“Designing Women” could be following in the footsteps of “Murphy Brown,” “Charmed,” and “Daria.” The Hollywood Reporter confirms the ’80s/’90s CBS sitcom could be the latest classic series to receive a reboot. Original series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason has reportedly been trying to get the new “Designing Women” going for months at Sony Pictures Television Studios.
Jean Smart, Annie Potts, Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, and Meshach Taylor toplined “Designing Women,” which aired from 1986-1993. The show centered on the women running an Atlanta, Georgia design firm (Smart, Potts, Carter, and Burke) as well as their handyman (Taylor). The comedy picked up three Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nods during its seven-season run, and a best comedy writing nomination for Bloodworth-Thomason. Burke scored two best comedy actress noms, and Taylor one for best supporting actor in a comedy.
As the source notes, “Designing Women” didn’t shy away from serious subject matter during its original run, which included episodes tackling women’s rights, domestic abuse, homophobia, and racism. The Season 2 ep “Killing All the Right People” took on the stigma surrounding AIDS.
As Potts recently told Entertainment Weekly, “Designing Women” would surely continue to resonate in 2018. “I think that they could use a show like ‘Designing Women’ — feisty smart women that didn’t take any B.S. from anybody. Every Monday night was a #MeToo moment for us, and we were talking about it; we were very political. I’m sad that there’s not such a strong voice, I don’t think, in any singular show. Nobody is doing what we did then.”
Should the new “Designing Women” go forward, it would likely feature several new characters, as Carter and Taylor have both passed away. Smart and Potts are series regulars on “Legion” and “Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon,” respectively. Burke last acted in an episode of “Drop Dead Diva.”
Since the original’s finale, Bloodworth-Thomason has written for and produced series including “Evening Shade,” “Women of the House,” and “Hearts Afire.” She directed the 2013 marriage equality doc “Bridegroom.”
