X
  • 1986
  • TV-14
  • CBS
  • 1986
  • TV-14
  • CBS

Summary Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), Charlene Frazier-Stillfield (Jean Smart) and Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke) are associates at their design firm, Sugarbaker and Associates. Julia Sugarbaker is the owner of Sugarbaker and Associates and is very outspoken and strong-willed. Mary Jo Shively is a divorced sin...

Created By: Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

  • 1986
  • TV-14
  • CBS
  • 1986
  • TV-14
  • CBS

Designing Women

7 Seasons
Season 1 Premiere: Sep 29, 1986
Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
61
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Where to Watch

Summary Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), Charlene Frazier-Stillfield (Jean Smart) and Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke) are associates at their design firm, Sugarbaker and Associates. Julia Sugarbaker is the owner of Sugarbaker and Associates and is very outspoken and strong-willed. Mary Jo Shively is a divorced sin...

Created By: Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

Where to Watch

All Seasons

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7 Seasons

Top Cast

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View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
61
50% Positive
4 Reviews
38% Mixed
3 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
61
50% Positive
4 Reviews
38% Mixed
3 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
Feb 5, 2014
It will inevitably be compared with "The Golden Girls," NBC's hit from last year about four older women sharing a house in Miami...But this entry from CBS is considerably different and, for my money, funnier and better...It is the best new show CBS is offering this season. [28 Sept 1986, p.TV-6]
By Robert P. Laurence FULL REVIEW
90
Feb 5, 2014
May be the most outrageous new comedy since "All in the Family," in terms of what it's willing to try and say. It's going to make some people laugh. It's going to offend some people...For my money, it's the best and brightest new sitcom of the year -- sharp and tart in its writing, sharp and tart in its execution by four splendid actresses. They, and it, have got spirit and style and sass. [29 Sept 1986, p.C1]
By Steve Sonsky FULL REVIEW
83
Jun 9, 2013
Designing Women's quandary is that its new characters are just variations on old ones. ... To date, the results have been extremely uneven — some weeks Allison is a whining drag; others, she's a sharp-tongued asset on a show that's gotten a little softheaded.
By Ken Tucker FULL REVIEW
50
Feb 5, 2014
Funny, yes. Wildly funny, no...As an addition to pop literature about women in groups, Designing Women appears more derivative than innovative, but being derivative hardly ever hurts in prime-time television. [29 Sept 1986, p.C3]
By Tom Shales FULL REVIEW
50
Feb 5, 2014
Ms. Bloodworth-Thomason is no Susan Harris, whose crackling humor keeps "The Golden Girls" popping steadily from week to week. On the other hand, Designing Women has a first-rate cast.
By John J. O'Connor FULL REVIEW
40
Feb 5, 2014
The premiere of Designing Women...provides fewer answers than indications. And the indications are that even good performers in an appealing setting won't make Designing Woman funny without better-designed scripts. Snappy, yes. Laughs, no.
By Howard Rosenberg FULL REVIEW
30
Feb 5, 2014
Routed as the most promising new series on the woeful CBS fall schedule, Designing Women disappoints. Already tiresomely pegged as a younger version of "The Golden Girls," it seems more like "The Carping Capitalists." [29 Sept 1986, p.7C]
By Clifford Terry FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company:
  • Bloodworth-Thomason
  • Columbia Pictures Television
  • Mozark Productions
Initial Release Date: Sep 29, 1986
Number of seasons: 7 Seasons
Rating: TV-14
Genres:
All Details

Awards

Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Viewers for Quality Television Awards
• 16 Wins & 28 Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 18 Nominations

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