For Alyssa Milano, the progressive themes and socially challenging aspects of her ’80s sitcom Who’s the Boss? still resonate today — which is why she’s working diligently on getting a revival off the ground.
The actress and activist walked the carpet at the ERA Coalition’s Women’s Equality Trailblazer Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and she spoke with ET’s Denny Directo about the groundbreaking elements of her iconic comedy series.
“Who’s the Boss? was the first thing where really there was a swapping of gender roles, right?” Milano said, explaining how the dynamics of the show really set it apart and put it front and center in the cultural conversation.
In the series, Tony Danza starred as Tony Micelli, a widower and former baseball player who takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for Angela Bower (Judith Light), a divorced, wealthy advertising hotshot, and her son, Jonathan (Danny Pintauro). Milano starred as Tony’s teenage daughter, Samantha, who lives at the Bower residence with her dad.
“Tony was doing all the housekeeping and you know and Judith was divorced, owned her own business, single mother, all those things that we didn’t really see at that time,” Milano said of the show’s unique set-up. “And a daughter who is very much a tomboy.”
Milano has long been working on a way to bring the show back, and give fans a look at where the characters are now.
“I think it could be really funny because, in my head, Tony is gonna be the exact same character but everything around him is just changing and growing,” Milano explained. “So I’m excited about the prospect. I think it could be really, really fun.”
The actress explained that the revival series is “still in development” and that they are “still looking for a home” for the project.
“We’re working really hard, ’cause we feel like we have some more of a story to tell,” Milano explained.
Milano spoke with ET back in November 2022, and shared some details about one possible premise for the new series.
The proposed Who’s the Boss? update would center around Milano’s Samantha, who is now a single mother living in the same house she grew up in on the original sitcom, which ran from 1984 to 1992. Her father now lives with her and helps take care of Samantha’s children.
“It would be Tony coming to take care of my children because I get a job that makes me travel a lot, so it’s that whole dynamic,” Milano teased. “But also, the generational difference between raising a child now versus then, which is always the conflict that I have with my parents in real life about gentle parenting. So I’m really looking forward to that aspect of it.”
As for the Women’s Equality Trailblazer Awards, Milano helped celebrate the night’s guests of honor — 9 to 5 co-star Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, who were all recognized for their contributions to the fight for equality.
The ERA Coalition event also featured a special premiere screening of the documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which details the lasting impact of the film and its message, and the fight for women’s rights and equality that continues to this day.
Looking back at the beloved 1980 comedy, Milano explained, “The sad thing is it resonated the exact same way all these years later.”
“We’re still fighting for pay equality, we’re still fighting for constitutional equality as women, we’re still fighting for racial justice and reproductive justice and environmental justice,” she shared. “So these are the same issues… we’re still fighting the same fight as [we were] 40 years ago. You could make it today and it would still hold up.”
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