Playback is currently unavailable for S6 E1 · The Big Desk (1). Episode details remain available below.
Designing Women
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
Season 6
Episodes
Episode 1
The Big Desk (1)
1991-09-16 · 30mCousin 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 episodeEpisode 2
The Big Desk (2)
1991-09-16 · 30mCousin 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 3
A Toe in the Water
1991-09-23 · 30mJulia 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 4
Dwayne's World
1991-09-30 · 30mMary 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 5
Marriage Most Foul
1991-10-07 · 30mWhen 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 6
Picking a Winner
1991-10-14 · 30mMary 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 7
Last Tango in Atlanta
1991-10-21 · 30mWhen 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 8
The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita
1991-11-04 · 30mPerhaps 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 9
Just Say Doe
1991-11-11 · 30mWhen Mary Jo's womanizing brother visits, falls for Allison, and takes her and Quinton on a deer-hunting trip, the women secretly tag along.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 10
Julia and Rusty, Sittin' in a Tree
1991-11-18 · 30mJulia'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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 11
Julia and Mary Jo Get Stuck Under a Bed
1991-12-02 · 30mMary 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 12
Real, Scary Men
1991-12-09 · 30mWhen 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 13
Tales Out of School
1991-12-16 · 30mAnthony sees opportunity when his normally unfriendly law professor is attracted to Carlene and invites the two of them to his annual Christmas party.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 14
Driving My Mama Back Home
1992-01-06 · 30mJulia 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 15
Payne Comes Home
1992-01-13 · 30mJulia delights in the opportunity to dote on son Payne when he returns for a visit -- which Julia learns will be permanent.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 16
Carlene's Apartment
1992-01-20 · 30mCarlene 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 17
Mamed
1992-02-03 · 30mA 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 18
A Scene From a Mall
1992-02-24 · 30mJulia 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 19
All About Odes to Atlanta
1992-03-02 · 30mSongwriter 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 20
I Enjoy Being a Girl
1992-03-09 · 30mOn 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 21
L.A. Story
1992-03-23 · 30mAllison 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 22
A Little Night Music
1992-04-27 · 30mJulia 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 23
Shades of Vanessa
1992-05-04 · 30mThe 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedCast
Dixie Carter
Julia Sugarbaker
Annie Potts
Mary Jo Shively
Jan Hooks
Carlene Frazier Dobber
Judith Ivey
Bonnie Jean "B.J." Poteet
Meshach Taylor
Anthony Bouvier