TV Stars Confirm: Short Hair In

TV shows are trying to sell you short this season. I first noticed it in the season premiere of an old favorite, “Murphy Brown.” Next on a couple of new shows, “Relativity” and “Townies.” Even the critically acclaimed “Chicago Hope.” And there are probably more to come.

But I saw it enough times to make an observation: Short hair is in.

In the season premiere of “Murphy Brown,” Candice Bergen not only got a new executive producer in Lily Tomlin, but she got a new haircut.

Face it: Bergen has worn basically the same hairstyle - give or take a few subtle changes - since the show made its debut on CBS in 1988. Not only was the style starting to look kind of dowdy on an actress so fashionable, her hair had looked downright scraggly.

But it has been a rough year for Bergen. Her husband, filmmaker Louis Malle, died last November. And the actress turned the big five-oh on May 9. So perhaps it was time for a change.

And a change for the better! The new cut is sleek, sophisticated, stylish. Best of all, Bergen looks 50 and fabulous.

Also looking more sleek and sophisticated are two young stars: Kimberly Williams, female lead in ABC’s new romantic drama “Relativity,” tamed the curly locks she wore playing Steve Martin’s daughter in the “Father of the Bride” films; and “Townies” (also ABC) star Molly Ringwald looks considerably more grown up with her new short hair than she did as the teen-age star of “Sixteen Candles” and “Pretty in Pink.”

Mark Harmon, who joined the cast of CBS’s “Chicago Hope” this season, has an updated George Clooney (“ER”) buzz cut.

I’m sure there are more short ‘dos waiting in the wings.