# Designing Women season 2

The second season of Designing Women premiered on CBS on September 14, 1987, and concluded on March 28, 1988. The season consisted of 22 episodes. Created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the series was produced by Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television.

## Cast
### Main cast

* Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker
* Annie Potts as Mary Jo Shively
* Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker
* Jean Smart as Charlene Frazier
* Co-starring Meshach Taylor as Anthony Bouvier

### Recurring cast

* Scott Bakula as Ted Shively
* Priscilla Weems as Claudia Shively
* Brian Lando as Quinton Shively
* Alice Ghostley as Bernice Clifton
* Gerald McRaney as Dash Goff
* Hal Holbrook as Reese Watson
* Douglas Barr as Colonel Bill Stillfield
* George Newbern as Payne McIlroy
* Richard Gilliland as J.D. Shackleford

### Guest cast

* Jonathan Banks as Eldon Ashcroft IV
* Terry Burns as Kyle Wellborn
* Eileen Seeley as Tammy
* Tony Goldwyn as Kendall Dobbs
* Camilla Carr as Imogene Salinger
* Elliott Reid as Lamar Tyson
* Marc Silver as Howard
* M. C. Gainey as T. Tommy Reed
* Lewis Grizzard as Clayton Sugarbaker
* John Dewey-Carter as Matthew Jarvis
* Keith Williams as Kyle Jarvis
* Arlen Dean Snyder as Ray Don Simpson
* Ivan Bonar as Wilmont Oliver
* Patrick Tovatt as Reverend Nunn

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Rating/share (households) |
| 23 | 1 | "101 Ways to Decorate a Gas Station" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 14, 1987 (1987-09-14) | 15.6/24 |
| A grungy gas-station owner wins free interior decoration from Sugarbaker & Associates. Charlene consults a psychic about her future. |||||||
| 24 | 2 | "Ted Remarries" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 21, 1987 (1987-09-21) | 17.6/28 |
| Mary Jo has a hard time having her children being spoiled by her ex-husband's new wife. |||||||
| 25 | 3 | "Anthony Jr." | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 28, 1987 (1987-09-28) | 15.8/24 |
| Anthony goes overboard trying to impress his girlfriend's wealthy parents until an uninvited dinner guest informs him he is the father of her child. |||||||
| 26 | 4 | "Killing All the Right People" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 5, 1987 (1987-10-05) | 18.6/29 |
| Kendall Dobbs, a friend of the women of Sugarbaker's and fellow decorator, announces to the women that he is dying of AIDS and wants them to design his funeral. The news gets Mary Jo fired up at a PTA debate on birth control. |||||||
| 27 | 5 | "Half an Air Bubble Off" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 19, 1987 (1987-10-19) | 15.4/23 |
| When Sugarbaker's acquires an eccentric client with bizarre decorating requests, the women play matchmakers by pairing him with their off-beat friend, Bernice Clifton. |||||||
| 28 | 6 | "Dash Goff, the Writer" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 26, 1987 (1987-10-26) | 16.6/26 |
| Suzanne's novelist husband visits, and she discovers he has writer's block and is contemplating suicide. |||||||
| 29 | 7 | "Heart Attacks" | Matthew Diamond | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 9, 1987 (1987-11-09) | 15.2/22 |
| Julia's boyfriend Reese suffers a heart attack while arm-wrestling a law-school classmate. |||||||
| 30 | 8 | "Cruising" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 16, 1987 (1987-11-16) | 14.3/21 |
| When the Sugarbaker ladies go on a cruise, Mary Jo and Suzanne are pursued by the same man. |||||||
| 31 | 9 | "I'll Be Seeing You" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 23, 1987 (1987-11-23) | 17.1/26 |
| A handsome army colonel appears at Sugarbakers and Charlene is convinced her friends have arranged his appearance as a surprise answer to her birthday wish for a soldier. Later that night, Charlene dreams the ladies and Anthony are back in World War II and the USO. Douglas Barr makes his first appearance as Colonel Bill Stillfield. |||||||
| 32 | 10 | "Stranded" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | December 7, 1987 (1987-12-07) | 15.6/24 |
| While Charlene, Julia, and Mary Jo get the flu on a trip to St. Louis, a snowstorm forces Suzanne and Anthony to share a motel room in Tennessee. |||||||
| 33 | 11 | "Howard the Date" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | December 14, 1987 (1987-12-14) | 16.6/24 |
| Out of pity, the women take a nerdy acquaintance of Mary Jo's out on a group date when he proves dateless for their high school reunion. Things take a turn, however, when Howard, formerly the nerd, develops an obnoxious ego as he brags about how he handles his "four women." |||||||
| 34 | 12 | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | December 21, 1987 (1987-12-21) | 14.4/22 |
| Charlene and Anthony portray Santa and one of his Elves, to outsmart Mary Jo's disbelieving son on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile Suzanne hires a department store Santa to surprise them. |||||||
| 35 | 13 | "Great Expectations" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 4, 1988 (1988-01-04) | 15.8/23 |
| Anthony is dismayed when an old prison cellmate arrives at Sugarbaker's to talk with him about a business proposition. |||||||
| 36 | 14 | "Second Time Around" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 11, 1988 (1988-01-11) | 16.8/25 |
| Charlene withdraws after being dumped by her boyfriend, Bill, who is still grieving the loss of his first wife. Julia then shares with Bill her own personal experience about losing her husband and tries to convince him that being with Charlene is okay. |||||||
| 37 | 15 | "Oh, Brother" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 18, 1988 (1988-01-18) | 17.4/26 |
| Julia and Suzanne disagree on how to handle the arrival of their half-brother Clayton, a recently discharged mental patient with hopes of becoming a stand-up comedian. |||||||
| 38 | 16 | "There's Some Black People Coming to Dinner" | Jack Shea | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 25, 1988 (1988-01-25) | 13.2/20 |
| Mary Jo gives Claudia permission to go to a school dance with a black boy, contrary to his father's wishes. |||||||
| 39 | 17 | "The Return of Ray Don" | David Trainer | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | February 1, 1988 (1988-02-01) | 16.3/25 |
| Suzanne is broke after her accountant Reggie Mac Dawson absconds with her entire life savings and faces stiff fines for back taxes, so after trying to charm Ray Don at the IRS, she sells off her possessions and considers marriage to wealthy elderly man Wilmont Oliver. |||||||
| 40 | 18 | "High Rollers" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | February 8, 1988 (1988-02-08) | 14.1/20 |
| After Charlene unwittingly puts a bug in Suzanne's ear by relating the success story of Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express, Suzanne flits off to Atlantic City with Charlene and Anthony in hopes of winning a bundle to pay off debts by employing Anthony's gambling expertise. |||||||
| 41 | 19 | "The Incredibly Elite Bona Fide Blue-Blood Beaumont Driving Club" | Matthew Diamond | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | February 15, 1988 (1988-02-15) | 15.3/22 |
| Suzanne and Julia clash over a posh club's offer of membership when Julia discovers discrimination in the club's bylaws. |||||||
| 42 | 20 | "How Great Thou Art" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | February 22, 1988 (1988-02-22) | 13.7/20 |
| Julia is chosen to sing at a Baptist convention, but she worries about a high note in the arrangement of "How Great Thou Art." Charlene is upset when she discovers her minister is against allowing women to preach. |||||||
| 43 | 21 | "Ted-Bare" | Hal Holbrook | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | March 21, 1988 (1988-03-21) | 14.5/22 |
| On the brink of marrying a young woman, Ted begins to appreciate ex-wife Mary Jo's maturity, but his sudden attentiveness makes everyone else suspicious. |||||||
| 44 | 22 | "Reservations for Eight" | Hal Holbrook | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | March 28, 1988 (1988-03-28) | 14.7/22 |
| A romantic ski weekend turns into a battle of the sexes when an avalanche sidelines the Sugarbaker ladies and their boyfriends. |||||||

## DVD release

The second season was released on DVD by Shout! Factory on August 11, 2009.