As of July 2026, Designing Women Season 1 aired in 1986 with 22 episodes — streaming now on Hulu. Full episode guide and where to watch below.
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Designing Women Season 1

1986 22 Episodes Comedy ⭐ 7/10

Right now you can watch Designing Women Season 1 on and — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. The show says what it needs to say in a single season, no filler. 37 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Delta Burke leads a cast with real comic timing. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Designing Women Season 1 is worth clearing space for. The jokes in Designing Women Season 1 land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. Season 1 of Designing Women includes 22 episodes. It aired from September 1986 to May 1987. This season stars Delta Burke, Dixie Carter and Annie Potts. Delta Burke and Dixie Carter lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 1986. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and Designing Women Season 1 holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in Designing Women Season 1. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single week. Delta Burke's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.

📡 Where to Watch Designing Women Season 1

🇺🇸 United States
🇨🇦 Canada
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🎬 Designing Women Season 1 — Episode Guide

E1
Designing Women
1986-09-29
Suzanne visits a new gynecologist, Mary Jo's ex-husband Ted, and a maelstrom of emotions is unleashed when she announces she is dating him.
E2
The Beauty Contest
1986-10-06
Charlene sponsors Mary Jo's daughter in the Miss Pre-Teen Atlanta contest, and despite her depression over her own upcoming 30th birthday, Suzanne coaches Claudia on how to walk and smile.
E3
A Big Affair
1986-10-20
Suzanne's intimate dinner party, planned to impress an important client, goes awry before it begins when she arranges a date between a more-than-hefty man and a reluctant Charlene.
E4
Julia's Son
1986-10-27
Julia's nineteen-year-old son, Payne, is bringing his girlfriend home from college for a visit, and Julia wants everything to be perfect for her ""baby."" Payne then presents his girl, Primmie, who is tall, attractive...and forty years old!
E5
Mary Jo's First Date
1986-11-03
Concerned that Mary Jo hasn't dated since she and Ted broke up, Suzanne arranges a bind date for her with an old acquaintance, J.D. Shackelford, head scout for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, while Julia struggles through an I.R.S. audit conducted by the same Ray Don Simpson who tried to pick up t...
E6
Design House
1986-11-17
Since Suzanne has money invested in Sugarbaker's and is tired of her image as a front bimbo for the firm, Julia assigns her to do the decorating of their next project. Unfortunately, the house burns to the ground while Suzanne is working on it.
E7
Perky's Visit
1986-11-24
Perky Sugarbaker, Julia and Suzanne's mother, and her friend Bernice hope to escape the dull routine of their lives in the retirement home by joining the girls and their ex-con handyman Anthony for the festive occasion, considering it an exhilarating change.
E8
I Do, I Don't
1986-12-04
The dinner is perfect, the champagne flows, Julia is presented with a single rose, and on a lark she and her current beau Reese get married. The next morning both parties regret their hastiness, and Reese appears with annulment papers. An argument ensues, and Julia finally agrees to sign the papers,...
E9
The IT Men
1986-12-04
When her boyfriend Mason takes a job in Japan, Charlene finds she has chemistry with another man, a man who happens to be married to one of the Sugarbaker clients.
E10
The Slumber Party
1986-12-18
Arriving at work one morning, Suzanne tells Julia, Mary Jo, and Charlene that when she tried to fire her maid, she put a voodoo death curse on her and proclaimed that Suzanne would be gone by midnight. Mary Jo invites Charlene, Julia and Suzanne to help her with Claudia's slumber party.
E11
New Year's Daze
1987-01-01
It is New Year's Eve, and everyone is dressed in their finery, anticipating a fun-filled night on the town. The identity of Charlene's date is kept secret until a news flash reports that the infamous ""Shadow"" is the subject of a massive manhunt.
E12
Old Spouses Never Die (1)
1987-02-01
Mary Jo is brooding about her ex-husband's interference in her life, while Charlene distrusts her doctor's cavalier attitude toward the lump he found in her breast.
E13
Old Spouses Never Die (2)
1987-02-01
Mary Jo is brooding about her ex-husband's interference in her life, while Charlene distrusts her doctor's cavalier attitude toward the lump he found in her breast.
E14
Monette
1987-02-08
When an old school chum of Charlene's, Monette, buys the old Chadwick mansion and asks Sugarbaker's to redecorate, the women are excited at the prospect of a most lucrative assignment--until they find out what the assignment REALLY is...
E15
And Justice For Paul
1987-02-15
Suzanne picks up a client who wants period furniture on a shoestring budget, and the Sugarbaker women find that antique furniture at bargain prices is no bargain.
E16
Reese's Friend
1987-02-22
A disagreement over the theme for the annual country club fund-raiser has Julia and Suzanne at odds, but the quibbling is forgotten when Reese appears with a gorgeous young women on his arm, explaining that she is a new attorney in his law firm.
E17
Nashville Bound
1987-03-16
The news that Charlene's family--all ten brothers and sisters--will be in town at the same time is overshadowed by the news that she is going to become a recording star!
E18
Oh, Suzannah
1987-03-23
While in Reese's office to sign legal papers, Suzanne off-handedly volunteers to keep a Vietnamese boat child, Li Sing, who is being adopted but needs an interim home for the next four weeks while final papers are being completed. Suzanne becomes attached to Li Sing quickly and doesn't want to give ...
E19
Mary Jo's Dad Dates Charlene
1987-04-06
When Mary Jo's divorced father arrives in Atlanta for a four-day visit and dances cheek to cheek with Charlene, Mary Jo becomes very protective.
E20
Seams From a Marriage
1987-04-13
When Anthony saunters into the shop wearing an enormous cowboy hat, followed by a breathless Mary Jo who has obviously been out all night as she is wearing the same clothes ahe had on when she left the day before, the others clamor for an explanation. It seems their appointment with Sugarbaker's new...

🎭 Cast of Designing Women Season 1

Delta Burke
Delta Burke
Suzanne Sugarbaker
Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Julia Sugarbaker
Annie Potts
Annie Potts
Mary Jo Shively
Jean Smart
Jean Smart
Charlene Frazier Stillfield
Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor
Anthony Bouvier

📋 All Seasons of Designing Women

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