet, did it say, like, babs, owner, Babs?

I would love to know the end of that story.

Wow, that's fascinating.

so she supported HIV research, including donation. again, after she had passed Away to the AIDS service foundation in Orange County. And much in line with the woman I've read so much about. She was discreet, so she didn't allow photos when she went to shelters. Her contributions to different organizations weren't really widely known until after she died. And then, while we are on the, just talking about her personal life, I will drop an EW article in the show notes and, in our blog post as well. I highly encourage everyone to read the really incredible things that people had to say about her after she passed. There's quotes in there from Susan Harris, Norman Lear, Betty White, Angela Lansbury. It's really special stuff.

let's talk about the legacy of Maude. Cards on the table. I was not overly familiar with this show. I watched a few episodes and several clips in preparation for today. I think, for me, part of the issue is that syndication for it, it was not as widely available as, like, all in the family. Uh-huh. And then, like other Nick and night shows that you and I probably watched growing up, Nikki, was that. Was this a blind spot for you or.

Yeah, I think, it's also interesting how you perceive a show based on the perception of other people who you've heard about it from. So, like, how someone could talk about a show and you're like, oh, well, I guess it's not that good. What I had heard about Maude from, let's just say, older role models in my life was that she was an abrasive, liberal feminist, and it was an obnoxious show to watch. So if it ever came on, pairing with the fact that it looked old in my mind, it's gonna be annoying. I don't want to watch it. So it's just funny that that was the perspective I had through my childhood on that show.

You want to hear what my perspective was? What's mod? It was, like, half that, but half, like, because of the time period and, like, that graininess of it. Oh, and it's starting with an M. I was like, is it just Mama's Family?

And I'm like, is it just Mama's Family? New episodes. Is it Christmas already?

Oh, I guess it depends on what you're after for Christmas. M. So, again, mod is a spin off of all in the family, and both shows were created by the legendary Norman Lear. MOD debuted in 1972. Again, that graininess. And following the titular character in Westchester county, New York. This is a very affluent community. And this is also, along with her fourth husband, Walter, played by Bill Macy, her divorced daughter Carol, played by Adrienne Barbeau, and then her best friend is Vivian, is played by none other than Rue McClanahan, a character that can only be described as the opposite of Blanche Devereaux. Now, have you seen any clips of her in this role?

Yes.

Okay. It's wild, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

Because she's almost, like, mousy.

And very conservative and reserved.

Yeah. she strikes, me. I didn't get to see enough of the show to know for sure, so someone will definitely be, like, an idiot. But I. She struck me as like, maybe this is like an intellectual character. and not that Rue, doesn't play, Blanche very savvy, but it's a different kind of smart. Like a street smart. I think. You know, Maude M was nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globes. So it's funny, like, to think about your family members in juxtaposition with the fact that this show was a hit, you know, But.

And also thinking region.

Well, I also read somewhere that the. I think it's called the Q score.

Okay.

Did you read about this at all? so actors are assigned a score of how audiences perceive and receive them. And one of, Bea Arthur's challenges with television is that her Q score was really low compared to others, like a Betty White. So I don't know. I think region had some of something to do with it, But I also just think there was a substantial amount of people that struggled with that character.

Specifically as Maude, her Q.

I don't know that it was tied to that character. It's more like public perception of her as an actor.

But I think that's interesting.

You tie her very closely to the character of Maude. So, yeah, I don't know.

I think that must have been a really tough character for people to handle in the early to mid-70s. Like, the fact this was even on is a little mind blowing to me. BE won an Emmy M in 1977 for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, and it did rank in the top 10 shows on TV for its first four seasons. I mean, and, you know, we've talked about this before. The amount of viewers that put you in the top 10 in the 70s is, like, a truly remarkable amount of the larger population. The show tackled a lot of big social issues, but it also. Now, I think this is really interesting. Maybe if there had been a closer watch here, is that it put a lens on liberal hypocrisy, or what Norman Lear called the horse's ass liberal. He and, Bea Arthur deliberately portrayed Maude as someone who often wound up exposing her own prejudices. In her effort to prove her progressive points. And I just want to say I think we could use some of that energy today.

I think that. Yes, I agree with that. I think that's really where our narrative is going to have to go to bridge both sides back to one another is we're all just going to have to admit we all have blind spots. And until we can do that, it's not going to happen.

Instead, we've all quadrupled down.

Yes.

Yeah. And we'll just hate each other. And that's the plan.

One thing I will say going back to that Q score thing real quick is it was her Q score leading into Golden Girls because this was in the context of piecing the Golden Girls show together. So thinking about the timeline, she would have been a few years removed from mod. And I think I also read something that said that you might be getting to this. One, B wanted to end her run on MOD because she didn't want to overstay her welcome. But two, I think there were political tides changing in the country that made the show of Maude and made the Norman Lear shtick run a little dry for a lot of people. The way that he approached social issues was tough for people to see in the current political landscape. So her Q score could have also turned a bit, with people's recollection of her from Maude in the current political context. Does that make sense?

It does. I'll say something that will speak to that a little bit, but I don't know it tote. We're more divided now than ever and I think that really started in that era. So it's not without. You say. See M. So MOD explored issues of alcoholism, homophobia, and of course highly focused on women's issues. Things like menopause, which we've discussed before, is not talked about just in general enough.

I try real hard not to talk about it. If I avoid it, maybe I'll just skim right past it.

Let me know how that goes. it also talked about really serious things. I don't mean to do a total tide change here, but like rape and the justice system.

However, its most controversial episodes would air in its very first season, which is very brave. On November 14th and 21st, 1972, titled Maude's Dilemma, the 47 year old Ma discovers that she's pregnant. The larger episode follows her coming to terms with the pregnancy and ultimately, along with her Husband deciding to get an abortion. I think it's really important, again, to say Maude had a child already a grown woman. I think she's, like, in her mid to late 20s. and she's grandchildren. And I want to say 47 in 1972 is a. It's different. It's different. The script is credited to Austin and Irma Kalish, as well as, Wait for it, Susan Harris, creator of Golden Girls. They addressed vasectomies, the pill, and also mods discomfort with abortion despite also supporting it being legal. So, Nikki, this is for your benefit and anybody's benefit that didn't actually see these episodes. this is something I took on because I knew I was doing this segment. there's, like, a whole scene where her husband is sitting down with a friend, and he's going to get a vasectomy. And, actually gets scared and decides not to. she is confronted with this idea of, like, why weren't you on the pill? Or something like that. So they are sort of, like, tackling all of these different, like, subset issues. And I feel like I'm gonna get some of some part of this wrong. But I actually think that this episode was part of some kind of contest for TV shows to talk about birth control options. Oh, that's how this started.

Oh, that's interesting.

It was also supposed. So it was originally going to focus on vasectomies, and then they decided to focus on abortion.

Wow.

And it was actually going to be Rue McClanahan's character. Oh. They got pregnant. And then they decided they wanted to shift to Bea, Arthur instead.

Oh, that's cool.

so in the larger context of things, this episode airs two months ahead of the decision in Roe v. Wade. And it's also important to note that New York had already legalized abortion, but maybe two years before or something like that. From what I read, CBS was initially for it. Then they got cold feet. So Lear really pushed for these episodes to air. The network calculated that at least 65 million Americans saw at least one of the episodes in the first run or as a rerun. I don't what gets that now. Super Bowl. Yeah, maybe. Maybe if Taylor Swift runs naked across, like, Chiefs game.

Right.

It gets 63 million. I don't know. So initially, there wasn't that big of a pushback. There were, like, maybe two affiliates in Illinois who decided not to brag. Broadcast it. You like that? to broadcast it. And then a third in Detroit decided to air it after, like, local community members protested. Oh, cool. Very nice. About 400 phone calls were received afterwards objecting to the episode. But it was really come rerun time when things snowballed. So around 40 affiliates opted to not broadcast. This is, out of maybe like 240 affiliates total, according to New York Times. Pepsi, General Mills, the J.B. williams Company and others have pulled their ads and the episode ran without sponsorship. So Lear is quoted as saying, this proves there's a certain degree of cowardice in the American business community. Lear told the New York Times in 1973 about the sponsor withdrawals. A few letters from pressure groups can make advertisers panic. so the rerun was forced to include a warning as well. And so it came with this note.

Tonight's episode of Maude was originally broadcast in November of 1972. Since it deals with Maude's dilemma as she contemplates the possibility of abortion. You may wish to refrain from watching it if you believe the broadcast may disturb you or others in your family. years later, Arthur would say, and I think this is really important. she would say that some letters she got made her rethink the storyline, saying, the people who wrote to us were not cranks and crazies. They were genuinely interested in and felt sincerely about the right to life. At this point in my life, I don't know if I would permit the show to end the way it did. I really don't.

No.

Wow. So I think, I think that's important. And when I say years later, I. I think it was like late 70s.

Wow.

She did get some death threats. So there were some cranks and crazy.

Sure, there always are.

But there must have been enough to also make her feel this way.

I mean, abortion is just. It's such a difficult issue because it affects so many people in such different ways that I appreciate that level of self reflection and, and going back in the context of life that she had even just a few years later and kind of thinking, do I feel the same way now? Have I changed my mind again? I think that's the human experience, and you're right as a human, is to look at your life and think, like, do I still believe this?

Yeah, you know, I think so. And I hope maybe this will give you a little bit more insight into the episode as well. But, my take was like, it's, it's, it's challenging because it's 2025 now. But I actually thought it was really fair and really balanced. They included an opposing view and it was also from a woman. It wasn't From a man, which I think is spectacular. Because, honestly, we need to be hearing from the women on this issue. I want to hear from men, too, but it is in the woman's body, so that feels significant. But this is a woman who was around Maude's age, and she basically came in and she told her she was about to have her fifth kid, and she was very happy about it. And, you know, and she. And so you get a little bit of that other perspective. It's a serious subject matter. And from my perspective, watching it, I thought they handled it really carefully, really respectfully. The decision making was shared between Maude and her husband. It wasn't presented as an easy decision, and it shouldn't be. I mean, they really sprawled it out over two episodes, you know, because it's really it. She finds out, like, within, almost just right after the opening credits, she, like, comes in, she's like, I'm pregnant. So I think it presented that dance of a couple trying to be considerate of one another while learning to assert their own wants and needs, which I think is. I mean, that's just part and parcel to relationships. That also lended itself to the realism of, like, the way it was written. But what hit me as especially important was a gift that New York Times attributed to the wit and wisdom of Lear. Like, his gift, which was basically firmly taking a stance. Sure. But also leaving space for disagreement. And I think that's what's a little frustrating with people like, you know, like, oh, you know, Norman Lear stuff. I'm like, he actually did present two sides more than really anyone else. and again, much like we could use someone to talk about the hypocrisy of all sides right now, we could really use someone out there who wanted to create space for discussion. It's sorely needed.

So, before we leave here to discuss anything else, I just wanted to know, is there anything that this pops for you? I don't want you to feel, like, put on the spot, but if there's anything that you want to ask or. Or you want to talk about, because these are like, this is really the legacy of mod because it was such a sea change.

Yeah, no, I. I think you explained it all really well.

Okay. I was thinking about, like, I mean, this really was huge for 1972. It was smart. It wasn't some 20 year old. It was a woman with a child. It was a woman with a grown child. I think it's subverted that awful stereotype that women are simply using abortion as the pill. That's the thing that persists to today. And that's, I mean that's just, it's wildly untrue. The, the timing is also wild. Only two months before Roe v. Wade comes down. I mean, that had to be strategic. There's a reason that they moved from vasectomies to abortion. But that timing is still really interesting. And I can't help to think about what it must have felt like to be a woman then. Except I, I guess I can since it was overturned a few years ago. But this groundbreaking episode and content like it still resonates today. I think that's so important and like this is still something that's, it's still, it is just constantly part of the national conversation. It's never not part of it. And, and I do want to say that despite all of the progress that been made, we are still making the body of a woman a battleground where everyone gets a piece and a say. And that's definitely something that I was thinking a lot about as I was thinking about the things that maybe haven't aged so well in the last 50 plus years. And you know, again, what is sadly the most different in this moment is that we're so divided and there are few people that can have a rational, level headed discussion, level headed discussion if they hold opposing views. So for me, this provides a shed of hope that these things can come back to the forefront and that we can listen to one another and we can listen to what's good for a woman's life and a woman's body.

Yeah, I think one of the things that, that I appreciate about the way that they positioned it in the show is that it was a choice that, that she approached with her husband, the other person affected by this situation. they did it thoughtfully. It wasn't, you know, like you said, it wasn't just her version of the pill or whatever. And I just, I get so frustrated with the issue of abortion because it's not an issue of whether or not you agree with abortion. You get to make that choice. So like, if I disagree with it, then guess what? I'm not going to get an abortion. It's the fact that you're making that choice for someone else. And that is the thing about politics today that like, it's not even is abortion an issue. It's like in the United States, do we have freedom or do we not? And if we are saying we do not have freedom, then it is not the United States anymore. And that's what bugs me about an issue like abortion. And, it's. It's so infuriating to hear you talk about a 1970 show. And I can see it happening today to a 47 year old woman who is engaged in a happy marriage, who, whose body is in this huge time of change. She can't even predict her own body at this point. We. I joked about menopause earlier, but we are in the early stages of that. And you just don't know what your body's capable of or not capable of or what it's doing right now or who it's turning on. And you don't know that and you live in it. And so then we've got people outside of our bodies making choices for us. And I just. It's, heartbreaking that, that that show in that plot line is still true today. It just. That makes me sad.

Yeah. That the research community doesn't want to look into how to make things a little easier, but they still want to tell you legislatively what to do with it.

This is what I'm saying. This is what I'm saying. And that's not me making a statement about how I feel about abortion one way or another. I believe strongly someone deserves the right to choose what happens in their body because of the country we are so fortunate to have been born in. That's what I believe.

Yep.

Whether or not I believe I would get an abortion is an entirely irrelevant conversation.

Which is, I, want to say is very, very, very much so ingrained at the narrative of that episode of Maude, because her daughter is really the voice of progressives in the episode and keeps reminding her like, you're for it, you're for it. You were in the picket lines or whatever. I can't remember what the motivating factor was, but she was like, yeah, and I am. And she was like, this is my body.

But it's me. It's me now we're talking about.

It's not that nuance. Yeah, exactly. That's the nuance of this whole thing.

so we're just light and breezy today. Light and breezy. okay, so. So let's go ahead and touch on groundbreaking women on tv. And I narrowed the list to seven, but I should say that there were many, many, many more good ones. So we'll link to some articles in case you want to dive into the TV history. This is also, in no specific order. The first one on my list is Mary Tyler Moore. Again, just first on my list, but not number one. I couldn't rank them Mary Tyler Moore was on from 1970 to 1977. The Mary Tyler Moore show is a critical part of TV history. It centered on a woman who was more interested in her career than quote, unquote, finding a man. It included storylines about equality and women's rights, including an episode about the wage gap between men and women. And, you know, another that puts a human face on sex workers. As an article on Gold Derby put it, Mary Richards set a new standard for women in television. And I'm gonna go ahead and call myself out. I don't have the end of this quote in here. I bet you was good. I bet you it was a good ass quote. There you go.

And that's it.

That's it. Okay. The next one that I have on my list is, It was a good quote, y'. All. We'll link to the article. You can tell me what the end says. I know it was real gem. Murphy Brown from 1988 to 1997. I did not realize it that show long time.

Yeah.

Then it was on again in 2018. The titular Murphy Brown, played by Candice Burgeon, was the first woman on TV that chose to raise her child alone. And I think that might have been in the first or second season. So late 80s when that's taking place, it's hard to imagine today. But at the time it became this huge controversy and a national debate around family values. And it famously involved then Vice president Dan Quell, inserting himself into the situation as well. I also have Julia on my list. this was on from 1968 to 1971. Diane Carroll starred as Julia Baker, a nurse and widowed mother raising a young son on her own. Carol made TV history by portraying the first African American woman as a lead character in a non stereotypical role. So by this I mean not like a sassy maid, etc. she also became the first black woman to receive ah, Emmy. An Emmy and Golden Globe nomination for actress in a leading role in a comedy series. You're welcome to jump in anytime, but I just wanted to showcase these major points in history. Then we have Lucille Ball. I'm just going to say like what grounded Lucille Ball not break on television. Behind the scenes she was integral, integral to its creation. And she fought for her real life husband Desi Arnaz, who played on screen husband Ricky Ricardo, to actually take on that role. The network was actually not interested in that at all. But they became the first biracial couple on television. On screen. She subverted that typical housewife stereotype. I Can see it probably plays funny now, but she was determined to break into show business and she just wasn't necessarily all that interested in being in the home. She also became one of the first pregnant characters on tv. If you haven't seen that episode of I Love Lucy, you really should. It's very beautiful. she and Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance, were one of the first female buddy teams. And in 1962 on the Lucy Show. So this is after I Love Lucy, Vance's character became the first divorced mom on TV. So lots of different things there. Ali Wong, in 2024 at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, became the first Asian American actress to win outstanding actress in a limited or anthology series or movie. And the first woman of Asian descent to win an Emmy for a lead role for her role in Beef. That feels really late. Good, show, by the way. Beef. Highly recommend. In 2021, MJ M. Rodriguez became the first trans woman to be Emmy nominated for lead actress in the drama series for Pose. And then in 1997, and we've talked about this one, but it bears repeating because it's just a huge landmark moment on television. Ellen DeGeneres became the first actress to come out on TV on her television show Ellen. and I mean, I think at the time when we talked about that one, it was like a, a core memory for both of us, I believe. So again, lots more out there that we can link to in case you want to look at any of those.

Okay. Back to be, shall we? Just want to say that it was a ding dang honor to take a closer look at her and her amazing legacy both off and on the screen. Between Maude and Golden girls. And across 13 seasons and years, she, upended stereotype after stereotype after stereotype. Women were more than eye batting, dinner preparing, diaper changing, accessories. They could be ballsy, brassy, logical, grounded. They could be funny, flawed, and maybe even a little horny. And everyone hang on to your hats. They could be over 40 and interesting, both visually and as characters. It was like on tv, the world got showed what we already knew. Because if you know a woman, you know these things are true. They're just not always portrayed that way. Bea Arthur was a trailblazer among trailblazers. I was reminded of that as I revisited all of the other women who have pushed our stories forward, sometimes at great cost to their careers, their families and their well being. She and others paved the way for the powerful women we see both in front of and behind the cameras today. The Shonda Rhimes, the Reese Witherspoons, the Issa Raes, and Mindy Kalings. These women are making space for women centric stories of all stripes. Because every woman's story is unique and important, and every woman's story deserves to be told. And you know what? That's just the kind of thing we're into over here at Sweet Tea and tv. In the meantime, you know the drill. DM us, email us or contact us from the website, find us all over the socials. And. And that is this week's extra, sugar.