The ladies of Sugarbaker & Associates are in.
Besides all the new TV that Netflix, Amazon and Hulu bring to the world, one of the biggest advantages of streaming is the ability to rediscover classic shows and introduce them to a whole new audience. And kids today could use a good, old-fashioned Julia Sugarbaker takedown.
The entire seven-season catalog of “Designing Women” is now streaming on Hulu, and it’s good news for everyone, except people who want to leave their houses in the next week. And while “Designing” has been available on DVD and in syndication since it signed off, this marks the first time the full sitcom is available to stream online.
The series, created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, aired on CBS from 1986-1993, and followed four women (and eventually, one man) who run an interior design firm in Atlanta. It offered episodes about AIDS, sexism, Anita Hill, race, relationships, big hair and more, while making viewers double over in laughter.
In honor of Julia (Dixie Carter), Suzanne (Delta Burke), Mary Jo (Annie Potts) and Charlene’s (Jean Smart) return, we picked our five favorite episodes from the series that you may want to queue up first.
Season 1, Episode 2: “The Beauty Contest”
Not every sitcom is fully realized by its second episode, but the “Designing” writers knew the power of Julia Sugarbaker from the very beginning. The central plot of this episode follows Mary Jo’s daughter as she enters a beauty pageant, but the crux of the story is when Julia dresses down a beauty queen, who trash-talked Suzanne, with her iconic “the night the lights went out in Georgia” speech. Julia’s fiery rage would become one of the most successful and beloved aspects of the sitcom.
Season 2, Episode 4: “Killing All the Right People”
“Designing” aired during the height of the AIDS crisis, and found a way to address the disease long before other series and many politicians did. “Killing” is a “very special episode” that actually is very special: The firm is hired by a young gay man (played by Tony Goldwyn), dying of AIDS, to help design his own funeral. The episode packs in earnest and factual information about the epidemic without becoming a lesson. The most chilling moment – from which the episode draws its title – is when another Sugarbaker client, upset that the firm is working with a gay man, says that AIDS is “killing all the right people,” and inspires Julia to give one of her infamous speeches. Only this time it carries much more weight.
Season 3, Episode 19: “The Women of Atlanta”
The brash, outspoken and opinionated women make “Designing” a feminist classic. Its point of view about sexism, specifically in the workplace, was never on better display than in this episode. When the Sugarbaker team is invited to participate in a photo shoot honoring businesswomen, they’re surprised and horrified by the revealing poses and suggestive gestures the photographer requests. And, of course, they have quite a bit to say about it.
Season 5, Episode 23: “Fore!”
The Beaumont Driving Club (or rather, “The Incredibly Elite Bona Fide Blue-Blood Beaumont Driving Club”) is a frequent topic of the series, and incites a frank discussion of race. Suzanne has long tried to get into the club, but after a policy change admits African Americans (so they can be on the PGA Tour), hired-hand-turned-firm-partner Anthony (Meshach Taylor) is accepted. Julia tries to break the news to Anthony that he might be a token member, but he already knows and is ready to take advantage of his membership. “You think I can’t take a cold shoulder at a country club?” he says. “I don’t mind. It’s a small price to pay, and besides, I get a little black history for myself.”
Season 3, Episode 15: “Full Moon”
Some episodes of “Designing” are heartbreaking, others are touching and many dive into important cultural issues. But some are just downright hilarious. This episode, best remembered for the moment in which Julia accidentally moons a crowd (including the mayor of Atlanta), is a reminder that the series excelled at physical comedy in addition to sharp and rapid-fire dialogue.
Stream “Designing Women” now.
