On television, she appeared as Matilda Joslyn Gage, mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum in the made-for-TV movie "" (1990). She made guest appearances on "Murder, She Wrote" and "Newhart". In the early 1990s, McClanahan appeared as Margaret Becker in a trilogy of made-for-television films: "Children of the Bride", "Baby of the Bride", and "Mother of the Bride". She voice-acted in cartoons, voicing Scarlett in the 1997 Fox Christmas special "Annabelle's Wish". She played the role of Steve's grandmother in the "Blue's Clues" video "Blue's Big Treasure Hunt" (1999). On "Spider-Man: The Animated Series", she appeared in the 1994 episode "Doctor Octopus: Armed And Dangerous" as Anastasia Hardy. She played a Biology teacher in 1997's "Starship Troopers". She voiced the role of Bunny in a 2007 episode of "King of the Hill", "Hair Today, Gone Today". In 2009, she appeared in an episode of "Law & Order" as a woman who had an affair with John F. Kennedy.