Designing Women
| Designing Women | |
|---|---|
 Original cast (1986–1991) | |
| Created by | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Georgia on My Mind" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 163 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Distributor | Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (1992–1995) Columbia TriStar Television (1995–2002) Sony Pictures Television (2002–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 29, 1986 (1986-09-29) – May 24, 1993 (1993-05-24) |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Women of the House (1995) |
Designing Women is an American sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, until May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. The comedy series Designing Women was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS.
The series centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an interior designing firm in Atlanta, Georgia called Sugarbaker & Associates. It originally starred Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker, president of the design firm; Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker, Julia's ex-beauty queen sister and the design firm's silent partner; Annie Potts as head designer Mary Jo Shively; and Jean Smart as office manager Charlene Frazier. Later in its run, the series gained notoriety for its well-publicized behind-the-scenes conflicts and cast changes. Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks replaced Burke and Smart for season six, but Duffy was not brought back for the seventh and final season, and she was replaced by Judith Ivey.
.mw-parser-output .toclimit-2 .toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-3 .toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-4 .toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-5 .toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-6 .toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-7 .toclevel-6 ul{display:none}
Contents
1 Premise
2 Main cast
3 Episodes
4 Filming locations
5 Critical reception
6 Political views
7 Awards and nominations
8 DVD releases
8.1 Reruns
9 References
10 External links
Premise
Main cast
Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker (seasons 1–7)
Annie Potts as Mary Jo Shivley (seasons 1-7)
Jean Smart as Charlene Frazier-Stillfield (seasons 1–5; guest star: season 6)
Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker (seasons 1–5)
Meshach Taylor as Anthony Bouvier (recurring: seasons 1–2, main: seasons 3–7)
Julia Duffy as Allison Sugarbaker (season 6)
Jan Hooks as Carlene Frazier-Dobber (seasons 6–7)
Judith Ivey as Bonnie Jean "BJ" Poteet (season 7)
Alice Margaret Ghostley as Bernice Clifton (1986–93 seasons 1-7)
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Rating | ||||
| 1 | 22 | September 29, 1986 (1986-09-29) | May 11, 1987 (1987-05-11) | N/A | N/A | ||
| 2 | 22 | September 14, 1987 (1987-09-14) | March 28, 1988 (1988-03-28) | N/A | N/A | ||
| 3 | 22 | November 14, 1988 (1988-11-14) | May 22, 1989 (1989-05-22) | N/A | N/A | ||
| 4 | 28 | September 18, 1989 (1989-09-18) | May 21, 1990 (1990-05-21) | 22 | 15.3 (Tied with Full House) | ||
| 5 | 24 | September 17, 1990 (1990-09-17) | May 13, 1991 (1991-05-13) | 10 | 16.5 (Tied with The Golden Girls) | ||
| 6 | 23 | September 16, 1991 (1991-09-16) | May 4, 1992 (1992-05-04) | 6 | 17.3 | ||
| 7 | 22 | September 25, 1992 (1992-09-25) | May 24, 1993 (1993-05-24) | N/A | N/A | ||
| R | 1 | July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | N/A | N/A | |||
Filming locations
Villa Marre, Little Rock, Arkansas
The exterior of the house seen in the series as the location of the Sugarbaker's design firm, a normal house with a front door with only two windows on both sides of the door, is located in the historic Quapaw Quarter district in Little Rock, Arkansas. Additionally, the home of Suzanne Sugarbaker seen in the series is the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, also in the Quapaw Quarter. Both homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Critical reception
When the show debuted in CBS's Monday-night lineup in 1986, it garnered respectable ratings; however, CBS moved the show several times to other time slots. After dismal ratings in Sunday night and Thursday night time slots, CBS placed it on hiatus and was ready to cancel the show, but a viewer campaign saved the show and returned it to its Monday night slot. The show's ratings solidified, and it regularly landed in the top 20 rankings.[2] From 1989 through 1992, Designing Women and Murphy Brown (which also centered around a strong, opinionated female character) aired back-to-back, creating a very successful hour-long block for CBS, as both shows were thought to appeal to similar demographics. The show was a top 30 hit for three seasons, from 1989 to 1992, in which the 1989–1992 seasons made it the most successful of the time and helped CBS, which struggled in the ratings around the late 1980s.[3]
Political views
Show creators Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason were strong supporters of longtime friend and then-Democratic nominee for President of the United States, Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary. In one episode, Julia is stranded in the airport while attempting to attend Clinton's first inauguration. Additionally Charlene mentioned working for Clinton during his Arkansas governorship. Yet another Clintons-related joke was the introduction of the prissy character, Allison Sugarbaker, who makes it quite clear to the other "Designing Women" that she attended Wellesley College (Hillary's alma mater). One episode revolved around Julia running for commissioner, where she debates on television against a conservative candidate, to whom she eventually loses. In reality, Dixie Carter was a Republican who disagreed with some of the liberal views expressed by her onscreen character, although she did become a Clinton supporter.[4]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | BMI Film & TV Awards | BMI TV Music Award | Bruce Miller | Won |
| 1992 | Won | |||
| 1987 | Casting Society of America | Artios Award for Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic | Fran Bascom | Nominated |
| 1989 | Nominated | |||
| 1990 | Nominated | |||
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series | Harry Thomason (For episode "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?") | Nominated | |
| 1991 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Comedy Episode | Won | |
| 1990 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| 1991 | Nominated | |||
| 1987 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Jack Shea (For episode "The Beauty Contest") | Nominated |
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Cliff Chally (For episode "Oh Suzannah") | Nominated | ||
| 1988 | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (For episode "Killing All the Right People") | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Editing for a Series - Multi-Camera Production | Roger Bondelli (For episode "Killing All the Right People") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series | Judy Crown and Monique DeSart (For episode "I'll Be Seeing You") | Won | ||
| 1989 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Harry Thomason, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Pamela Norris, Tommy Thompson, Douglas Jackson, and David Trainer | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Meshach Taylor | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Cliff Chally (For episode "Come On and Marry Me, Bill") | Nominated | ||
| 1990 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Harry Thomason, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Pamela Norris, Tommy Thompson, Douglas Jackson, and David Trainer | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Delta Burke | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Harry Thomason (For episode "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Editing for a Series - Multi-camera Production | Judy Burke (For episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Cliff Chally (For episode "The Rowdy Girls") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special | Larry Lasota, Anthony Constantini, Doug Gray, and Rick Himot (For episode "Tornado Watch") | Nominated | ||
| 1991 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Harry Thomason, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Pamela Norris, Tommy Thompson, Douglas Jackson, and David Trainer | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Delta Burke | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Cliff Chally (For episode "Keep the Home Fires Burning") | Nominated | ||
| 1992 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Alice Ghostley | Nominated | |
| 1990 | Television Critics Association | Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | |
| 2003 | TV Land Awards | Most Memorable Female Guest Star in a Comedy as Herself | Dolly Parton | Won |
| Favorite Guest Performance by a Musician on a TV Show | Ray Charles | Nominated | ||
| 1987 | Viewers for Quality Television | Best Quality Comedy Series | Won | |
| Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | Won | ||
| Best Directing in a Quality Comedy Series | Jack Shea | Won | ||
| 1988 | Best Quality Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Comedy Series | Meshach Taylor | Won | ||
| Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| Best Directing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| 1989 | Best Quality Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Delta Burke | Nominated | ||
| Dixie Carter | Nominated | |||
| Annie Potts | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Comedy Series | Meshach Taylor | Won | ||
| Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| Best Directing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| 1990 | Best Quality Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Delta Burke | Nominated | ||
| Dixie Carter | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Comedy Series | Meshach Taylor | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Alice Ghostley | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| Best Directing in a Quality Comedy Series | Won | |||
| 1991 | Best Quality Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Delta Burke | Nominated | ||
| Dixie Carter | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Comedy Series | Meshach Taylor | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| Best Specialty Player | Alice Ghostley | Won | ||
| 1992 | Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Dixie Carter | Nominated | |
| 1991 | Writers Guild of America | Episodic Comedy | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (For episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") | Nominated |
| 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Best Youth Actress Recurring or Regular in a TV Series | Lexi Randall | Nominated |
DVD releases
Shout! Factory has released all seven seasons of Designing Women on DVD in Region 1.[5]
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | May 26, 2009 |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | August 11, 2009 |
| The Complete Third Season | 22 | March 2, 2010 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 29 | September 14, 2010 |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 24 | December 6, 2011 |
| The Complete Sixth Season | 23 | April 3, 2012 |
| The Complete Seventh and Final Season | 22 | July 17, 2012 |
On September 2, 2003, Sony Pictures released The Best of Designing Women, a single-disc DVD featuring five episodes ranging between seasons one through four: "Designing Women (Pilot)" (season 1), "Killing All the Right People" (season 2), "Reservations for Eight" (season 2), "Big Haas and Little Falsie" (season 3) and "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" (season 4).
On September 28, 2010, Shout Factory released Designing Women, Volume 1, a single-disc DVD featuring seven episodes from the first season: "Designing Women (Pilot)", "A Big Affair", "Design House", "I Do, I Don't", "New Year's Daze", "Monette", "And Justice for Paul". Further selected episode volumes have yet to be announced.
On June 5, 2012, Shout Factory released Designing Women – 20 Timeless Episodes, aimed for casual fans to enjoy the series without buying full season sets. The 2-disc DVD set included the following episodes, ranging from seasons one through five: Disc 1 – "Designing Women (pilot)" (season 1), "New Year's Daze" (season 1), "Monette" (season 1), "Oh Suzannah" (season 1), "Ted Remarries" (season 2), "Killing All the Right People" (season 2), "Heart Attacks" (season 2), "Return of Ray Don" (season 2), "Big Haas & Little Falsie" (season 3), "The Wilderness Experience" (season 3). Disc 2 – "The Naked Truth" (season 3), "Stand & Fight" (season 3), "Nightmare from Hee Haw" (season 3), "Julia Gets Her Head Caught in a Fence" (season 4), "Julia & Suzanne's Big Adventure" (season 4), "Foreign Affairs" (season 4), "A Blast from the Past" (season 5), "And Now, Here's Bernice" (season 5), "This is Art?" (season 5) and "The Pride of the Sugarbakers" (season 5).
Reruns
CBS ran reruns of the show in their daytime lineup at 10:00 a.m. (EST) from April 1991 to June 1992. Subsequently, Designing Women aired on the Lifetime cable network for over a decade. Despite its popularity, the show left the network on August 4, 2006. A 90-minute retrospective special, The Designing Women Reunion, aired on Lifetime on July 28, 2003, reuniting Burke, Potts, Smart, Carter and Taylor in which they shared memories from their time on the series, and also featured interviews with the Thomasons and various writers. Actors Alice Ghostley, Hal Holbrook, Gerald McRaney, and Richard Gilliland also took part in the special.
The series also aired on Nick at Nite beginning October 2, 2006; however, it quickly left and later appeared on its sister network TV Land, airing at various late-night and morning times occasionally until the network lost the rights to air the show in 2008. The series also aired on ION Television in 2007, Monday through Thursday at 7:00 & 7:30 pm ET.[6]
The program currently airs on the Comedy Gold (formerly TV Land Canada) in one-hour blocks every day at 11 am and 5 pm EST. TV Guide Network also began airing a one-hour block weekdays at 11 am EST in October 2011 and currently airs a two-hour block, weekdays from 3:00 pm (EST & PST) to 5:00 pm (EST & PST).
As of May 2014 reruns air on the LOGO network.
In recognition of the show's 30th anniversary, GetTV began running "Designing Women" in June, 2017 with nightly blocks featuring 30 fan-favorite episodes.
The show will go into a regular time slot after these 30 episodes. Also in June 2017, FETV is also showing reruns of the show.
References
^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. p. 1692-1693. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ VIRGINIA ROHAN (April 14, 2002). "'Once & Again' won't be back". North Jersey Media Group. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
^ Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable Shows 1946–present," 7th edition
^ "Star of TV's 'Designing Women'". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
^ Designing Women: The Final Season: Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, David Trainer: Movies & TV. Amazon.com. Retrieved on April 21, 2012.
^ ION Television July: Designing Women and Who's the Boss? Join Line-Up; Still Standing Joins Atlanta TBS; Network Notes. Sitcomsonline.com (June 8, 2007). Retrieved on April 21, 2012.
External links
 | Wikiquote has quotations related to: Designing Women |
Designing Women on IMDb
Designing Women at TV.com
