97: Cybill Befriends the Gay Waiter

“Three Women and a Dummy” (May 13, 1996)

Alongside Murphy Brown, Designing Women and The Nanny, Cybill was one of CBS’s female-forward heavy-hitters in the 1990s. It didn’t last as long as the other three — and yes, there’s quite the story there — but in its four seasons it did manage to give us the Waiter. Played by Tim Maculan, he’s one of the more important queer characters to recur on a popular sitcom in the decade. We discuss this, plus Alan Ball’s involvement, the whole Cybill vs. Baranski controversy and whether this show was a remake of Absolutely Fabulous or not.

Read Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s article recounting her experiences with CBS boogeyman Les Moonves.

Listen to You Must Remember This’s season dedicated to Polly Platt.

Glen is right: There was a Moonlighting-inspired episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

This episode’s outro track is “Maria Magdalena” by Sandra: Apple Music • Amazon Music • Spotify