Book Review: “The Golden Girls” (by Kate Browne)

Kate Browne’s new book from Wayne State University Press sheds important light on the classic sitcom.

Ask anyone who knows me even reasonably well, and they’ll tell you that I’m a devout fan of The Golden Girls. It’s one of those shows that I return to time and time and again, and it always offers me something new, even as it comforts me with the warmth of the familiar. I’ve always wanted to write a book about the series (and I still might, at some point), and I’ve been on the lookout for a new book on this series, with a mix of both fear and excitement.

That being said, I went into this academic book about my favorite show with more than a little trepidation. Despite the fact that I’ve done my own scholarly study of the series, I tend to be a bit defensive about the object of my affection, and I was a little worried that she would take what I thought was an overly critical view of my series. There’s nothing I can’t stand more than an work of academic criticism that seems to absolutely hate the object of its analysis (of which there are more than a few out there, let me tell you).

As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. Browne has a clear eye for the sorts of detail that matters in an analysis of television series, ands he brings that…