80s TV Ladies 134 West | Susan Lambert Hatem & Sharon Johnson

Sharon and Susan begin an all-new series of episodes looking at the groundbreaking 80s sitcom A Different World (1987-1993). This Cosby Show spin-off starred Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Charnele Brown, Dawn Lewis and Marissa Tomei. It explored the lives of students at Hillman College, a fictional HBCU, and addressed issues such as race, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS and equal rights while still keeping the laughs coming. In 1988, Lisa Bonet and Marissa Tomei left the show and a new showrunner was brought on -- the legendary actress, producer, director and choreographer Debbie Allen.

To help kick off this in-depth look at A Different World, we welcome A Different World fan and amazing “2020s TV Lady” -- writer, producer and author Niceole Levy.  Niceole’s numerous TV writing/producing credits include Cloak and Dagger, Shades of Blue, SWAT, The Recruit and Found. She is the co-writer, along with George Nolfi, of the 2020 feature film The Banker. She has also written a book for aspiring TV writers called "The Writer’s Room Survival Guide."

THE CONVERSATION
80s TV made marriage look easy and fun -- cuz the couples were usually crime solving millionaires!How watching every syndicated show on TV -- Perry Mason, I Love Lucy, Marcus Welby, Dick Van Dyke Show, Ironside -- prepares you for a life of TV writing.Everything retro is new again: Getting that first gig -- with Blair Underwood -- on the 2013 re-boot of Ironside!Niceole’s advice for getting into TV and film -- DON’T GO TO FILM SCHOOL!For Niceole -- and so many others -- A Different World’s Hillman College was her first exposure to an HBCU.RUN THE NUMBERS: 20 of the 47 writers on ADW were women!SEASON 2 RE-SET: How the addition of show-runner Debbie Allen re-ignited the series with a new sense of excitement and vitality.A DIFFERENT LOOK -- How A Different World achieved a bigger, more expansive look than other sitcoms of the time.So, join Susan, Sharon -- and Niceole -- as they talk Miami Vice, watching 1,000 television shows, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,keeping a TV journal, Boyz II Men, dancing with Kamala Harris, scheduling your life around a TV show -- and the importance of not messing up the lunch order!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch A Different World -- streaming on MAX.
Find out about Niceole at niceolelevy.com.
Read her “What I Learned Watching 1,000 Television Shows” here. 
Buy Niceole Levy’s book "The Writer’s Room Survival Guide" at Bookshop.org.
Get Susan’s President Carter play Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.
Help Abortion Access at Abortionfinder.org.

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“I was quite set on theater. I was going to go out to Los Angeles for one year -- and that was it. Then I was going to go back to New York and devote myself to the theater. It didn’t work out that way.” -- Jan Eliasberg

80s TV Ladies "Director Ladies" series continues as Susan and Sharon welcome legendary director Jan Eliasberg. Jan began her television director career in the 1980s with an episode of Cagney & Lacey -- and she went on to be the first female director ever on Miami Vice, Crime Story and 21 Jump Street. She has also directed episodes of Dirty Dancing, L.A. Law, Dawson’s Creek, Party of Five, Sisters, Parenthood, Nashville, Supernatural, Bull and NCIS: Los Angeles. Jan recently published her first novel, Hannah’s War.

In this enlightening conversation, Jan discusses how the American Film Institute (AFI) and “The Original Six” opened up opportunities for her and other female directors; how to navigate directing a network television show for the first time -- and how courage, tenacity and little guile can make all the difference …

THE CONVERSATION
How do you get 10,000 hours of experience when directing requires so much time, money and people: Europe or Yale?What can Shakespeare and Ibsen teach you about directing TV? Everything…Frances McDormand, Angela Bassett, John Turturo, Tony Shalhoub and Courtney Vance -- how do you quickly figure out what different actors need to create great performances?What happens when you direct a play about South African apartheid in St. Louis in the early 1980s?On shadowing directors: “I’m already a director -- what am I doing watching these people? I mean, they’re good, but I’m good, too. And that was the kind of confidence -- or maybe you could say arrogance, fearlessness - -that it takes to go into a field that is predominantly male and actually make a dent and get a job.”How a twisty game of cat-and-mouse with Barney Rosensweig led to Jan’s first directing gig -- on Cagney & Lacey. (S5, EP13 -- “Act of Conscience”).Directing L.A. Law -- and David Kelly’s very first script!How asking others for advice is a gift that goes both ways.Directing two classic, fan-favorite episodes of Miami Vice.Jan gets her first feature film in 1988: How I Got Into College -- but you won’t believe what happened to her on Day Two of filming…Past Midnight -- working with the great Rutger Hauer and Natasha Richardson.Is the window for women directors opening or closing? Jan gives us her take.So, join Susan, Sharon -- and Jan -- as they talk Dennis Farina, Michael Moriarty, Rutger Hauer, Paul Giamatti, Daniel Craig, Meg Foster, Sela Ward, Swoosie Kurtz, Kirsten Dunst, George Clooney, Patricia Arquette, Stanley Tucci -- and creamsicles!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more about Jan at JanEliasberg.com.
Buy Jan’s new novel Hannah’s War at Bookshop.
Read Michael Cieply's 1988 article on Jan and other fired women directors at LA Times.  

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Catch 90s TV Baby Serita Fontanesi’s “Not Ugly” podcast at Apple.

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The Best Indie Podcast nomination IS the award!

Susan and Sharon thank ALL the listeners who came out to support “80’s TV Ladies” as Best Indie Podcast for the WEBBY AWARDS. A big welcome to all our new listeners! And a sincere thank you to all who voted and to our listeners who reached out.  

BIG THANKS to our friends who shouted us out, including:
Chris Stachiw from Weirding Way Media Network and the Kulturecast Podcast.Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess of the Astonishing Legends podcast.Richard Hatem of Richard Hatem’s Paranormal Bookshelf podcast.And an extra special thank you to TikTok superstar and creator of Phineas and Ferb, Dan Povenmire, and all his fans.  
All of you went the extra mile to support us and bring new listeners to the show, so THANK YOU!

And of course, the biggest thank you of all -- TO OUR LOYAL FANS!
And listen in on the first official 8TL Mailbag, where we get feedback and answer questions and get feedback from you, our fans! PLUS --  an April 2024 “In Memorium Salute”.

AUDIOGRAPHY 

Check out the Webby Nominee Press Release with our names and Michelle Obama. We’re 26 lines ABOVE Michelle Obama. Just saying.
Watch Matt Baume’s YOUTUBE Channel episode “Bewitched: It Was Gay All Along?”
Listen in on the new podcast, Richard Hatem’s Paranormal Bookshelf
And Chris Stachiw’s movie review podcast, The Kulturecast.
Explore the world of Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess’s Astonishing Legends podcast.
Find Dan Povenmire on TikTok And Twitter.
Watch Hamster and Gretel and Phineas and Ferb.

Abortion access in America is severely limited – if you need help go to Abortionfinder.org.

CONNECT
Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.Tell us what shows we should cover at 8TL Facebook or via 80sTVLadies.com.Get ad-free episodes and exclusive videos on PATREON.Find more cool podcasts at our host sight, Weirding Way Media.

Help us win a Webby Award - Vote at WebbyAwards.com.

Vote for 80’s TV Ladies for Best Indie Podcast at the Webby Awards Now!
Voting ends Thursday, April 18th, 2024. Vote: tinyurl.com/vote80tvl

Thanks to our dear friends, Weirding Way Media and Astonishing Legends for all their support!
Cheers and welcome to any Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf fans. 
One Day More!

BREAKING: 80s TV Ladies has been nominated for a Webby Award! Help us win. VOTE HERE!  

Back to our episode: Sharon and Susan burst into the Blue Moon Detective Agency and hire Maddie and David to help them answer ONE BURNING QUESTION: What are their Top 8 favorite episodes of the entire series?

Maddie: “Eight? Eight? Why not ten?” David: “Can’t do it. It would make them too tens.”  In the words of Miss Dipesto: “We’re never late, we won’t make you wait, but if you want favorite episodes -- you only get eight!”

1) The Pilot (S1; EP 1)
2) The Next Murder You Hear (S1; EP 4)
3) The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice (S2; EP 4)
4) My Fair David (S2; EP 5)
5) ‘Twas The Episode Before Christmas (S2; EP 10)
6) Big Man on Mulberry Street (S3; EP 6)
7) Atomic Shakespeare (but only for one of them!) (S3; EP 7)
8) It’s A Wonderful Job (but only for one of them!) (S3; EP 8)
9) The Straight Poop (S3; EP 9)

THE CONVERSATION
WHAT WAS HE THINKING? Glen Gordon Caron had a secret plan for what he wanted Moonlighting to do to network television: he wanted to kill the detective genre once and for all!Why were the seasons so short? Well, there was a little problem with getting episodes done on time...If Maddie was the “parent” and David was the “child” -- did David ever grow up?Is the show feminist? Or progressive? Susan and Sharon have thoughts!Why is the agency always broke? Maybe it’s all those people in the office who don’t do anything!That time when Susan got thrown off the set of The A-Team by George Peppard!Which Season of Moonlighting is the Moonlighting-est?What the hell happened with Season 4?? Warring stars, a missing showrunner -- and Die Hard!So join Susan and Sharon as they talk Dirk Benedict, Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Melissa’s candy, The Princess Bride -- and the challenges of producing a show AND a baby at the same time!

AUDIOGRAPHY
What are YOUR favorite Moonlighting episodes?  Let us know!!
Watch Moonlighting on Hulu. On Apple TV or at Amazon Prime Video. 
Check out Moonlighting: The Podcast.
Read Moonlighting: An Episode Guide and Moonlighting: An Oral History. Both ON SALE at Tucker Press.  

80s TV LADIES NEWS
Catch 90s TV Baby Serita Fontanesi’s “Not Ugly” podcast at Apple.
80s TV Ladies is nominated for a Webby Award! Help us win. VOTE HERE!  

CONNECT
Read transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.com.Tell us your fav Moonlighting episodes at a...

Encore! Encore! In celebration of the premiere of Cagney & Lacey 42nd years ago this week, here is a look back at the special Sharon Gless interview we dropped one year ago today! 

Sharon and Susan are at Podcast Movement Evolutions and The Ambies this week! So here's a look back to when they go 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 bestselling, no-holds-barred autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints”. In this in-depth interview, Sharon Gless talks frankly about feminism, her ongoing friendship with Tyne Daly, her affair, marriage and almost-divorce from Barney Rosenzweig, her struggles with substance abuse and recovery -- and the lasting legacy of the characters she’s played.

THE CONVERSATION
The moment Sharon Gless knew she wanted to be an actress – and knew she would not fail“The first feminist I ever met…” -- Barney Rosenzweig??How Cagney and Lacey we’re NEVER friends.How Sharon was actually the VERY FIRST person approached to play Christine Cagney – and why she turned it down.Earning $186 a week as the last contract player at Universal.“The Woman Behind the Woman”: how talent manager Monique James left her position as VP at MCA/Universal to become Sharon’s personal manager – and changed her life.Being forced to watch herself on film to learn what she was doing right -- and wrong.Hashing out billing, and rehearsing her first table read as Cagney, with Tyne Daly over a bottle of champagne.Why Christine Cagney wanted to be first through the door with a gun.Improvising and window shopping for the Cagney & Lacey main titles.Participating with Tyne Daly and Gloria Steinem in the 2004 Women’s March on Washington –- and seeing the true impact of “Cagney & Lacey” for the first time.Being Stephen J. Cannell’s “good luck charm!”Falling in love with Debbie Novotny on “Queer as Folk”.
So join Susan, Sharon – and Sharon Gless -- as they talk poker nights with Tyne, the “C”-word, the other “C”-word -- and what did she really say to that flasher??

AUDIOGRAPHY
Official website: SharonGless.com
Sharon Gless Facebook page.

Sharon Gless’ autobiography “Apparently There Were Complaints” at Bookshop.
Watch the trailer for Sharon’s Award-winning documentary - Show Her The Money

WHERE TO WATCH
Cagney & Lacey on ROKU. On PLUTO. On Apple TV.
Trials of Rosie...