'Just Shoot Me!' Is So Much More Than a Sitcom

The Big Picture

• Just Shoot Me! offers a hilarious look at office politics and workplace tension, providing relatable scenarios and relatable characters.
• The show embodies the contradiction of '90s feminism through the characters of Maya Gallo and Nina Van Horn, highlighting the struggle for women to be taken seriously while also embracing their femininity.
• The sitcom highlights the futility facing women in the workplace, showing that no matter what path women choose, they will always face challenges and sacrifices.

There is no doubt Steven Levitan knows how to make a great sitcom. Aside from creating one of the most beloved shows on network television, Modern Family, he also wrote and produced numerous other popular shows, like Frasier and Wings. In 1997, Levitan created Just Shoot Me!, which ran for seven seasons. Though the show regularly jumped around in the NBC lineup, it retained respectable ratings throughout its tenure. With a cast of unique characters and Levitan's scintillating dialogue, the series offered a hilarious look at office politics. Even though Just Shoot Me! takes place at the fictional fashion magazine Blush, almost everyone can relate to the workplace tension and co-worker disdain depicted in the show. But this light-hearted sitcom offers so much more than belly laughs. At its core, it is the epitome of the contradiction that is '90s feminism.

Just Shoot Me!

Hot-tempered journalist Maya got herself fired yet again. Unable to find a job anywhere else and facing eviction, she is forced to go work for Blush, her father's fashion magazine.

What Is 'Just Shoot Me!' About?

On the surface, Just Shoot Me! is another take on a workplace sitcom, albeit unique. The ensemble cast includes the aloof and brainy writer Maya (Laura San Giacomo), who wants to turn fashion magazine Blush into more Vanity Fair and less Vogue, the ex-supermodel-turned-fashion-editor Nina Van Horn (Wendie Malick), the snarky model-obsessed executive assistant Dennis Finch (David Spade), the womanizing but brilliant photographer Elliot DiMauro (Enrico Colantoni), and the wealthy owner and publisher Jack Gallo (George Segal) who also happens to be Maya's father.

The pilot episode starts with Maya, a writer at a television news station, working hard to showcase her serious journalistic abilities. After re-writing copy for one of the news anchors (wait, is that CSI: Miami's Emily Procter?) who was rude to her, said anchor reads damaging comments off the teleprompter in a Ron Burgundy-like moment that ends in Maya getting fired. With rent due and no job offers in sight, she turns to her father for help. By the end of the episode, she has a job offer from her father to help run his fashion magazine so he can spend more time with his newborn daughter.

Obviously, Just Shoot Me! isn't some hard-hitting drama seeking to tear down the patriarchy, but, underneath the sarcastic quips and innuendo-laden dialogue, it offers a fascinating look at two sides of the same feminist coin. Intentionally, Steven Levitan crafted the characters of Maya Gallo and Nina Van Horn to be polar opposites. The tension their opposition creates is all part of the comedic conflict that drives the narrative forward.

Where Maya is reserved in her fashion choices and seeks to be taken seriously as a journalist, Nina is glamorous and gregarious and desires to be worshiped for her physical appearance. The two are constantly at odds with each other over creative choices and content for the magazine. They bicker and make snide comments to draw attention to their differences and belittle each other. While the dichotomy between the two characters makes for hilarious television, their drastically different depictions of female empowerment actually highlight the genuine struggles facing professional women. In the context of the 1990s especially, these two perfectly embody the girl-power-fueled contradiction that is third-wave feminism.

'Just Shoot Me!' Embodies the Contradiction of '90s Feminism

Feminism in the '90s was a bit confusing. On the one hand, women were pushing further than ever before to gain true equality with their male counterparts, and on the other hand, women were objectified more than ever. Women like Anita Hill were speaking out about inappropriate sexual advances in the workplace, Janet Reno became the first woman attorney general, and Carly Fiorina became CEO of a Fortune 100 company (Hewlett-Packard). Girls born in the '60s and '70s were coming into their own, and because of the battles their mothers had won, they had never known a world without feminism.

One of the main focuses of the previous generation's second-wave movement was women's rights to pursue satisfaction outside the home. It rallied against the long-held belief that women should be caregivers, housewives, and nothing more. These courageous women fought for many of the things we take for granted today, and the generation that came after tried to push the boundaries even further. However, no matter how hard women pushed to gain equal footing and be taken seriously, their objectification and sexualization continued to hinder their ascent.

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Just Shoot Me! depicted the contradictory elements of '90s feminism through the characters of Maya Gallo and Nina Van Horn. Maya, the daughter of second-wave feminism, was fiercely dedicated to changing societal stigmas surrounding women. She was strong and outspoken and routinely admonished her co-workers for blatantly objectifying women. Working at a fashion magazine where beautiful models surrounded her perfectly contrasted her character. While she wanted to be taken seriously and be seen solely for her tireless work ethic and brilliant business savvy, she was constantly at odds with the nature of a business built entirely on defining beauty standards for women. This is one of the contradictions that '90s feminism highlighted. Women wanted to be taken seriously and have the same access to careers as their male counterparts without enduring the grotesque sexual advances so often seen in corporate environments. However, there was also a push for women to embrace their own femininity and even an overt rejection of the more subdued aesthetic of the previous generation.

On the other hand, Nina Van Horn was the embodiment of '90s girl power. While Maya was a better representation of second-wave feminist values, Nina was embracing her femininity and flaunting her party-girl past. The new generation of feminists wanted equality but embraced mainstream beauty standards and sought empowerment by showing off their physical attributes. Even cultural representations of girl power, like The Spice Girls, were all about embracing sexuality and glamour while being outspoken and authoritative. Nina was all of these things. She was sexually free, even boastful of her past hook-ups, beauty-obsessed, and though she embraced her own authority, her self-worth was highly tied to her physical appearance.

'Just Shoot Me!' Highlights the Futility Facing Women in the Workplace

With two vastly different women embodying varying aspects of '90s feminism, Just Shoot Me! depicts the very real dilemma facing women in the workplace. You can be like Maya, reject typical beauty standards, and seek to be judged by your ideas and intellect, but struggle to be liked by others. Alternatively, you can be like Nina and embrace physical beauty and alluring attire but struggle to be taken seriously. The interesting thing is that both of these women struggle with their personal relationships throughout the show. The moral is that no matter what you choose as a woman, you will never have it all. A little heavy for a workplace sitcom, right?

Not only that, but the differences between Maya and Nina are highlighted even more by the other characters on the show. Maya is constantly at odds with Finch (whose predatory sexual advances would not fly today) admonishing his unchecked inappropriateness. And though photographer Elliot is taking advantage of his power to initiate relationships with the women he photographs, he is frequently at odds with Nina over her obsession with traditional beauty standards and attempts to live vicariously through the young models. Luckily for present-day women, there's no pressure to temper assertiveness with physical appeal... But, hey, Just Shoot Me! is just a sitcom about the hilarity of office dynamics and work relationships, right!?

Just Shoot Me! is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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