Murphy Brown Cast: Where The Actors Are Now

Newsflash, slugger: "Murphy Brown" is still one of the best sitcoms of all time. Even though over 35 years have passed since it premiered on CBS, no other series — not even Aaron Sorkin's "The Newsroom" — has yet managed to recapture what Murphy and her team at "FYI" managed to uncover, largely through their ability to balance top-notch comedy writing with a refreshingly sincere respect for what it means to report the news.

Created by Diane English and starring Academy Award-nominee Candice Bergen as the titular journalist, the series' first 10 seasons broadly followed her journey to rebuild her career after seeking treatment for an addiction disorder while also navigating unique professional barriers due to her being a woman working in the news. When the series was revived for an 11th season in 2018, Murphy came out of retirement to combat a new age of misinformation and "fake news" — the result is arguably one of the greatest franchise revivals of all time.

It's been too long since we got an update on what the "FYI" crew has been up to, so we decided to do some digging of our own. From the series' foundational cast members to the new faces that joined for the farewell outing, we have all the highlights and headlines of what happened to the cast of "Murphy Brown."

Despite being just nine years old when he joined the cast of "Murphy Brown" in its 10th (and at the time final) season, Haley Joel Osment was already a more accomplished actor than most. In addition to appearances on "The Larry Sanders Show," "Walker, Texas Ranger," and "Chicago Hope," the child star had already been part of the main cast of two relatively popular ABC sitcoms — "Thunder Alley" and "The Jeff Foxworthy Show." Oh, and he was Forrest Jr. in "Forrest Gump."

On "Murphy Brown," he was brought aboard to take over the role of the title character's son Avery, which had previously been played by Dyllan Christopher (seasons 7 and 8) and Jackson Buckley (season 9). Osment was recast ahead of the 11th season, which some reviewers questioned, given the actor was still the appropriate age to portray Avery Brown and had more than maintained his talent and career throughout the intervening years.

Whatever the case, Osment has been plenty busy since season 10 aired. Back-to-back homerun performances in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" and Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" turned the young actor into a super celebrity throughout the early 2000s (he even came close to landing a massive role in the "Harry Potter" franchise). He's also been part of the casts of shows like "The Boys," "The Kominsky Method," "Goliath," and "What We Do in the Shadows." Most recently, he can be seen in Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore 2" (seen above) and the second season of Netflix's hit "Wednesday" series from Tim Burton, both on Netflix.

Whatever the reason, when CBS was assembling the cast of "Murphy Brown" season 11, Haley Joel Osment was recast. In his place, playing the role of an adult Avery Brown (now a reporter himself at a rival news company to the one employing his mother) was Jake McDorman. He was best known at the time for supporting roles in Academy Award-nominated films "American Sniper" and "Lady Bird," but most of all for starring in the underrated CBS series "Limitless."

The actor's first role after "Murphy Brown" was on Damon Lindelof's "Watchmen" HBO miniseries, in which he guest starred as closeted '40s superhero Captain Metropolis. Afterward, Lindelof cast him as anti-A.I. revolutionary Preston Wiley in his ambitious but exhausting adventure series "Mrs. Davis." McDorman's other prominent TV credits include American astronaut Alan Shepard on the short-lived Disney+ series "The Right Stuff," district attorney John Brownlee in Hulu's historical drama miniseries "Dopesick," and FBI agent Murphy in the FX speculative crime thriller miniseries "Class of '09." Coincidentally, he also guest starred on the 2nd season of "What We Do in the Shadows."

McDorman branches back out to film work every so often, landing roles in the queer Christmas romantic comedy "Happiest Season," the Bryan Cranston-Annette Benning dramedy "Jerry and Marge Go Large," the Netflix thriller "Night Always Comes." As of writing, he's set to appear in the Peacock legal drama "The Good Daughter," starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy.

After guest starring on "The Fosters" and "Brockmire," Adan Rocha joined the cast of "Murphy Brown" for its 11th season as Miguel Gonzales, one of the new employees of Phil's Bar. Rocha was cast in the pilot for a TV series titled "G-Spotters" soon after "Murphy Brown" ended, as well as a few short films.

In 2020, he guest starred on the 4th season of the hit NBC drama series "This Is Us," playing Hailey Damon's (Adelaide Kane) work friend Zach. That same year, he was cast in "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels," a short-lived spin-off of the cult Showtime dark fantasy series. Rocha appeared in six episodes as 1930s gangster Diego Lopez, who works for Sebastian Chacon's Fly Rico.

In subsequent years, Rocha largely continued to book work in short films, and guest starred on the series "Send Help," "Chicago P.D.," and the animated series "The Nutty Boy." Outside of film and television, he's credited with voice work on the "Cyberpunk 2077" DLC expansion pack "Phantom Liberty" and the Xochitl Gomez-led audio drama series "Faraway." His most recent role was in the holiday feature "A Heart for Christmas."

Leading the charge of the social-savvy rebrand of Murphy Brown's career was Pat Patel, her show's social media director, played by Nik Dodani. He had a handful of guest star credits under his belt prior to joining the main cast of "Murphy Brown," including shows like "The Player" and "Kevin From Work." The same year Dodani worked on "Murphy Brown" season 11, he guest starred on the TBS police procedural parody "Angie Tribeca."

With his work on "Murphy Brown" finished, the actor began to be cast more frequently in feature films, beginning with the surprisingly fun 2019 horror thriller "Escape Room." He also returned for a small role in the 2021 sequel "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions." Beyond this duology, Dodani notably played Jared Kalwani in the misguided adaptation of the musical drama "Dear Evan Hansen" and the ill-fated storm-chaser Praveen in the 2024 throwback blockbuster "Twisters." Other film credits include "Hot Mess Holiday," "Strange Worlds," and "The Parenting."

On TV, Dodani continued to star on the Netflix coming-of-age dramedy "Atypical," playing Zahid Raja, the best friend of Keir Gilchrist's Sam Gardner. The series drew acclaim, particularly for its thoughtful depiction of neurodivergent characters, and ended triumphantly in 2021.

Tyne Daly was already something of a legendary film and television actor when she was cast in "Murphy Brown." Prior to taking over Phil's Bar as Phyllis (the original owner's sister), she had been nominated for nearly a dozen Primetime Emmy Awards for her work on "Cagney and Lacey," "Christy," and "Judging Amy," and she had memorably starred opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1976 feature "The Enforcer" (part of Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" series). Closer to joining "Murphy Brown" in season 11, she had appeared in "Burn Notice," "Modern Family," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs."

By that point, however, Daly's film and television career had begun to slow down. As of writing, "Murphy Brown" is her most recent major TV project. When the series ended, she took just three guest starring roles throughout the following years on "Grey's Anatomy," "Madame Secretary," and "Mom." She currently has no film or television projects in development.

Daly (a proper Broadway veteran known for roles in shows like "Gypsy," "The Seagull," and "It Shoulda Been You") was slated to make a return to Broadway in 2024 to star opposite Liev Schreiber in a revival of the acclaimed drama "Doubt." However, after she was suddenly hospitalized during rehearsals, she withdrew from the production (and was subsequently replaced by "The Office" alum Amy Ryan). Fortunately, she fully recovered from the incident.

For the vast majority of the first 10 seasons of "Murphy Brown" (excluding only season 9), Pat Corley was Phil, the ever reliable owner of Phil's Bar. Corley had been acting since the late '60s by the time "Murphy Brown" premiered on CBS, with memorable appearances in the '80s movies "Kiss My Grits" and "Curse of the Pink Panther."

He regularly took work outside "Murphy Brown" while part of the series' main cast, guest starring on "Mr. Belvedere," "Night Court," "Cagney and Lacey," and "Murder One." He also had a supporting role in the 1990 Jim Belushi–Michael Cane movie "Mr. Destiny." Having voiced Officer McDowell in "All Dogs Go to Heaven 2" in 1996, he began reprising his role in the "All Dogs" television series after "Murphy Brown" originally went off the air in 1998. He then went on to play supporting roles in the films "Walking Across Egypt," "Purgatory Flats," and "Come Early Morning," the last of which was his final acting role.

On September 11, 2006, Corley passed away at the age of 76. The cause of death was reported as congestive heart failure.

When a main cast departure left Murphy Brown temporarily in need of a new producer, Lily Tomlin stepped in for seasons 9 and 10 as Kay Carter-Sheply. Tomlin was a pretty huge get, as far as replacements go — by 1996, she had already been nominated for an Academy Award for her role in "Nashville" and had won multiple Emmy Awards for her work as a comedian (and was the voice of Ms. Frizzle in "The Magic School Bus"). She had already done much of what would earn her a spot on our list of the 20 most influential comedy stars in movie history.

After departing "Murphy Brown" in 1998, she guest starred on "The X-Files," "The Simpsons," and "Will and Grace," and appeared in a string of feature films, including "The Kid," "Orange County," and "I Heart Huckabees." In 2002, she began recurring on "The West Wing" as Deborah Fiderer, the executive secretary of Martin Sheen's President Bartlet. She continued to appear on the show sporadically until its end in 2006. Other significant recurring TV roles include Roberta Simmons on "Desperate Housewives," Marilyn Tobin on "Damages," and Tammy on "Eastbound and Down."

In 2015, Tomlin was cast opposite her "9-to-5" co-star Jane Fonda on the Netflix comedy series "Grace and Frankie," which follows the lives of two older women forced to reassess their lives after husbands leave them for each other. It ran for seven seasons, and earned Tomlin four more Emmy Award nominations. She has also continued to lend her voice to animated projects, most notably the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." In 2023, Tomlin and Fonda reunited to lead the feel-good comedy "80 for Brady."

From the start of the series, Grant Shaud had been by Murphy Brown's side as Miles Silverberg, the razor-sharp producer of "FYI." He left the series in 1995 at the end of season 8, ultimately passing the torch to Lily Tomlin's Kay Carter-Sheply.

Shaud attempted to expand his career beyond "Murphy Brown" after his exit, guest starring on several popular television series including "The Drew Carey Show," "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Dead Man's Gun," "Godzilla: The Series," and "The Wild Thornberrys." In 2000, he landed his next leading TV role on the ABC sitcom "Madigan Men," which was created by acclaimed television writer Cindy Chupack ("Sex and the City," "Modern Family"). Unfortunately, the series was canceled after a single season. A few years later in 2003, he was cast as one of the leads in the Fox period sitcom "Oliver Beene," though it too was quickly canceled.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Shaud continued to find work as a guest star, popping up in shows like HBO's "Oz," "Pushing Daisies," "Boston Legal," "Louie," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Good Wife," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," and, expectedly, both "Law and Order" and "Law and Order: SVU." He also recurred on the fantasy drama series "Younger." When "Murphy Brown" returned for its 11th season, Shaud re-joined the main cast and reprised his role as Miles, now an older and more confident producer of Murphy's new program.

Charles Kimbrough was a consistent standout among the talented "Murphy Brown" ensemble, playing the role of tough, straight-shooting news anchor Jim Dial for all 11 seasons of the show. In 1990, his work earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He continued to work outside the series during its first 10 seasons, notably lending his voice to Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (playing Victor, one of the church's living gargoyles).

After the 10th season finished, Kimbrough's distinct voice opened many, likely unexpected doors for the actor. He could be heard in a wide variety of animated projects, including "Pinky and the Brain," the Disney "Hercules" TV series, "Family Guy," "Recess," and "Batman Beyond." In 2002, he returned for the sequel to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." He would occasionally make appearances in live action projects, mostly through guest starring on shows like "Ally McBeal" and playing supporting roles in movies like "The Wedding Planner" (a 2001 rom com starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey).

Kimbrough returned to "Murphy Brown" in 2018 for its 11th season, though only as a recurring guest star (Jim, having retired from newscasting, doesn't have much of a place on Murphy's new team). This was Kimbrough's final role before his passing in 2023. He was 86.

Like Charles Kimbrough, Joe Regalbuto earned his first and only Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his work on "Murphy Brown." For all 11 seasons of the series, he was part of the core cast as cunning journalist Frank Fontana. Regalbuto had quite the run leading up directly to the start of the CBS series in 1988, appearing in, among other things, one of the best episodes of "The Golden Girls" and the bizarre Disney comedy "Fuzzbucket." He was also in the Jack Lemmon thriller "Missing," the Tom Selleck crime drama "Lassiter," and the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film "Raw Deal" (but, c'mon, we all know "Fuzzbucket" is the real headline here).

When "Murphy Brown" went off the air in 1998, Regalbuto spent the following years mostly guest starring on various TV shows, such as "Touched by an Angel," "Chicken Soup for the Soul," "Ally McBeal," "Ghost Whisperer," "Criminal Minds," "NCIS," "Castle," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Having directed several episodes of "Murphy Brown" as well, he also continued to work regularly as a television director, most notably on several dozen episodes of George Lopez's self-titled sitcom.

Regalbuto also directed episodes of "Murphy Brown" season 11, in addition to starring in every episode. It is his last major television project as of writing.

"FYI" wouldn't be half the news-force it was without the work of Corky Sherwood, the bright and brilliant journalist who served as something of a foil to Murphy Brown. Corky was played by Faith Ford, who had previously worked on series like "Another World," "One Life to Live," and "Cagney and Lacey," and had appeared in the movie "Look Who's Talking."

Ford was part of the main cast of "Murphy Brown" for the original 10 season run (earning multiple Emmy nominations along the way), after which CBS cast her as the headlining star of "Maggie Winters," a sitcom about a woman (Ford) who moves in with her mother after discovering her husband has been cheating on her. The series was canceled after one season in 1999. That same year, she joined the cast of the beloved late comedian and "Saturday Night Live" legend Norm Macdonald's ABC sitcom "The Norm Show," playing his probation officer and girlfriend Shelly Kilmartin. She remained with the series through its end in 2001. During this period, Ford also reprised her role as Corky Sherwood on an episode of "Family Guy."

Following roles in the children's movies "Beethoven's Fifth" and "The Pacifier," Ford was cast opposite Kelly Ripa as one of the stars of the ABC soap opera "Hope and Faith," the pair playing sisters. The series ran for over 70 episodes and three seasons, ending in 2006. She returned as one of the main cast members for "Murphy Brown" season 11, then went on to guest star in "Killing It" and play a supporting role in "We Have a Ghost."

Candice Bergen anchored every episode of "Murphy Brown," playing the title role for over 250 episodes. She earned several Emmy Award nominations for her work, most of which she won.

When "Murphy Brown" first ended in 1998, Bergen was cast in several films, including "Miss Congeniality," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "The In-Laws." She continued to act on television as well, notably playing herself on "Will and Grace" and recurring on "Sex and the City" as fashion journalist Enid — a role which she reprised in the "Sex and the City" film and the sequel series "And Just Like That..." In 2005, she landed her next major role as lawyer Shirley Schmidt on William Shatner's legal drama "Boston Legal." She was part of the series' main cast until it ended in 2008.

Bergen slowed things down after "Boston Legal" wrapped up, guest starring on "House M.D.," "The Michael J. Fox Show," "Battle Creek," and "BoJack Horseman." In 2018, the same year she returned to lead "Murphy Brown's" true final season, she starred in the comedy film "Book Club." She returned for the sequel "Book Club: The Next Chapter" in 2023. As of writing, Bergen is set to appear in an upcoming episode of Apple TV+'s "Shrinking," as well as the Paul Bettany film "Harvest Moon."