Ambition has almost always been a thorny issue for fictional female characters on television. When Mary Richards applied for a job as a secretary at a local Minneapolis TV station on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the 1970s, she ended up as an associate producer by the end of the interview. News director Lou Grant gave her the high-profile title so he could pay her less, implying that there was a price for women moving up the career ladder. It was a clever way for the show’s writers to put Mary on a career path without making her seem overly ambitious and therefore less feminine. Mary didn’t negotiate and was grateful for the unexpected promotion.
Nearly fifty years later, comedian Deborah Vance, played by the brilliant Jean Smart, finds herself in a similar dilemma when she discovers that her dream job, hosting a late-night talk show, has become available. Despite Deborah’s decades-long career and her reputation as a survivor, she initially expresses concerns that Mary Richards could easily have expressed half a century earlier.
In the show’s third season, which is currently nominated for Emmys, Deborah tells her best friend and writer Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder, that she’s wanted this job since she was a child. Deborah longed to “live in the moment” because her abusive father watched the show late at night and became increasingly tolerant when it aired. At first, she hesitates to publicly announce her interest in the position, noting that “a woman can’t come out and say what she wants. That seems…” Her voice trails off when her “thirsty” team members interject. But 27-year-old Ava doesn’t carry the same generational baggage as her 70-year-old boss and encourages Deborah to be honest about her dream, acknowledge how important it is to her, and be shameless in her pursuit of the job.
Thanks to Ava's words and attitude, Deborah announces that she wants the position while hosting the Thanksgiving parade, and she backs it up by confidently declaring, “I'm the best person for this job.”
Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
Courtesy of Everett Group
Interestingly, it wasn't until the third season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show that Mary gained the confidence to confront her sometimes-angry boss Lou about the newscast's formatting changes, telling news anchor Ted Baxter to “shut up” when he wouldn't stop interrupting her with silly comments while she was trying to deliver an editorial on the air. As the only woman in the fictional WJM-TV newsroom, Mary was on her own, with Betty White occasionally making appearances as Sue Ann Nevins, the “Happy Housewife” host.
Deborah's aging makes her pursuit of a late-night job even more difficult. It also makes it even more urgent when she realizes that this may be her last chance to fulfill her lifelong dream. In her 70s, she knows that time is running out to make a big move. It's now or never. Deborah's career clock is ticking and she knows it.
This sets up a startlingly rare situation in TV comedy—a female character over 70 aggressively and strategically attacking a traditionally male and very public role. According to a recent study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, women over 60 make up just 5 percent of all female characters on TV.
Once Deborah decides to pursue her dream, she organizes her team and sets out to win the position through a series of moves that increase her visibility and chances of landing the job. It is exciting to watch her as she valiantly navigates interactions with the network president, the network's affiliates, and even the head of the conglomerate that owns the network.
Deborah Vance offers a rare and very welcome glimpse into how writers can portray older women as vital and articulate. What sets Deborah apart is her desire not only to stay in the game, but to achieve her lifelong goal. As a character, her depth comes from her life experience.
When Mary Richards threw her hat in the air with joy during the opening credits of her now-famous show, she ushered in a new era of female character portrayals on television, allowing the work to play a central role rather than a peripheral, passing role in the lives of fictional TV women. Decades later, Smart’s portrayal of the dreams that female characters can have has expanded, not only extending the lifespan of their careers but also showing that ambition, talent, and focus look great on women of any age.
Dr. Martha M. Lozen is the founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University and the author of numerous studies on the portrayal of women onscreen and behind-the-scenes employment in television and film.
