Murphy Brown — 1988-2018 · 11 seasons · 260 eps

★ 6.9

Murphy Brown poster

Murphy Brown

1988-2018 11 seasons 260 episodes

★ 6.9 (11,424 votes) Bottom 27%

Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is a recovering alcoholic who returns to the fictional newsmagazine FYI for the first time following a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic residential treatment center. Over 40 and single, she is sharp tongued and hard as nails. In her profession, she is considered one of the boys, having shattered many glass ceilings encountered during her career. Dominating the FYI news magazine, she is portrayed as one of America's hardest-hitting (though not the warmest or more sympathetic) media personalities.

Episode Ratings Grid

Every episode at a glance, color-coded by rating. Rows are episode numbers within each season, columns are seasons.

Size: M

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

S8

S9

S10

S11

E1

7.9

7.5

7.7

8.0

8.0

7.6

7.4

7.4

7.2

6.3

6.4

E2

7.9

7.9

7.0

8.2

7.7

8.1

7.7

7.3

7.1

6.8

6.0

E3

7.6

7.3

7.1

7.7

7.2

7.2

7.1

7.4

7.0

6.6

6.0

E4

7.4

7.7

7.5

7.7

7.3

7.1

7.3

7.1

6.4

7.4

6.3

E5

7.1

7.6

7.8

7.6

7.5

7.6

7.5

7.1

6.2

7.5

6.0

E6

7.0

7.3

7.8

8.0

7.6

7.6

7.5

7.4

6.8

7.8

6.4

E7

7.2

7.4

7.7

7.5

7.2

7.5

7.1

7.0

6.7

6.5

6.6

E8

7.3

7.2

7.7

7.4

7.4

7.2

7.5

7.2

6.9

7.3

6.3

E9

7.5

7.5

8.0

8.2

7.7

7.2

7.4

7.1

7.5

6.5

6.1

E10

7.2

7.6

8.0

7.5

7.4

7.3

7.3

7.5

6.8

7.0

6.4

E11

7.1

7.9

7.8

7.8

7.7

7.8

7.1

7.7

6.8

6.5

6.8

E12

7.3

7.5

7.4

7.5

7.8

7.0

7.1

7.4

6.6

6.6

6.6

E13

6.9

7.7

7.6

7.5

7.3

7.6

7.6

7.2

6.5

7.3

6.0

E14

7.2

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.5

6.9

7.3

6.1

6.8

E15

7.5

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.6

7.6

7.6

7.2

6.5

6.8

E16

7.3

7.6

7.6

7.5

7.5

7.4

7.5

7.5

6.7

7.5

E17

7.3

7.2

7.5

7.7

7.3

7.5

7.0

7.2

7.1

6.6

E18

7.5

7.3

7.3

7.9

7.5

7.6

7.3

7.0

7.1

6.7

E19

7.5

7.6

7.6

7.6

7.6

7.3

7.4

7.0

7.3

6.3

E20

7.7

7.8

7.2

7.9

7.6

7.1

7.0

7.1

7.2

7.3

E21

7.2

7.5

7.4

7.5

7.5

7.7

7.9

7.6

6.5

7.7

E22

7.6

7.4

7.5

7.4

7.2

7.5

7.5

6.8

6.5

6.8

E23

8.2

7.5

7.9

7.3

7.6

7.2

7.1

6.8

E24

7.3

6.9

7.7

7.3

7.7

7.5

7.0

6.8

E25

6.8

7.5

7.7

7.9

7.5

7.2

E26

7.5

7.7

7.9

6.8

E27

7.6

Avg

7.4

7.5

7.5

7.7

7.5

7.5

7.3

7.2

6.8

6.9

6.3

Great

Good

Mid

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top Episodes

#1 8.2

S2E23 Frank's Appendectomy

A series of outrageous practical jokes, which start with a visit from ""Deep Throat,"" get out of hand.

#2

S4E2 8.2

Uh-Oh: Part 3

Jake tells Murphy he has decided he isn't ready to settle down, and they both agree they can't do it together. Murphy decides to exercise her right to choose and her choice is motherhood. Even though it's Jake's baby, Jerry knows fatherhood isn't for him. While everyone else freaks out at the news, only Eldin is truly happy for Murphy. Murphy ""Do you think I'll make a good mother."" Eldin ""No, but I will.""

#3

S4E9 8.2

The Queen of Soul

Murphy's chance to interview the "Queen of Soul" is in jeopardy when her train arrives late and the limo gets detoured and the staff struggles to fill the air time.

4. S6E2 "Angst for the Memories" 8.1
5. S3E9 "The Bummer of 42" 8.0
6. S3E10 "Trouble in Sherwood-Forrest" 8.0
7. S4E1 "Uh-Oh: Part 2" 8.0
8. S4E6 "Full Circle" 8.0
9. S5E1 "You Say Potatoe, I Say Potato: Part 1" 8.0
10. S1E1 "Respect" 7.9

📉 Bottom Episodes

#260

S11E13 6.0

Happy New Year

259. S11E5 "The Girl Who Cried About Wolf" 6.0
258. S11E3 "#MurphyToo" 6.0
257. S11E2 "I (Don't) Heart Huckabee" 6.0
256. S11E9 "Thanksgiving and Taking" 6.1

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

Trend

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:

82 Standouts

52 Infamous

38 Hidden Gems

88 Forgettable

Top Standout: S1E1 Respect

Most Infamous: S11E1 Fake News

Best Hidden Gem: S6E11 It's Not Easy Being Brown

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Series Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

Trend

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.