Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction: Thank You for Being a Fan: Forty Years of The Golden Girls 1
4. Part I. Industry and Historical Context
5. 1. “Picture It, U.S. 2020 . . .”: Sitcom Nostalgia During the Pandemic 19
6. Interview: Meet Our Special Guests and Their Little Slice of The Golden Girls 33
7. 2. Disney’s Renaissance Woman: Susan Harris, The Golden Girls, and Touchstone Television 37
8. Interview: Creating The Golden Girls 53
9. 3. Miami Thrice: The Golden Girls in Rerun Syndication 57
10. Interview: “Thank You for Being a Friend” 75
11. 4. Golden Memories: Narrative Complexity and Flashback Episodes in The Golden Girls 79
12. Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Taping Seasons 1–3 93
13. Part II. Text
14. 5. Enquiring Minds: The Golden Girls and Tabloid Culture 99
15. Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Writing Seasons 5–7 113
16. 6. I Need a Cheesecake: 1980s Diet Culture and The Golden Girls 119
17. Interview: Memorable Moments with the Girls 133
18. 7. “AIDS Is Not a Bad Person’s Disease, Rose”: Contagion and Comedy on The Golden Girls 137
19. Interview: Photographing the Girls 149
20. 8. Sex and the “Biddy”: An Examination of Age and Sexual Performance in The Golden Girls 153
21. Interview: Editing and Laughter 165
22. 9. Thank You for Being a Mom: Contradictory Lessons in Mothering from The Golden Girls 167
23. Interview: The Myth of Ad-Libbing the Great Herring War 183
24. Part III. Audiences and Reception
25. 10. Golden Girlfriends: Black Women’s Fandom and the Implicit Blackness of The Golden Girls 187
26. Interview: On Bea and Betty 201
27. 11. Smut upon a Time in Miami: The Golden Girls’ Camp Comedy 205
28. Interview: Why The Golden Girls Is Still Popular 219
29. 12. Thank You for Making Drag Safe: Mainstreaming Queerness Through Live Golden Girls Stage Productions 225
30. Interview: From The Golden Girls to The Golden Palace 241
31. Notes on Contributors 243
32. Index 247