Older women on TV shows

Discussion in 'General TV & Media' started by Islandgirl, Dec 28, 2006.

  1. Islandgirl

    Islandgirl Police Officer

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    I got some "Remington Steele" DVD's for Christmas and while watching them I was joking with my husband that when the show originally aired in the 1980s, I identified more with Laura, the hot young investigator, but nowadays I identify more with Mildred, their middle-aged secretary! Mildred was portrayed by Doris Roberts, better known as Ray's mother on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and she was the only regular cast member other than Pierce Brosnan (RS) and Stephanie Zimbalist (Laura). DR was in her early 50s when she was on RS.
    This got me to thinking. . .are there *ANY* shows on network TV nowadays that feature women in their 50s or older as main characters?? Back in the 1980s you had Mildred on RS and on the similarly-themed "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" Mrs. King's mother was a regular character. During the same era, there was also "Murder, She Wrote" which featured a woman over the age of 50 (Angela Lansbury) as the MAIN Character.
    Nowadays, it seems like the "cutoff age" for women to appear as cast members on network TV shows is 49. I realize all of the CSI shows feature a "young" woman and a more "mature" woman, but that means one woman in her 20s or early 30s and another in her 40s. I can't think of a single show currently airing that has a woman in her 50s or older as one of the main characters. (I'm not talking about an actress who appears in one or two eps as season as one of the main characters' mother or something like that.) Are there any?
     
  2. Dynamo1

    Dynamo1 Head of the Swing Shift

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    Candice Bergen, Shirley Schmidt, Boston Legal.
    Pamela Reed, Gail Green, Jericho.
    S. Epatha Merkerson, Lt. Anita Van Buren, Law & Order.
    Annette O'Toole, Martha Kent, Smallville (mother role but regular).
    Helen Mirren, Det. Supt. Jane Tennison, Prime Suspect.
     
  3. Islandgirl

    Islandgirl Police Officer

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    Thanks for the info. Somebody at another board where I posted this comment also mentioned "Jericho" as having a fair number of women over 50 among the main characters.
    Is Annette O'Toole over 50? I do watch "Smallville" occasionally, but I assumed she was in her 40s. Maybe she just looks good for her age!
     
  4. Dynamo1

    Dynamo1 Head of the Swing Shift

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    The Internet Movie DataBase lists just about every actor, actress, television show, and motion picture. For Annette O'Toole, they list her birthday as April 1, 1952, which makes her 54.
     

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