‘Designing Women’ Sequel Being Considered By ABC
With reboots, revivals, and reimaginings being all the rage on network television these days, most every classic series has been rumored to be coming back to the airwaves. One beloved sitcom that is moving one step closer to being brought back to life is Designing Women.
The Emmy-nominated series, which ran for seven seasons on CBS between 1986 and 1993, followed the lives of four southern women, with strong opinions on every subject under the sun, who worked at the interior design firm Sugarbaker & Associates — Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke), Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), and Charlene Frazier (Jean Smart). Deliveryman Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor) also worked at the firm after an “unfortunate incarceration.” In the later years, after Burke and Smart’s departures, Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks, and Judith Ivey starred on the series.
The new version of the show has a rather unique twist — it will be considered a sequel and follow the next generation of feisty females working at Sugarbakers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“The [show] will still have the same razor-sharp dialogue and ability to cut through the political, cultural, and social factions that rarely agree on anything,” explained the magazine.
Original series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband, executive producer Harry Thomason, will return for the sequel, which has been given a script commitment by ABC.
Exclusive: #DesigningWomen TV Sequel Lands at ABC https://t.co/vnrLSHaAeZ pic.twitter.com/NaOlsU8EVG
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 13, 2018
“I’m very excited to be working with ABC,” Bloodworth-Thomason told the Hollywood Reporter.
“Normally, I’m not a fan of reboots but Designing Women does seem to have the right fengshui for all that is going on right now. We could definitely have some fun.”
If the show gets a series order by ABC, original Designing Women cast members may make cameos. However, it is worth noting that Carter, Taylor, and Hooks have all passed away, and Burke has not acted since a guest-starring role on Drop Dead Diva in 2009.
Meanwhile, Potts currently plays Meemaw on CBS’ hit Big Bang Theory-spinoff Young Sheldon, and Smart portrays Melanie Bird on FX’s Legion.
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In March, Potts told Entertainment Weekly that there is a need for a show like Designing Women right now.
“Every Monday night was a Me Too moment for us, and we were talking about it — we were very political,” she said.
“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. So, yeah, if [Bloodworth-Thomason] wanted to write six episodes and do it in my hiatus, I would be there in a minute.”
Keep reading the Inquisitr to find out if Designing Women will officially be picked up to series or not.
