Ted Danson recalls his full on kiss with Candice Bergen
Ted Danson told his podcast that he shared a "full on kiss" with Candice Bergen during her Murphy Brown crossover on the 1990s sitcom Ink, while his wife and co-host Mary Steenburgen joked he still has "fantasies" about it—even though Bergen insists the moment was "very chastely." The decades-old TV memory resurfaced on Where Everybody Knows Your Name, giving fans a candid look at a forgotten CBS crossover that even Google barely remembers.
Key Takeaways
- Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Candice Bergen revisited a 1997 onscreen kiss on the podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name.
- Danson called it a "full-on" kiss; Bergen remembered it as chaste, and Steenburgen teased her husband about lingering "fantasies."
- The scene aired in Ink's penultimate episode, "Murphy's Law," during Bergen's guest appearance as Murphy Brown.
- Entertainment Weekly confirmed the kiss happened and drew cheers from the live studio audience.
- Ink ran for one season on CBS's Monday comedy block alongside Murphy Brown before ending in 1997.
What did Ted Danson say about his kiss with Candice Bergen?
During a recent episode of Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Ted Danson brought up an onscreen liplock with guest Candice Bergen that he said he struggled to find online. "I looked that up this morning on Google, and they have no record of it," Danson said. "But I do believe we even kissed."
When Bergen pushed back gently, Danson doubled down. "It was full-on. It was a full-on kiss, Candice," he told her. The exchange turned into lighthearted debate among three veteran actors who have known each other for decades through sitcom royalty circles.
How do Bergen and Steenburgen remember the Ink kiss differently?
Candice Bergen offered a softer version of the memory. "I think we did — very chastely," she said on the podcast. Mary Steenburgen, who co-hosts the show and starred alongside Danson on Ink, sided with her husband's dramatic recollection.
"I think in Ted's mind it was much, much more," Steenburgen said. She then laughed that Danson still has "a lot of fantasies" about the scene, adding, "It didn't even make Google, but in your mind it was like the hottest scene in all of television." The banter kept the tone playful rather than contentious.
Where did the kiss happen on Ink?
The moment took place during Bergen's crossover as Murphy Brown on Ink, a short-lived CBS sitcom that aired between 1996 and 1997. Real-life couple Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen played divorced journalists on the series, which shared a creative universe with Murphy Brown on the network's Monday night comedy block.
Bergen appeared in the penultimate episode, "Murphy's Law," which aired on May 12, 1997. According to Entertainment Weekly, the kiss occurs early in the episode, after Danson's character works with his ex, played by Steenburgen. Research into the footage confirmed the kiss was passionate enough to draw yelps from the live studio audience.
Why does this forgotten crossover still grab headlines?
Stories like this resonate because they combine nostalgia, star power, and the enduring chemistry of actors who defined primetime comedy in the 1990s. Danson remains one of television's most beloved leading men, while Bergen's Murphy Brown is still regarded as a landmark sitcom role.
The podcast moment also highlights how Where Everybody Knows Your Name is surfacing untold Hollywood stories. For more of the latest celebrity coverage, see our Celebrity Breaking News section.