Designing Women: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Designing Women Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Reservations for 12, Plus Ursula
Nov 14, 1988
A voluptuous maid disrupts a romantic Thanksgiving at the beach.
The Candidate
Nov 21, 1988
Julia runs for a seat on the local board of commissioners, but her outspokenness may cost her the election.
E.P. Phone Home
Nov 28, 1988
While touring Graceland on VIP tickets, Julia is touched when a truck driver tells how the King influenced his life.
Getting Married and Eating Dirt
Dec 5, 1988
Bernice asks the ladies to be her wedding attendants when she receives a marriage proposal from a TV pitchman -- who habitually proposes to every woman he meets.
Big Haas and Little Falsie
Dec 12, 1988
Mary-Jo contemplates breast enlargement after receiving an inheritance from her uncle Dude stipulating that she must spend it on something frivolous.
Hard Hats and Lovers
Dec 19, 1988
Suzanne convinces Charlene that Bill should date more before they get serious, and the ladies plan revenge on a bunch of sexist hardhats working across the street.
But They're Really Great Curtains
Jan 2, 1989
Striking laborers from a textile factory besiege the company, and the Sugarbakers women come to respect them for surviving their terrible working conditions.
The Wilderness Experience
Jan 9, 1989
The women embark on a wilderness survival course designed to build leadership -- but it's first-time camper Bernice who ultimately takes command.
Tyrone
Jan 16, 1989
Acting as surrogate brother a troubled youth, Anthony remembers his own painful childhood, and when Julia puts her trust in Anthony's juvenile charge, it only gets her photo on the
Mr. Bailey
Jan 23, 1989
The designers are determined that a recently deceased client's last wish be honored -- to leave her millions (and the ladies' prepaid services) to her cat.
The Naked Truth
Feb 13, 1989
Mary Jo, Charlene and Anthony feign nonchalance at a nudist colony, the Sugarbakers' nieces visit.
The Junies
Feb 20, 1989
Charlene becomes a part-time saleswoman for ""Lady Jun"" cleaning products, and when she repeatedly succumbs to psychological pressure from her friend Libby despite her stated inte
One Sees, the Other Doesn't
Feb 27, 1989
Suzanne didn't spend one week and $2,000 at a spa to be asked out by a blind client who can't appreciate her radiance -- especially since she finds it difficult to believe that he
Odell
Mar 6, 1989
Sugarbakers becomes the site of a Southern family feud after Charlene's brother arrives and announces he is marrying the daughter of a longtime family rival, Anthony partners Berni
Full Moon
Mar 13, 1989
A full moon coincides with strange occurrences, including Mary Jo's sudden conviction that Claudia and her boyfriend are up to no good.
Ms. Meal Ticket
Mar 20, 1989
Mary-Jo overreacts to J.D.'s losing his job and moving in with her, but a psychic helps her sort out her feelings.
The Engagement
Mar 27, 1989
Charlene, now happily engaged, dreads meeting Bill's intimidating mother and aunt, Mary Jo gives the dating game another try, with a much younger man.
Come On and Marry Me, Bill
Apr 10, 1989
Charlene's wedding is in jeopardy when she finds Bill handcuffed to a scantily clad dancer after his stag party.
The Women of Atlanta
May 1, 1989
A photographer shooting a magazine spread on the women of Atlanta asks the decorators to participate, but they become suspicious when he keeps encouraging sexier poses.
Stand and Fight
May 8, 1989
When Mary Jo is mugged, the Sugarbaker women take a self-defense course.
The Last Humorously-Dressed Bellboy in America
May 15, 1989
When she discovers him working as a bellboy/pianist, the accountant who absconded with her life savings offers Suzanne a deal.
Julia Drives Over the First Amendment
May 22, 1989
A nearby newsstand selling pornography offends Julia, to the point where she drives her car straight through it, and pits her against an equally determined publisher in the ensuing