"You could tell that they were afraid the show was too sexy..." - Jane Espensen Susan and Sharon start their look back at the under-the-radar 1980’s comedy “It’s A Living” with modern-day TV writer/producers Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg. Jane Espenson has written for shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Once Upon A Time”, “Gilmore Girls”, “Jessica Jones”, “Battlestar Galactica” and “Game of Thrones”. Drew Greenberg’s credits include “Dexter”, “Warehouse 13”, “Firefly”, “Agents of S....
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 8
“On Sundays, I couldn’t wait for Monday.” – Eilish Zebrasky, Head of Wardrobe for Aaron Spelling. Susan and Sharon get all dressed up and strut their stuff with legendary 80s TV and Film costume designer Eilish Zebrasky. For over 25 years, Eilish Zebrasky was the Costume Department Head for Aaron Spelling Productions, responsible for all the amazing clothes you saw on classic shows like “Murder, She Wrote”, “Dynasty”, “The Love Boat”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Hart to Hart”, “Hotel”, “Fantasy Island”...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Tumble out of bed/and stumble to the kitchen/pour yourself a cup of ambition And yawn and stretch and listen in as Susan and Sharon talk "Nine to Five": The TV Series with podcaster and founder of Weirding Way Media, Chris Stachiw. On this special cross-over episode with The Kulturecast, we dig into one of the strangest, funniest and least-known film-to-TV transplants: Nine To Five. The film “9 to 5” debuted on December 19th, 1980 starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. Running 85 epi...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 6
“What do we want? Fair Pay! When do we want it? NOW!” The 80’s TV Ladies fast-forward from the 1980s to the RIGHT NOW – for a special "breaking news" episode about the ongoing 2023 WGA Writer’s Strike that is having a major impact on television production – and the future of entertainment as we know it. As the strike enters its third month writers and other guilds are calling out for “transformative change” and insisting “now is not the time to meet in the middle.” But what’s really going on? It...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 5
“To be able to see it represented on TV means so much to a young mind." Susan and Sharon continue their celebration of Pride Month by welcoming JD and Denise, hosts of "The Rainbow Remix", a podcast featuring LGBTQ lifestyle news, music, arts, media -- and mixology! Denise Warner is an out lesbian and veteran podcaster going all the way back to 2006 with “The Lesbian Lounge". JD Danner is a musician and songwriter who came out after a 25-year marriage. She reached out to Denise during the COVID ...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What did Queer representation look like in 70s, 80s and 90s television? Could you say gay? Susan and Sharon kick off their Pride Month celebration with author, podcaster and video maker Matt Baume. His latest book, “Hi Homey, I’m Homo!” traces the evolution of LGBTQ+ characters on American sitcoms. His previous book - “Defining Marriage” - chronicles the personal stories of people who fought for marriage equality over the last forty years. In this fun, fact-filled interview, Matt shares stories ...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In Part Two of our conversation with Cynthia Bemis Abrams, host of the “Advanced TV Herstory” podcast, we continue our discussion of feminism in American culture and its effect on television as we delve into sports, politics, female stereotypes – and the unsung feminist heroes of Hollywood’s mysterious “Secret Sisterhood”. THE CONVERSATION WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE: What stereotypes were women assigned when they made their way into the offices of America in the 1970s? (“The Seductress” and “The Iro...
May 31, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to 80’s TV Ladies: Season Two! Susan and Sharon kick-off the new season with Cynthia Bemis-Abrams, the host of sister podcast “Advanced TV Herstory” -- a fascinating deep dive into the backstory of women in television, that connects the dots between TV, feminism, American culture and politics. In Part One of a two-part conversation, we’ll talk about the shows, actresses and characters that stood out as landmarks for women over the past five decades. We also tease what’s coming up as Susa...
May 24, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Episode 23 - Who ever thought we’d get this far?!? Susan and Sharon celebrate their first season finale with a wrap-up on “Cagney & Lacey.” How did a little idea about having a female “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid” buddy movie turn into a legendary, award-winning TV series that spanned 7 seasons, 125 episodes and 4 TV movies? We discuss the show’s origins and controversies, its impact on American culture in the 1980s and how network television used to be the most powerful way for cut...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 23
What do those crazy 90s kids think of 80s Cagney & Lacey? We’re gonna find out! Susan and Sharon welcome back Serita Fontanesi, Megan Ruble and Sergio Perez – the 90’s TV Babies! We asked them to watch three episodes: the original one-hour pilot, starring Tyne Daly as Lacey and Loretta Swit as Cagney; the “new” pilot with Meg Foster in the role of Cagney; and finally, Sharon Gless’s first turn as Cagney, the Season Two opener “Witness to an Incident”. The 90’s TV Babies loved “Scarecrow &...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 22
What was it like to break into directing in the 1970s and '80s? Let's find out! Sharon and Susan are honored to talk with Emmy-winning director Karen Arthur. Karen started out as an actress on such shows as “Get Smart”, “The Streets of San Francisco”, “Mannix”, “That Girl” and “The Monkees”. In 1975 she made the transition to directing and has since helmed episodes of classic TV series including “Judging Amy”, “Hart to Hart”, “7th Heaven” and “Remington Steele”, as well as the powerful true stor...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Susan and Sharon are thrilled to sit down with show business legend Sharon Gless. Multi-Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Sharon Gless has appeared in dozens of television shows such as “Nip/Tuck”, “Rizzoli & Isles”, “The Rockford Files”, “House Calls,”The Bob Newhart Show”, “Station 19” and “The Exorcist.” She has created iconic and ground-breaking characters in the shows “Burn Notice”, “Queer as Folk”, “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” and of course “Cagney & Lacey”. In 2021 she published her ...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Join us to meet the woman behind Mary Beth Lacey! Sharon and Susan are excited and honored to talk with Emmy and Tony-award winning actress and the star of Cagney & Lacey, Tyne Daly. In a career spanning eight decades, Tyne Daly has appeared on stage and screen in over 100 roles in everything from “The Mod Squad” and “Judging Amy” to co-starring with Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry film “The Enforcer”. She has received six Emmy awards – four for her outstanding portrayal of Mary Beth Lacey...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Wait! There were THREE Cagneys? In Part 2 of our conversation with creator/executive producer Barney Rosenzweig, we follow along as the massive success of the Cagney & Lacey TV movie launches it directly into a weekly series for CBS and into a very tumultuous road from multiple cancellations to hit ratings and 14 Emmys. The rest, as they say, is 80’s TV herstory… THE CONVERSATION GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS, PART 1: “We want ‘Cagney & Lacey’ as a mid-season pick-up!” BUT… “You’ve got to be on the...
Mar 01, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Buckle up, kids - We’re kicking off our series on Cagney & Lacey ! Sharon & Susan begin their look back at the classic 80’s TV series Cagney & Lacey with a conversation with the show’s creator and executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig’s career spans five decades and hundreds of hours of television including Charlie’s Angels, Daniel Boone, Christie, Twice in a Lifetime , and The Trials of Rosie O’Neill . But he made TV history when he approached writers Barbara Avedon and ...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Could you be a stuntwoman? Find out what it takes. Susan and Sharon are honored to talk with legendary award-winning stuntwoman Debbie Evans Leavitt. In a career spanning six decades, Debbie has risked life and limb in classic television shows and massive blockbuster movies. She talks doubling Stephanie Zimbalist on Remington Steele and what that moment between take-off and crash-landing feels like. Debbie has flipped and fallen and raced in Charlie’s Angels , Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Vega$, Chi...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 16
It’s the return of the 90’s TV Babies! Susan and Sharon welcome back Serita Fontanesi, Megan Ruble and Sergio Perez to get their 90s TV take on “Remington Steele”. We asked them to watch three episodes and share their thoughts: The pilot: “License to Steele” S1, Ep21, “Sting of Steele”, featuring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Steele’s mentor Daniel Chalmers – and Beverly Garland, making a return appearance as Laura’s mother, Abigail Holt S2, Ep03, “Red Holt Steele” – you know, the one where Laura’s ho...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Susan and Sharon sit down with “Remington Steele” assistant director Jerram Swartz. In a career spanning 5 decades, Jerram has worked on movies including “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” and “The Blues Brothers” as well as 80’s TV classics such as “The A-Team”, “Cagney & Lacey” and “Riptide”. In this episode, he shares stories about the fun, excitement and controversy of working on the fifth – and final – season of “Remington Steele”. THE CONVERSATION - Susan and Sharon’s fav Season 4 & 5 ep...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In 1980s television, cars were the stars -- From “Knight Rider’s” KIT to Miami Vice’s Testarossa to the A-Team van, everyone knew who drove what -- and why. But what did the women get to drive? The 80s TV Ladies sit down with television writer and auto aficionado Evan Ball (“Stargirl”, “Colin in Black and White”, “Mayor of Kingstown”) to talk Remington Steele and 80s cars. THE CONVERSATION The 3 Cars of Laura Holt: the Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible (modeled after Stephanie Zimbalist’s own real-l...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Susan and Sharon take on Season Two and Three of “Remington Steele” as they talk TV tropes, favorite episodes and the introduction of Doris Roberts as fan-favorite Mildred Krebs! THE CONVERSATION Doris Roberts -- and how she completed the Remington Steele “family”. Everyone Loves Doris: a rundown of (almost) everyone Doris Roberts has ever played “mother” to on the big and small screen. Ms. Roberts senate testimony on ageism in Hollywood. TV TROPES – or, why every detective show in the 80’s went...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Steele Talking: Susan and Sharon continue their interview with award-winning stage, TV and film actress Stephanie Zimbalist who created the 80s iconic character, Laura Holt… THE CONVERSATION - Working with her real-life dad – showbiz legend Efrem Zimbalist Jr – How he became a father figure for co-star Pierce Brosnan. (And how he taught Stephanie the secret to “playing drunk”…!) - Her decades-long friendship with Alec Baldwin. - When James Stewart was almost on Remington! - The Amazing Remington...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Susan and Sharon sit down with a true show business icon and classic 80’s TV Lady -- “Remington Steele’s” one-and-only Laura Holt -- Stephanie Zimbalist. In a career spanning six decades, Stephanie has performed on stage and screen with everyone from Alec Baldwin, Walter Matthau, Jessica Tandy, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Patricia Neal, Alfred Molina, Tommy Tune, Jimmy Stewart AND her own father, the legendary Efrem Zimbalist Jr. The Conversation… - Growing up Zimbalist: what it’s like to be ...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 10
But did they? Join Part Two of our interview with TV writer/producer Robin Bernheim, to discover the complicated answer to the burning question: Did Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan get along while filming “Remington Steele”? The Conversation: - Laura vs. Remington: Who got the most screen-time? Who got to drive the car? And whose show was it, anyway? - How did a writing staff of mostly men handle writing a female voice? - An episode where Laura Holt poses nude?? The script, Stephanie Zimb...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 9
From Remington Steele to Princess Switch - Susan and Sharon sit down with legendary television writer Robin Bernheim. Robin’s career began in her mid-twenties with the “Remington Steele” episode “Steele in the Chips”, co-written with series star and long-time friend Stephanie Zimbalist. In a career spanning five decades, Robin has gone on to write and produce episodes of “MacGyver”, “Matlock”, “Quantum Leap”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Mystery 101”. Robin is the ...
Oct 26, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"Try this for a deep, dark secret..." Susan and Sharon begin their examination of the hit 1980s series “Remington Steele”. Premiering on October 10, 1982, “Remington Steele” starred two relative newcomers to the network TV landscape -- Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan. The premise was simple: Private eye Laura Holt finds that clients are reluctant to hire a female investigator. So she invents a fictitious male “boss” named Remington Steele to increase business. The ruse works perfectly unt...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Sharon and Susan talk with “Scarecrow & Mrs. King’s” one-and-only “Francine Desmond” – actress Martha Smith. Our conversation covers everything from her early days as a model for the Ford Motor Company to her “National Lampoon’s Animal House” adventures and finally to working on the show she first knew only as “The Secret Kate Jackson Project” – we’ll find out why Martha Smith truly is the “Gal With All The Luck”! Along the way, we’ll discuss… - Brunching with John Belushi! Touring with Rod ...
Sep 28, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Season 3 of “Scarecrow & Mrs. King” is a fun, and kind of bonkers, 22-episode journey that is anything but straight-forward. International intrigue, poisoned food and wine, eclectic guest stars and a herky-jerky path to romance all add up to a season with surprising rewards – and puzzling road blocks. In this week’s tour of near-misses and near-kisses, we discuss… - Are Lee (Bruce Boxleinter) and Amanda (Kate Jackson) heating up – or on slow-boil? And why is WKRP in Cincinnati’s Frank Bonner...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Susan and Sharon sit down with the co-creator of “Scarecrow & Mrs. King” - Eugenie Ross-Leming - to get some real behind-the-scenes insight on the show's creation, Kate Jackson, Bruce Boxleitner, feminism in television, and managing long-term success in Hollywood. The discussion includes… - Eugenie’s early years with the legendary improvisation troupe Second City, where she performed with the likes of John Belushi, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. - Writing for Norman Lear on the ground-breakin...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 4
What the heck happened in Season 2 of “Scarecrow & Mrs. King”? Oh, we have all the dish on 80s TV Ladies™. More action, more romance, more Europe – and more opportunities for Amanda to show off her skills as a legit spy – and a mom. Along the way, Susan and Sharon discuss… 80s clothes and hairdos – and Kate Jackson’s mid-season Hair-DON’T. Is Archie Bunker’s Jean Stapleton a British lady, an American citizen, or a KGB agent? How could she possibly be all three? Wait, I know that guy! What ar...
Aug 17, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 3
But really: How much fun is it to be a spy and a mom? In this episode, Susan and Sharon continue their conversation about the TV show “Scarecrow & Mrs. King'', focusing on how Amanda balanced her home life with her new (secret!) career as a spy and how her desire to embrace this new career drives the Season One episodes. And did Kate Jackson’s foot injury nearly derailed the season? Along the way, we also discuss… Kate Jackson’s “reputation” on set: What was it? And was it true? The barely t...
Aug 03, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 2
