Designing Women

Season 5

TV-PG

Outspoken feminist Julia Sugarbaker runs a design firm out of her Atlanta home, along with her shallow ex-beauty queen sister, Suzanne, divorced mother Mary Jo, and, naive country girl Charlene. Black ex-con Anthony helps deliver furniture for the business and voices his unique opinion on whatever the women are discussing. Episodes typically revolved around the work, personal, and love lives of these four women.

Where to Watch Season 5

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24 Episodes

A Blast From the Past
E1
A Blast From the PastSugarbaker's is beset by tourists when the building's Civil War foundation puts it on the Tour of Historical Homes, Mary Jo opens her heart to an old friend eager to make good on a marriage pact they once entered into.
Papa Was a Rolling Stone
E2
Papa Was a Rolling StoneAnthony's 30th birthday is approaching, so the women decide to hire a private detective to find his long-lost father. An old man shows up at the office claiming to be his father's best friend with the bad news that he has passed away, along with other information about the man. When he meets Anthony, he shares this information with him along with a major surprise.
Working Mother
E3
Working MotherResentment builds between Charlene and Mary Jo when Charlene wants to take a year off to look after her baby. The decorators cater to the whims of a rich, insufferable 10-year-old client as Mary Jo and Charlene ponder the joys and pitfalls of working mothers.
Miss Trial
E4
Miss TrialJulia's dinner plans with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife are put on hold when her slow-moving jury gets sequestered.
The Bachelor Auction
E5
The Bachelor AuctionThinking that it will get her the membership she has always wanted, Suzanne holds a bachelor auction at the Beaumont Driving Club. One of the bachelors is Anthony, who feels uncomfortable about the idea of being auctioned off; he is surprised when he finds out who wins a date with him accidentally.
Charlene Buys a House
E6
Charlene Buys a HouseAs the proud new owner of a grand but ghostly mansion, Charlene hires the decorators to give the place a facelift -- not mentioning that it's haunted.
Old Rebels and Young Models
E7
Old Rebels and Young ModelsMary Jo learns from her mother that her former mentor, Miss Eulalie Crown, is now living at a nursing home in Atlanta, so she goes to visit her there. Frustrated with the lack of respect she perceives, she and a friend run away and stay at the women's office. Meanwhile, Charlene becomes starstruck when a photographer sends Olivia's picture to a talent agency.
Nowhere To Run To
E8
Nowhere To Run ToMary Jo takes up jogging, and inadvertently helps turn Julia into a fitness zealot.
A Class Act
E9
A Class ActAnthony buys in to become a full partner; new student Charlene fends off an amorous psychology professor.
Keep the Home Fires Burning
E10
Keep the Home Fires BurningWhen Charlene is distressed about Bill being on a classified mission, she goes to a support group for military spouses where she meets a military husband, also named Bill. While they start to grow closer, she imagines what life was like for wives on the home front in WWII.
My Daughter, Myself
E11
My Daughter, MyselfMary Jo forbids her nearly 18-year-old daughter to date a 34-year-old, then dates him herself, Julia is forced to crash the men's room at a football stadium.
And Now, Here's Bernice
E12
And Now, Here's BerniceAfter Bernice gets a local public-access cable TV show, Mary Jo has her heart broken by a client and decides that Bernice's show is the ideal arena to air her views on men.
Pearls of Wisdom
E13
Pearls of WisdomWhile Suzanne tries out for the evening news, she shows the other ladies her $4,500 pearl necklace and mocks Mary Jo's costume necklace. To get even, Mary Jo switches the two. This backfires when she and Charlene are at a salad bar and she loses the necklace. Meanwhile, Anthony has weird dreams about him and Julia.
High Noon in a Laundry Room
E14
High Noon in a Laundry RoomAnthony, concerned with his masculinity after working with the women so long, tries standing up to his bullying neighbor, and is further humiliated when the women come to his rescue.
How Long Has This Been Going On?
E15
How Long Has This Been Going On?Everyone at Sugarbakers is baffled to discover that sensible Julia has covertly been singing evenings at a nightclub, Anthony tries to muster the nerve to ask out a girl who works at the bookstore.
The Emperor's New Nose
E16
The Emperor's New NoseBernice gets an extraordinarily bad eye tuck and rhinoplasty from a plastic surgeon whose work leaves something to be desired.
Maybe, Baby
E17
Maybe, BabyWhile Suzanne starts smoking to lose weight, Mary Jo wants to have another baby while she still can. When J.D. returns to town on business, she wants him to father the baby instead of going to a sperm bank.
This is Art?
E18
This is Art?Amateur painter Julia inadvertently becomes the darling of Atlanta's art scene when someone tries to buy her handbag while she's attending a gallery opening; Suzanne inadvertently glues her lips shut.
Blame it on New Orleans
E19
Blame it on New OrleansWhen the women go to New Orleans, they are unable to get another room for Anthony and must share a room so that he can have one of the two rooms they had already booked. Meanwhile, Mary Jo goes to bed with a man she has been dating before she finds out that he is already married.
I'll See You in Court
E20
I'll See You in CourtMary Jo runs across the man who mugged her the year before, but faces horrendous judicial red tape to bring him to trial.
The Big Circle
E21
The Big CircleJulia tries coping with her boyfriend Reese's death by looking after Randa Oliver, the supremely spoiled child of a client couple on an extended vacation.
Friends and Husbands
E22
Friends and HusbandsCharlene, readjusting to married life upon Bill's return from the Middle East, quits her and Mary Jo's children's-book project.
Fore!
E23
Fore!The Beaumont Driving Club has changed their admission policies after being disqualified from the PGA Tour for racial discrimination. Suzanne tries to learn golf to get accepted into Beaumont, but the membership committee chooses Anthony instead. Julia suspects they only want him in as a token and urges him not to go, but Anthony decides to take advantage of the opportunity and become an active member of the club.
The Pride of Sugarbakers
E24
The Pride of SugarbakersMary Jo coaches her son's little league baseball team; they have lost six games in a row. When Julia becomes the co-coach, the team's performance starts to turn around, but Mary Jo feels that they have gotten too competitive.