Nitrate

Designing Women

  • TV-PG
  • 1986–1993
  • 7 seasons
  • Comedy
  • 6.8

Designed to keep you laughing!

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.

Episodes

28 episodes
  1. 1The Proxy Pig and Great Pretenders

    30 minSep 18, 1989

    Mary Jo uses the mansion she's decorating to entertain, and Anthony suffers when his health insurance lapses and Suzanne must nurse his injured back.

  2. 2One Night With You

    30 minSep 25, 1989

    A terminally-ill high school classmate's last wish is to spend one night with the girl of his dreams -- Julia. The catch is, she doesn't remember him at all.

  3. 3There She Is

    30 minOct 2, 1989

    While preparing for Charlene's baby shower, the Sugarbakers women are surprised by a visit from the Director of Pageants for Miss Georgia. Due to a clerical error discovered in the 1975 balloting, Suzanne must relinquish the crown she won 15 years earlier.

  4. 4Nightmare From Hee Haw

    30 minOct 16, 1989

    The Sugerbaker women and their mates take a canoe trip in the Georgia backwoods -- which turns into a nightmare when them encounter some good ole boys.

  5. 5The Girlfriend

    30 minOct 23, 1989

    Attempting to prove himself when Mary Jo hires him and some of his ex-convict friends to finish an incomplete remodeling job, Anthony gets a new girlfriend -- an ambitious young woman who sees him as an upwardly mobile vehicle.

  6. 6The Rowdy Girls

    30 minOct 30, 1989

    While she is helping the Sugarbakers women choreograph a Supremes lip-synch routine, Charlene's favorite cousin inadvertently reveals that she is a victim of domestic violence.

  7. 7Bernice's Sanity Hearing

    30 minNov 13, 1989

    The Sugarbaker women testify for Bernice when her niece Phyllis attempts to have her declared legally incompetent because she sings Bobbie Gentry songs to strangers on the street and introduces Anthony as her illegitimate son.

  8. 8Julia Gets Her Head Stuck in a Fence

    30 minNov 20, 1989

    While posing for a gag photo at the governor's mansion, Julia gets her head stuck in the banister just before the annual ball.

  9. 9Julia and Suzanne's Big Adventure

    30 minNov 27, 1989

    Julia and Suzanne's plans go awry when they travel to Japan to visit their mother: after discovering that she has gone to Paris to see a sick friend, they are robbed of their luggage and money. Meanwhile, Anthony and Mary Jo are stuck with an enormous telephone bill after calling in votes to a television poll.

  10. 10Manhunt

    30 minDec 4, 1989

    Desperately single Mary Jo, worried that her busy schedule will condemn her to a life alone, accepts coaching from Suzanne as she plans a weekend manhunt.

  11. 11They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?

    30 minDec 11, 1989

    Fat as a feminist issue surfaces when Suzanne endures cruel jokes about her weight at her high-school reunion; Anthony enlists Julia and Mary Jo to join him in a two-day fast to focus attention on world hunger.

  12. 12You Got to Have Friends

    30 minDec 18, 1989

    Mary Jo takes a second job at a fast food place when Ted's child support payment is late.

  13. 13The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (1)

    30 minJan 1, 1990

    Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.

  14. 14The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (2)

    30 minJan 1, 1990

    Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.

  15. 15The Mistress

    30 minJan 8, 1990

    The ladies are hired by wealthy stockbroker Ancel Pollard to decorate a house for a client's wife -- and a condo for his mistress. Suzanne is sure that straight laced Julia and Mary Jo will never go through with the assignment.

  16. 16The Fur Flies

    30 minJan 15, 1990

    The fur flies at a fashion show, where Suzanne's after-dinner mink causes a riot among animal-rights activists. Meanwhile, Charlene is forced to bring Olivia to Sugarbakers while she looks for a nanny.

  17. 17Oh, What a Feeling

    30 minJan 29, 1990

    Julia and Suzanne negotiate for a new delivery van and drive a hard bargain with an overbearing salesman (Ross).

  18. 18Anthony and Vanessa

    30 minFeb 5, 1990

    Hired for a temporary job at Sugarbakers, Anthony's needy friend Vanessa learns the tricks of the trade from Suzanne, then goes to work reeling in Anthony.

  19. 19Payne Grows Up

    30 minFeb 19, 1990

    Julia is not pleased to learn that Payne is graduating early in order to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Upset at becoming a grandmother so soon, Julia gets tipsy at the wedding, then wakes up mortified -- and scantily clad -- the next day with Payne's frat house roommate (Young).

  20. 20Tornado Watch

    30 minFeb 26, 1990

    A bizarre collection of characters is trapped inside Sugarbakers by a tornado warning, including hillbilly Daddy Jones who takes a liking to Bernice.

  21. 21Tough Enough

    30 minMar 12, 1990

    A redecorating job for a sports account is right down Sugarbakers' alley when it pits the women against a macho, over-confident designer from an all-male firm. They determine to steal one of his prized clients, Cherokee Lanes Bowling Alley, but discover they must pose as regular bowlers.

  22. 22It's A Wonderful Life

    30 minMar 19, 1990

    Julia intervenes when Bill's grief over the loss of his first wife threatens his relationship with Charlene -- and she becomes convinced he is having an affair with his new cockpit partner, Gail.

  23. 23Suzanne Goes Looking For a Friend

    30 minApr 9, 1990

    A lonely Suzanne digs through her old pageant connections for a best girlfriend, not realizing that her friend's "coming out" meant that she was a lesbian and not just the oldest living debutante.

  24. 24Foreign Affairs

    30 minApr 30, 1990

    When her maid Consuela is threatened with deportation, Suzanne puts Anthony in a dress and pays him to impersonate the terrified woman. But he performs too well, awakening romantic interest in the Immigration and Naturalization Service examiner.

  25. 25Have Faith

    30 minMay 7, 1990

    When Mary Jo attends church with Julia and Suzanne, she ends up dating Gene Chapman, the minister, but feeling guilty about her sexual interest in him.

  26. 26Their Finest Hour

    30 minMay 9, 1990

    An hour-long clip show of highlights from the previous seasons, including: razor-tongued Julia standing up for Suzanne against an insolent beauty pageant contestant, Julia defending Bernice's eccentricities, Mary Jo commenting on men and bra sizes, Charlene wondering about everything from killer bees to the personal habits of other women, Suzanne displaying a series of wacky dresses, and Anthony being plagued by a variety of indignities.

  27. 27Anthony's Graduation

    30 minMay 14, 1990

    An extremely anxious Anthony makes it to his college graduation despite a series of mishaps and his nervousness about his grandmother's visit and his performance as commencement speaker.

  28. 28La Place sans Souci

    30 minMay 21, 1990

    At a plush spa, the sparse diet, vigorous exercise program and thermal mud baths bring out the worst in Suzanne -- especially when Julia and Mary Jo are encouraged to gain weight.

Where to watch Designing Women

Free with ads

No subscription needed

Stream

Included with a subscription

Availability from JustWatch, via TMDB. Full listing for United States

Series cast

Dixie CarterJulia Sugarbaker163 episodes
Annie PottsMary Jo Shively163 episodes
Meshach TaylorAnthony Bouvier163 episodes
Jean SmartCharlene Frazier Stillfield120 episodes
Delta BurkeSuzanne Sugarbaker118 episodes
Alice GhostleyBernice Clifton47 episodes
Jan HooksCarlene Frazier Dobber45 episodes
Julia DuffyAllison Sugarbaker23 episodes
Judith IveyBonnie Jean "B.J." Poteet22 episodes
Richard GillilandJ.D. Shackleford14 episodes
Douglas BarrColonel Bill Stillfield13 episodes
Priscilla WeemsClaudia Shively10 episodes
Brian LandoQuinton Shively9 episodes
Hal HolbrookReese Watson7 episodes
Sheryl Lee RalphEtienne Toussant Bouvier7 episodes
Michael GoldfingerRusty6 episodes
Scott BakulaTed Shively5 episodes
Olivia BrownVanessa Hargraves5 episodes

More like thisShows TMDB viewers also watched