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Designing Women

6.8/10 40 votes
Comedy

Julia Sugarbaker, Mary Jo Shively, Charlene Frazier-Stillfield and Suzanne Sugarbaker are associates at their design firm, Sugarbaker and Associates. Julia is the owner and is very outspoken and strong-willed. Mary Jo is a divorced single-parent whom is just as strong-willed as Julia, but isn't as self-confident. Charlene is the naive and trusting farm girl from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Suzanne is the self-centered ex-beauty queen whom has a number of wealthy ex-husbands.

Created by:
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Cast:
Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jan Hooks, Judith Ivey
Language:
English
Country:
United States of America
Network:
CBS

Episode guide

Seasons

8 available

Season 6

Episodes

Episode 1 selected
E01

Episode 1

The Big Desk (1)

1991-09-16 · 30m

Cousin Alison Sugarbaker buys out Suzanne's share of the business and then moves in, complete with an enormous desk and a take-charge attitude, Charlene's divorcing younger sister Carlene arrives.

Current episode
E02

Episode 2

The Big Desk (2)

1991-09-16 · 30m

Cousin Alison Sugarbaker buys out Suzanne's share of the business and then moves in, complete with an enormous desk and a take-charge attitude, Charlene's divorcing younger sister Carlene arrives.

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E03

Episode 3

A Toe in the Water

1991-09-23 · 30m

Julia thinks she's ready to resume dating, but Alison disagrees, questioning the manliness of Julia's new beau. Meanwhile, Allison and Anthony continue to bicker about who owns Suzanne's house, until Anthony obtains an affidavit asserting his right to occupy the house -- and allows Allison to stay on only as her personal servant.

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E04

Episode 4

Dwayne's World

1991-09-30 · 30m

Mary Jo protectively takes divorcee Carlene under her wing -- going overboard with a lie about Carlene's latest flame -- when ex-hubby Dwayne shows up to sweep Carlene off her feet again.

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E05

Episode 5

Marriage Most Foul

1991-10-07 · 30m

When Allison's ex-convict former flame (whom she turned in for insider trading) is released, she fears he is plotting revenge, instead, he proposes to her.

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E06

Episode 6

Picking a Winner

1991-10-14 · 30m

Mary Jo turns to a sperm bank to get pregnant, prompting mixed reactions at work. Meanwhile, Julia threaten to rip the draperies from the windows of the home of a wealthy client whose payment is overdue.

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E07

Episode 7

Last Tango in Atlanta

1991-10-21 · 30m

When the Sugarbakers women are persuaded by Anthony to help with an outreach program at his former prison, they find themselves in the middle of a prison break and are held hostage by Anthony's old cellmate T. Tommy Reed -- who takes a liking to Allison.

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E08

Episode 8

The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita

1991-11-04 · 30m

Perhaps the most famous episode, and a rare instance of a situation comedy making direct political comment on a current issue. The Sugarbakers women take sides on the controversial confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill's accusation of sexual harassment: Mary Jo and Julia side with Hill and Allison with Thomas. Conflict spills over into Allison's birthday party, where Mary Jo and Julia turn up in costume just in time to hear a television interview about the hearings with Allison.

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E09

Episode 9

Just Say Doe

1991-11-11 · 30m

When Mary Jo's womanizing brother visits, falls for Allison, and takes her and Quinton on a deer-hunting trip, the women secretly tag along.

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E10

Episode 10

Julia and Rusty, Sittin' in a Tree

1991-11-18 · 30m

Julia's second date with electrician Rusty becomes a group outing with Carlene and Allison dating junior-college guys, and Anthony tagging along to the drive-in with Bernice to keep an eye on things.

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E11

Episode 11

Julia and Mary Jo Get Stuck Under a Bed

1991-12-02 · 30m

Mary Jo and Julia are trapped under anchorman Chuck Tremain's bed when a Christmas design contest inspires them to examine a competitor's handiwork for evidence of plagiarism.

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E12

Episode 12

Real, Scary Men

1991-12-09 · 30m

When their van breaks down the women become unwelcome guests at a men's club retreat Wildman Sanctuary, where Anthony is trying to land a new account.

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E13

Episode 13

Tales Out of School

1991-12-16 · 30m

Anthony sees opportunity when his normally unfriendly law professor is attracted to Carlene and invites the two of them to his annual Christmas party.

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E14

Episode 14

Driving My Mama Back Home

1992-01-06 · 30m

Julia accompanies Mary Jo and her mother Darla on an overnight bus trip back to South Carolina; meanwhile, the other employees get locked into the storage room while doing inventory.

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E15

Episode 15

Payne Comes Home

1992-01-13 · 30m

Julia delights in the opportunity to dote on son Payne when he returns for a visit -- which Julia learns will be permanent.

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E16

Episode 16

Carlene's Apartment

1992-01-20 · 30m

Carlene moves into her own apartment on the wrong side of town, where space is at a minimum and burglars roam free, so the Sugarbakers staff visit to try to persuade her to find a better home.

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E17

Episode 17

Mamed

1992-02-03 · 30m

A tough-talking, hard-drinking, temperamental Broadway has-been promises to make Julia rue the day that she stole the role of Mame from her in Anthony's community-theater production. But on opening night she is too drunk to perform and Anthony is pressed into taking on the role.

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E18

Episode 18

A Scene From a Mall

1992-02-24 · 30m

Julia stages a sit-in at the mall to protest racial mistreatment of Anthony by brutish cops who accosted him for window shopping near a jewelry store -- and television coverage links Anthony romantically with Allison.

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E19

Episode 19

All About Odes to Atlanta

1992-03-02 · 30m

Songwriter Carlene gains notoriety -- and her first groupie -- by entering her ditty in the semi-finals Atlanta's theme-song contest, where she performs with Mary Jo and Julia, all decked out in ""big hair"" and costumes.

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E20

Episode 20

I Enjoy Being a Girl

1992-03-09 · 30m

On an overnight Girl Scout outing, Carlene's leadership abilities take a beating, while Allison's methods seem to charm the spoiled troopers, and Mary Jo and Julia advocate roughing it.

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E21

Episode 21

L.A. Story

1992-03-23 · 30m

Allison thinks she's invited to stay at Charles Nelson Reilly's home, so the decorators do Hollywood and get flimflammed on an expenses-paid trip accompanying investor Allison to the set of her movie.

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E22

Episode 22

A Little Night Music

1992-04-27 · 30m

Julia strolls down memory lane while awaiting the results of hysterectomy tests at a hospital whose workers are on strike, and a surgeon turns out to be her prescription for romance.

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E23

Episode 23

Shades of Vanessa

1992-05-04 · 30m

The Sugarbakers women use Anthony as ""date bait"" to reel in a big account involving a hotelier's flamboyant debutante daughter, who's angling for a whopper of a deal, then Anthony announces he is marrying Vanessa, who intends to become a partner in Sugarbakers.

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Cast

Dixie Carter

Dixie Carter

Julia Sugarbaker

Annie Potts

Annie Potts

Mary Jo Shively

Jan Hooks

Jan Hooks

Carlene Frazier Dobber

Judith Ivey

Judith Ivey

Bonnie Jean "B.J." Poteet

Meshach Taylor

Meshach Taylor

Anthony Bouvier

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