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'Judging Amy' writer makes a case for women in Hollywood
The Times - October 4, 1999
By Jeannette Johnston
"It's really a Cinderella project," says executive producer Barbara Hall of her new CBS drama, "Judging Amy" (Tuesdays, 10 p.m., WBZ Ch. 4).
When all the new pilots were parading before the networks, hoping to be chosen for this fall's lineup, "Judging Amy" was still stuck in development. If the show was ever going to reach
the air, it needed a fairy godmother, preferably one who doubled as a wordsmith.
It found one in Hall, a veteran television writer and producer who has worked on such hit dramas as "Chicago Hope," "I'll Fly Away" and "Northern Exposure." Brought
in to rewrite the pilot, Hall finished the script in five days and the revamped show became the last ordered by CBS for the fall season.
Amy Brenneman stars as a bristly Hartford lawyer and single mom who moves back in with her well-intentioned but smothering mother (Tyne Daly) before launching a new career as a juvenile court
judge. Early reviews have been flattering and ratings promising.
While Hall has written three previous television pilots, "Judging Amy" is the first to turn into a series. But the prospect of becoming one of only a handful of women to run shows of
their own creation hardly daunts her. When Hall first came to Hollywood in the early '80s, few women wrote for television, and fewer still produced it. "I was too naive to know that this just
wasn't done," says Hall.
Of course, transforming a limping series pitch into a network darling took more than a few flicks of a wand. Fifteen years of experience helped. So did Hall's seemingly boundless creative energy.
At 37, she already has penned two screenplays, published seven novels and written an album's worth of lyrics for her very own folk-rock band, all while maintaining her day job as one of
television's top women producers.
Now, Hall will funnel much of her creativity into "Judging Amy." Despite the early buzz, distinguishing the series from similar dramas will be challenging. Most notably, there's the
year-old NBC hit "Providence," which, perhaps not coincidentally, is also about an adult woman who moves back to New England and in with a parent and starts a new career.
But Hall thinks her series will stand out. Brenneman's character is not nearly as sweet-tempered as her "Providence" counterpart. And her relationships with family members are hardly as
amicable.
"I never understand shows where family members speak to one another in platitudes," says Hall. "In real life, people bump up against each other. They say things they don't
mean."
The show's real challenge comes from ABC. For the next few weeks, "Judging Amy" will air opposite "Once and Again," another show about a single mom jump-starting her life, only
with sizzling romantic underpinnings and much critical support. And after that, Hall's series faces a head-to-head battle with perennial hit "NYPD Blue." .
Copyright © 1999 The Times. All rights reserved.
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