Commentary: Michelle Pfeiffer redefines the role of grandma, with a full life and glamourous style

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited that Michelle Pfeiffer is currently lighting up the small screen in not one but two shows: Paramount+’s “The Madison” and Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” Who doesn’t love Pfeiffer? And for reasons both personal (she adjusted her career choices after she had kids) and professional (the film industry still struggles to admit that women over 40 have leading role stories), we haven’t seen that much of her in a while.Now she’s back in all her blond-maned glory and it isn’t just exciting in an “always loved her” way; it’s exciting because Pfeiffer isn’t just returning to television, she’s storming the cultural battlements.In each of those shows, Pfeiffer gives new meaning to a figure that historically has been a narrowly defined, often to the point of caricature, member of the supporting cast: The grandmother.Pfeiffer isn’t resurrecting anything; she’s revolutionizing it.Traditionally used as a Greek chorus to main players, television grandmothers have come in a variety of forms, including the tart-tongued and insightful (Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley on “Downton Abbey,” Jenifer Lewis’ Ruby on “black-ish”), the brash and meddlesome (Doris Roberts’ Marie Barone on “Everybody Loves Raymond”), the fun-loving and unpredictable (Rita Moreno’s Lydia on “One Day at a Time”), the truly wicked (Nancy Marchand’s Livia on “The Sopranos”) and the I’ve-still-got-it (Susan Sullivan’s Martha on “Castle,” Holland Taylor’s Evelyn on “Two and a Half Men.”)As the specifics on this list prove, Granny can be a very important and beloved character who often gets the last laugh if only because she gets the best lines.

But very few grandmothers are defined in ways apart from their place in the family and, with a few notable exceptions — Bonnie (Allison Janney) on “Mom” and J...