Grace Under Fire
Frankly, we need more Brett Butler in our lives. As a Southern woman and comic, she represents an underserved group in the TV landscape. Her show, Grace Under Fire, featured Butler in the title role, and followed the single mom’s struggles with finances, custody, and child rearing.
Sure, it doesn’t sound like much these days, but aside from Murphy Brown, there weren’t a whole lot of single moms with their own shows back then. To make things even more interesting, Grace is a recovering alcoholic with an abusive baby daddy and meddling friends and loved ones.
Her character was ironically named Grace Kelly, and she was tough-talking, no-nonsense, and brash. She rarely handled things with the poise her namesake did, but it was always fun to watch. She was set up as the underdog, but you never felt sorry for Grace – she wouldn’t have it. The show won several Golden Globes, and a couple of guest stars won Emmys for their roles on the show.
However, the show was beleaguered by off-set problems – namely Butler’s addiction to pain killers which delayed production and caused fellow actors to leave the show. It’s a pity, too. The show was consistently in the top 20 ratings and delivered reliably funny and topical content.