How The Golden Girls changed the world
Forty years ago, an American sitcom rewrote the rule book about the depiction of seniors on the small screen. But have the lessons it taught been forgotten?
Seniors in the spotlight
Here are a few other shows with a focus on fully formed older characters:
As Time Goes By. In this gentle British sitcom, Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer star as former lovers who reunite in older age.
Diagnosis: Murder. Dick van Dyke plays a medical doctor who also solves crimes.
Frasier. In the 2023 reboot, an older Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer, now 69) comes home to Boston to deal with his past.
Grace & Frankie. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin played women thrown together when their husbands run off to marry each other.
Matlock. This 1990s series stars Andy Griffith as a successful criminal defence lawyer.
Mother and Son. This Australian classic (recently rebooted with new stars) is a sympathetic and often funny portrayal of a mother (Ruth Cracknell) who is battling with memory loss and her put-upon son (Garry McDonald).
Murder, She Wrote. Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher is an author of crime novels who becomes involved in real-life cases.
One Foot in the Grave. Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson) plays a grumpy anti-hero, raging against life’s frustrations.
Open All Hours. Ronnie Barker plays a miserly South Yorkshire shopkeeper who lusts after the local nurse.
The Kominsky Method. The adventures of an ageing acting coach starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin.
In the vast, yet often empty, landscape of television comedy, the portrayal of older people has varied widely.
It has ranged from nuanced, empowering narratives and characters to reductive, stereotypical, token representations.
Among the shows that have ventured into this territory, The Golden Girls stands out as a pioneering series that celebrated the lives, friendships, and sexualities of older women, setting a benchmark for positive representation.
Debuting in 1985, The Golden Girls was revolutionary in its focus on four older women living together in Miami, Florida, navigating the trials and tribulations of their “golden years” with good humour, grace, and solidarity.
Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia, each with their distinct personality and background, offered viewers a multifaceted view of ageing that was rare for its time.
The show tackled topics such as romance, health, bereavement, and age discrimination, all while maintaining a comedic tone that resonated with audiences of all ages.
What set The Golden Girls apart was the show’s refusal to diminish its characters to mere caricatures of old age.
Instead, it presented them as fully realised individuals with desires, fears, and ambitions. Their age was not a limitation; it afforded opportunities for growth and laughter.
The series was celebrated for its progressive portrayal of older adults as independent, capable, and sexually active.
The broader television landscape was – and still is – peppered with shows that opt for a less flattering depiction of older adults.
In some comedies, seniors are relegated to the sidelines as the butt of jokes centered around forgetfulness, frailty, or technological ineptitude.
These portrayals reinforce negative stereotypes about ageing, suggesting a decline in relevance and capability as one grows older.
For instance, some sitcoms resort to using the “grumpy old man” or “eccentric old lady” tropes, where older characters are primarily sources of comic relief rather than complex individuals with their own storylines.
Such depictions can contribute to a societal perception of ageing as a phase of loss – of youth, beauty, and utility – rather than a period of continued evolution and engagement.
The success and enduring popularity of The Golden Girls demonstrate the audience’s appetite for stories that treat older adults with respect and dignity.
The show proved that comedies could explore the realities of ageing without resorting to demeaning stereotypes, and that there is a rich vein of humour and humanity in the experiences of older individuals.
As society ages, and our understanding of ageing deepens, there is an increasing call for television comedies to follow in the footsteps of The Golden Girls.
By depicting older adults in a light that emphasises their agency, complexity, and vibrancy, television can play a role in reshaping attitudes towards ageing.
This shift would not only open the door for more inclusive and diverse storytelling but also affirm the value of every stage of life.
However, it’s difficult to pinpoint any series that has truly picked up the mantle. Many popular series continue to portray seniors as accessories to the main story or figures of fun.
Will television executives get the idea that we want to laugh with older characters, not at them?
Is the time ripe for a Golden Girls revival?
