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The Golden Girls
Tales from the Lanai
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Edited by:
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With contributions by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
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.
Author / Editor information
Taylor Cole Miller is an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Alfred L. Martin Jr. is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts at the University of Miami. He is the author of Fandom for Us, by Us: The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences and The Generic Closet: Black Gayness and the Black-Cast Sitcom, and editor of Rolling: Blackness and Mediated Comedy.
Alfred L. Martin Jr. is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts at the University of Miami. He is the author of Fandom for Us, by Us: The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences and The Generic Closet: Black Gayness and the Black-Cast Sitcom, and editor of Rolling: Blackness and Mediated Comedy.
Reviews
"Miller and Martin have expertly curated an impressive collection of essays that capture the wit and the heart of The Golden Girls while simultaneously offering an essential contribution to the field of television studies. This is the book that fans and scholars have been waiting for."— Racquel J. Gates, author of Double Negative: The Black Image and Popular Culture
"This book is more fun than a herring circus. Martin and Miller have put together a collection that deftly illustrates the depth, significance, and risk taking that define The Golden Girls. It's an important addition to work on eighties TV and a must-read for fans of the Girls. It made me feel like I just won Butter Queen."— Kelly Kessler, author of Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical
"This book is a testament to both the emotional truth and sociological power this powerhouse television show created. It is a glorious and fascinating look into the writing, the performances, and most of all, the many lines they crossed. I say this from the bottom of my heart to the humans involved in this book: Thank you. For being a friend."— Alexandra Billings, actress and author of This Time for Me: A Memoir
"Weaving together witty commentary, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and solid research, this book allows the reader—from casual fan to die-hard fanatic—to reflect upon The Golden Girls phenomenon in fresh and thought-provoking ways."— Maria Carpiac, professor and director of the Gerontology Program at California State University, Long Beach
"It is a lesson on chosen family and how we can talk about difficult topics through humor and a slice of cheesecake."
— WGN-TV Weekend Morning News"Academic yet accessible. Part cultural analysis, part fan love letter, all wrapped in the charm of four women eating cheesecake at midnight. . . . A smart, engaging tribute to one of the most iconic shows ever made. For super-fans, it's full of golden nuggets (pun intended), even if a few points get recycled. So grab some cheesecake and dive in!"
— Nerdy Nerdy Book Book"These tales offer an amazingly detailed history of the Girls, full of in-depth analysis, revealing interviews, never-before-known facts, and sly references to our favorite funny moments and one-liners. Like Dorothy, it's super-smart. Like Sophia, it'll have you laughing out loud. And like Vanna White's memoir, it's just a helluva book!"— Jim Colucci, New York Times bestselling author of Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai
"I was blown away by this book."
— Out on the Lanai podcast"One of the greatest strengths of this collection is its broad appeal. . . . It is approachable enough for non-academic audiences to enjoy and understand, and the insider interviews alone (including one of the last known interviews with drag queen Heklina in Chapter Twelve) would be enough to interest fans."
— Journal of Gender Studies“Miller and Martin's fun and thoughtful essay collection is sure to appeal to fans of all ages.”
— Library JournalTopics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Introduction: Thank You for Being a Fan: Forty Years of The Golden Girls
1 - Part I. Industry and Historical Context
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1. “Picture It, U.S. 2020 . . .”: Sitcom Nostalgia During the Pandemic
19 -
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Interview: Meet Our Special Guests and Their Little Slice of The Golden Girls
33 -
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2. Disney’s Renaissance Woman: Susan Harris, The Golden Girls, and Touchstone Television
37 -
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Interview: Creating The Golden Girls
53 -
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3. Miami Thrice: The Golden Girls in Rerun Syndication
57 -
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Interview: “Thank You for Being a Friend”
75 -
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4. Golden Memories: Narrative Complexity and Flashback Episodes in The Golden Girls
79 -
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Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Taping Seasons 1–3
93 - Part II. Text
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5. Enquiring Minds: The Golden Girls and Tabloid Culture
99 -
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Interview: The Weekly Schedule: Writing Seasons 5–7
113 -
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6. I Need a Cheesecake: 1980s Diet Culture and The Golden Girls
119 -
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Interview: Memorable Moments with the Girls
133 -
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7. “AIDS Is Not a Bad Person’s Disease, Rose”: Contagion and Comedy on The Golden Girls
137 -
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Interview: Photographing the Girls
149 -
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8. Sex and the “Biddy”: An Examination of Age and Sexual Performance in The Golden Girls
153 -
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Interview: Editing and Laughter
165 -
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9. Thank You for Being a Mom: Contradictory Lessons in Mothering from The Golden Girls
167 -
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Interview: The Myth of Ad-Libbing the Great Herring War
183 - Part III. Audiences and Reception
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10. Golden Girlfriends: Black Women’s Fandom and the Implicit Blackness of The Golden Girls
187 -
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Interview: On Bea and Betty
201 -
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11. Smut upon a Time in Miami: The Golden Girls’ Camp Comedy
205 -
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Interview: Why The Golden Girls Is Still Popular
219 -
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12. Thank You for Making Drag Safe: Mainstreaming Queerness Through Live Golden Girls Stage Productions
225 -
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Interview: From The Golden Girls to The Golden Palace
241 -
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Notes on Contributors
243 -
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Index
247
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
July 21, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781978836877
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781978836877
Keywords for this book
Lanai; Golden girls; Taylor Cole Miller; Alfred L Martin Jr; Peter Kunze; Jessica Hoover; Kate Fortmueller; Andrew Owens; Claire Sewell; Beth Boser; Jared Clayton Brown; Ashlee Clark; Ken Feil; Ben Aslinger; Eleanor Patterson; rutgers; rutgers university; rutgers university press; pop culture; popular culture; film studies; film; media studies; media; communications; communications studies; cultural studies; culture; american studies; us studies; u.s. studies; gender; LGBT; LGBTQIA; LGBTQ; LGBTQ studies; lgbt studies; womens studies; women's studies; womens' studies; women; women's history; womens history; performing arts; acting; actors; television; history of tv; tv; history of television; tv history; television history; tv shows; tv show; comedy; comedy tv; social science; history and criticism; The Golden Girls; Beatrice Arthur; Betty White; Rue McClanahan; Estelle Getty; Blanche Devereaux; Rose Nylund; Dorothy Zbornak; Sophia Petrillo; sitcom; sitcoms; American sitcoms; cultural impact
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
