The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai is an accessible collection that explores the cultural, industrial, and historical impact of that beloved American sitcom. Edited by Taylor Cole Miller and Alfred L. Martin, Jr., this anthology brings together a diverse range of voices that model different media studies approaches to researching and critically analyzing television texts. The Golden Girls reclaims the production history and development of the show, opens new conversations about audiences–especially Black, queer, and female audiences–and provides new insight into the meteoric rise in popularity of The Golden Girls as a 2020s cultural phenomenon. With twelve original chapters and extensive original interviews offering readers rare insights behind the scenes, the book is a long day’s journey into the marinara of The Golden Girls–an immersive, engaging opportunity for readers to learn more about the show. It truly is the golden age of The Golden Girls.
Introduction: Thank You for Being a Fan: 40 Years of The Golden Girls
Section 1: Industry and Historical Context
Chapter 1: “Picture it, U.S. 2020…”: Sitcom Nostalgia During the Pandemic, Kate Fortmueller
Interview: What did you do on The Golden Girls?
Chapter 2: Disney’s Renaissance Woman: Susan Harris, The Golden Girls, and Touchstone Television, Peter C. Kunze
Interview: Creating the Golden Girls
Chapter 3: Golden Girls Again: The Golden Girls in Rerun Syndication, Taylor Cole Miller
Interview: Thank You For Being a Friend
Chapter 4: Golden Memories: Narrative Complexity and Flashback Episodes in The Golden Girls, Jessica Hoover
Interview: The Weekly Schedule – Taping Seasons 1-3
Section 2: Text
Chapter 5: Enquiring Minds: The Golden Girls and Tabloid Culture, Claire Sewell
Interview The Weekly Schedule – Writing Seasons 5-7
Chapter 6: I Need a Cheesecake: 1980s Diet Culture and The Golden Girls, AshleÉ Clark
Interview: Working with the Girls
Chapter 7: “AIDS is not a Bad Person’s Disease, Rose”: Contagion and Comedy on The Golden Girls, Andrew J. Owens
Interview: Photographing the Girls
Chapter 8: Sex and the “Biddy”: An Examination of Age and Sexual Performance in The Golden Girls, Jared Clayton Brown
Interview: Editing and Laughter
Chapter 9: Thank You for Being a Mom: Contradictory Lessons in Mothering from The Golden Girls, Beth L. Boser
Interview: The Great Herring War
Section 3: Audiences & Reception
Chapter 10: Golden Girlfriends: Black Women’s Fandom and the Implicit Blackness of The Golden Girls, Alfred L. Martin, Jr.
Interview: On Bea and Betty
Chapter 11: Smut Upon a Time in Miami: The Golden Girls' Camp Comedy, Ken Feil
Interview: Why It’s Still Popular
Chapter 12: Thank You for Making Drag Safe: Mainstreaming Queerness Through Live Golden Girls Stage Productions, Eleanor Patterson
Interview: From The Golden Girls to Golden Palace
Notes on Contributors
Notes
Introduction: Thank You for Being a Fan: Forty Years of The Golden Girls 1
Taylor Cole Miller and Alfred L. Martin Jr.
Part I. Industry and Historical Context
1. “Picture It, U.S. 2020 . . .”: Sitcom Nostalgia During the Pandemic 19
Kate Fortmueller
Interview: Meet Our Special Guests and Their Little Slice of
The Golden Girls 33
2. Disney’s Renaissance Woman: Susan Harris, The Golden Girls,
and Touchstone Television 37
Peter C. Kunze
Interview: Creating The Golden Girls 53
3. Miami Thrice: The Golden Girls in Rerun Syndication 57
Taylor Cole Miller
Interview: “Thank You for Being a Friend” 75
4. Golden Memories: Narrative Complexity and
Flashback Episodes in The Golden Girls 79
Jessica Hoover
Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Taping Seasons 1–3 93
Part II. Text
5. Enquiring Minds: The Golden Girls and Tabloid Culture 99
Claire Sewell
Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Writing Seasons 5–7 113
6. I Need a Cheesecake: 1980s Diet Culture and The Golden Girls 119
AshleÉ Clark
Interview: Memorable Moments with the Girls 133
7. “AIDS Is Not a Bad Person’s Disease, Rose”:
Contagion and Comedy on The Golden Girls 137
Andrew J. Owens
Interview: Photographing the Girls 149
8. Sex and the “Biddy”: An Examination of Age and
Sexual Performance in The Golden Girls 153
Jared Clayton Brown
Interview: Editing and Laughter 165
9. Thank You for Being a Mom: Contradictory Lessons in
Mothering from The Golden Girls 167
Beth L. Boser
Interview: The Myth of Ad-Libbing the Great Herring War 183
Part III. Audiences and Reception
10. Golden Girlfriends: Black Women’s Fandom and the
Implicit Blackness of The Golden Girls 187
Alfred L. Martin Jr.
Interview: On Bea and Betty 201
11. Smut upon a Time in Miami: The Golden Girls’ Camp Comedy 205
Ken Feil
Interview: Why The Golden Girls Is Still Popular 219
12. Thank You for Making Drag Safe: Mainstreaming Queerness
Through Live Golden Girls Stage Productions 225
Eleanor Patterson
Interview: From The Golden Girls to Golden Palace 241
Notes on Contributors 243
Index 247
