News

Delta Burke, celebrated for her role in Designing Women, has candidly shared how societal perceptions of her body took a toll on her mental health and led her to a reliance on drugs.

In a recent episode of the Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast, the 67-year-old actress delved into the impact of her sitcom fame on her self-image, a topic she previously explored in her 1998 memoir, Delta Style: Eve Wasn’t a Size 6 and Neither Am I.

Burke revealed feeling emotionally vulnerable, mainly due to unsettling interactions with fans. “I thought I was stronger,” she said. “I tried very hard to defend myself against lies and all the ugliness that was there, and I wasn’t gonna win. I’m just an actress. I don’t have any power.”

Burke acknowledged the detrimental effects of the entertainment industry on one’s psyche and confessed that her original aspiration to...

Delta Burke is getting honest about the pressures of fame.

The 67-year-old actress, who played Suzanne Sugarbaker for five seasons on Designing Women, got candid about her weight on the Glamorous Trash podcast.

During the conversation, she revealed how she once turned to crystal meth to try and lose weight during her time on another TV series, Filthy Rich.

Keep reading to find out more…

On the set of Filthy Rich, which ran for two seasons from 1982 to 1983, Delta explained that someone on set had access to pills she called “Black Beauties,” and she was directed to “take them in the morning so you won’t eat. They were like medicine to me.”

After building up a tolerance to them, someone on the show suggested that she try methamphetamine.

“Nobody knew about crystal meth at the time,” she said on the podcast. “[They told me,] ‘You chop it up. You snort.’ I said,...

Delta Burke was once addicted to crystal meth as a way to lose weight.

Speaking with Chelsea Devantez on her Glamorous Trash podcast, Burke – who played Suzanne Sugarbaker on sitcom Designing Women – talked about her falling out with series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and subsequent drug abuse.

“It got ugly and very sad,” said Burke. She worked with Bloodworth-Thomason on the sitcom Filthy Rich before Designing Women, and claimed she viewed her as a mentor.

“We do Designing Women, and I’m so happy to be there,” she said. “I love everything. But then things started to change, which I won’t go into. But that, combined with becoming famous, I simply couldn’t cope with.”

“I wanted to leave,” she added, “and I wasn’t allowed to leave. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had been allowed to leave. Staying gave me an amazing character to get to play…...

The Writers Guild of America West will present Designing Women and Evening Shade creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason with its highest honor — the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement. The award is presented to a Guild member who has “advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the television writer.” Designing Women star Jean Smart will present the statuette to Bloodworth Thomason at the Wgaw’s annual WGA Awards on April 14.

The multiple Emmy-nominated television creator-writer, director, and producer launched her career with an Emmy-nominated script on M*A*S*H* in 1973. She concurrently worked on M*A*S*H* and Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff Rhoda before creating and producing her first series Filthy Rich in 1982. Filthy Rich would lay the groundwork for the creation of landmark comedy series Designing Women by bringing her together with actresses and collaborators Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Smart.

In addition to her work in television,...

Jean Smart has opened up about grief a year and a half after the death of her husband.

The Hacks star was in the middle of shooting the Emmy-nominated comedy’s debut season in March 2021 when her husband, Richard Gilliland, died unexpectedly of a heart condition, aged 71.

“He made me laugh all the time. That’s going to be hard to live without,” she said at the time, adding that she never would’ve “dreamed” it would’ve happened “so soon”.

Now, more than a year after his passing, Smart, 71, spoke with Rolling Stone about the loneliness of her “new life”.

“I find it almost harder now, a year and a half later, because you’re kind of running on adrenaline and grief for a while, making sure your kids are Ok, just getting things done,” the Mare of Easttown actor explained.

“Now, slowly, the reality of my new life is setting in,...

Click here to read the full article.

Carl Kleinschmitt, the sitcom writer who worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show and M*A*S*H and created two series starring Sandy Duncan and the football comedy 1st and Ten, has died. He was 85.

Kleinschmitt died Thursday night of complications from Mds cancer (a blood disorder) at his Atwater Village home in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Kleinschmitt, who wrote often with the late Dale McRaven, penned episodes of such other series as Hey Landlord, Good Morning World, The Doris Day Show, That Girl, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Love, American Style, My World and Welcome to It, Karen, Welcome Back, Kotter and The Love Boat.

He also wrote two features: Middle Age Crazy (1980), starring Bruce Dern and Ann-Margret, and Kiss Shot (1989), starring Whoopi Goldberg.

In 1971, Kleinschmitt created the CBS sitcom Funny Face,...

Click here to read the full article.

Long before she commanded the stage as Vegas stand-up diva Deborah Vance on Hacks — a role that has earned her two lead comedy actress Emmy nominations — Jean Smart got her big break as a sweet but naïve Atlanta office manager.

Designing Women, the CBS half-hour comedy created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, followed four women — played by Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts and Smart — and their decorating business. “The show … could do for women in their 40s and 50s what NBC’s Golden Girls hit did for older women,” THR predicted in May 1986. When the sitcom aired that December, it delivered.

A THR review of the show said “spunky cattiness has been the calling card.”

Over the course of seven seasons, Designing Women racked up 18 Emmy nominations (though it only won one, for outstanding achievement in hairstyling in 1988). Smart was never nominated for the...

Proving that Dynasty isn’t the only beloved piece of ’80s pop culture worth preserving, RuPaul paid homage to another classic TV series in Friday’s episode of Drag Race All Stars, which ended with the show’s most unexpected lip sync battle yet.

As is tradition, the episode concluded with the week’s top two queens — in this case, Monet X Change and Jinkx Monsoon — competing in a lip sync smackdown. But rather than performing a song, the queens were tasked with lip syncing to the iconic “the night the lights went out in Georgia” monologue from a 1986 episode of the sitcom Designing Women.

Three things attracted Gerald McRaney to the role of Filthy Rich‘s swindling televangelist Eugene Monreaux: “The original script, [showrunner] Tate Taylor and Kim Cattrall,” he tells TVLine. And if you’ve seen the first episode of the Fox drama, you already know that McRaney’s third reason presents a bit of a problem.

“I got the role, we filmed the pilot… and for the rest of the season, I didn’t see her!” the Emmy winner says. “I have a couple of scenes with her [towards the end], but one of the reasons I accepted the role was to work with her, and...

“We should all walk humbly through this life, but if there’s ever been anyone who deserves a ‘thank you’ or pat-on-the-back, it’s Dolly Parton,” declares Sam Haskell, executive producer of the Netflix anthology series “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings.” In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), he adds, “She is an international icon beloved by the world because she loves the world back.”

Parton, Haskell and the producing team debuted the eight-part series last November. Each episode is based on a story from one of her songs, including “These Old Bones” starring Kathleen Turner and Ginnifer Goodwin, which is entered this summer on the Emmy ballot in the TV movie category. He says that Netflix jokingly refers to their movie as “Blonde Mirror” after successfully entering “Black Mirror” in this same category the past few years.

SEEDolly Parton Interview: ‘Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings’

Regarding the casting of an older mountain woman,...

The last time legendary entertainer Dolly Parton had a project for television, she and her team were nominated at the Emmys for Best TV Movie. That bid in 2017 was for “Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love,” a story based on her early life in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

She has now returned to television with “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings,” an eight-part anthology series based on stories from her songs, including “These Old Bones,” which is entered this summer on the Emmy ballot in the TV movie category. In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), she reveals, “When we got Kathleen Turner, we were so lucky to get her. She did an incredible job of playing the character of Old Bones. It’s really about this old lady in the mountains, a clairvoyant that knew everything that was going on… People would come for advice and information.

Dolly Parton's "Heartstrings", dramatically showcases "the stories, memories and inspirations behind Parton’s most beloved songs", including "Jolene", "These Old Bones", "If I Had Wings", "JJ Sneed", "Two Doors Down", "Down from Dover", "Sugar Hill", "Cracker Jack" and "Two Doors Down", streaming exclusively November 22, 2019 on Netflix:

Cast includes Parton, Julianne Hough, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Dallas Roberts, Kathleen Turner, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kyle Bornheimer, Gerald McRaney, Brooke Elliott, Ben Lawson, Michele Weaver, Delta Burke, Tim Reid, Colin O'Donoghue, Willa Fitzgerald, David Denman, Mac Davis, Vanessa Rubio, Melissa Leo, Ray McKinnon, Andy Mientus, Katie Stevens, Michael Willett, Holly Taylor, Shane McGhie, Robert Taylor, Bellamy Young, Camryn Manheim, Mary Lane Haskell, Patricia Wettig, Timothy Busfield, Virginia Gardner, Tom Brittney, Sarah Shahi, Rochelle Aytes, Jessica Collins and Tammy Lynn Michaels.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Dolly Parton's "Heartstrings"...

Netflix has released the trailer for Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, an upcoming eight-part series that will pair songs by the country music star with episodic stories. The limited anthology series — produced by Magnolia Hill Productions and Sandollar Productions in association with Warner Bros. — premieres November 22nd exclusively on the streaming platform.

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings stars Kathleen Turner, Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, Ginnifer Goodwin, Julianne Hough, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Timothy Busfield and Melissa Leo across its eight episodes, with Parton herself making cameo appearances in several of them. Four of the episodes (“If I Had Wings,...

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released the trailer for “American Son” starring Kerry Washington and first looks at Dolly Parton’s new anthology series, “Heartstrings.”

First Looks

Netflix has released the trailer for “American Son,” which premieres Nov. 1 on the streaming service. Directed by Tony award-winner Kenny Leon, the film is based on the Christopher Demos-Brown play of the same name. Kendra Ellis-Connor (played by Emmy-nominated Kerry Washington) struggles to put the pieces together to find her missing teenage son. Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee also reprise their roles from the stage.

Netflix has released the Season 3 trailer of “Atypical,” in which Sam (Keir Gilchrist), a teenager on the autism spectrum, embarks upon his first year in college. Created by Robia Rashid, the season also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Michael Rapaport, Amy Okuda, Sara Gilbert and Eric McCormack. It will launch Nov. 1.

Netflix has...

In today’s roundup, Hulu will soon stream 1980’s comedy series “Designing Women” and Comedy Central announces new Comedy Fellowship with Sundance Institute.

Acquisitions

Hulu has acquired the rights to comedy “Designing Women” from Sony Pictures Television. The series, which aired from 1986 to 1993, chronicles the life of design firm owner, Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) as she runs her firm out of her home with the help of her former beauty queen sister Suzanne (Delta Burke), mother Mary Jo (Annie Potts) and country girl Charlene (Jean Smart). The series is set to stream Aug. 26.

Development

Quibi has announced the series “Centerpiece” starring floral artist, Maurice Harris. Executive produced by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Peter Kline, John Kaplan and Maurice Harris, the show will showcase Harris on a creative journey with celebrity guests as they create floral centerpieces. Harris is a Los Angeles-based artist, best known as the creator of Bloom & Plume,...

Hulu has acquired classic 90s sitcom Designing Women and will launch all seven seasons of the Linda Bloodworth-Thomason-created show on August 26, Women’s Equality Day.

The digital platform will air all 163 episodes of the series, which was produced by Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS, after striking a deal with Sony Pictures Television.

The series, which ran from September 29, 1986, until May 24, 1993, centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an Atlanta interior design firm. Designing Women starred Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Meshach Taylor, Alice Ghostley, Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks and Judith Ivey.

The pick up comes after a reboot of the show, written by original creator Bloodworth-Thomason, was developed last year by ABC.

Hulu’s head of originals Craig Erwich said that the show was “ahead of its time” when it launched. “We saw...

Exclusive: Gerald McRaney (This Is Us), Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva), Designated Survivor alum Ben Lawson, Michele Weaver (Love Is___), Delta Burke (Designing Women), and Tim Reid (Greenleaf) are set to star in Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: If I Had Wings, an episode of Netflix’s upcoming eight-episode anthology series, which showcases the stories, memories, and inspirations behind Parton’s most beloved songs.

In the “If I Had Wings” episode, after receiving invitations to the 70th birthday party of their decades-long estranged father Tom Freeman (McRaney), three disparate siblings, Clay (Lawson), Nancy (Elliott) and Phyllis (Weaver) converge on a Mississippi farm where they test the bonds of blood and issues of faith, all to confront the sins of their father. The episode is written by Jim Strain and directed by Timothy Busfield. Burke, who is married to McRaney in real-life, plays Ellie Holder, Tom’s girlfriend, and Reid portrays Kendal Hooks,...

ABC is designing something exciting. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network has greenlit a sequel to the '80s TV show Designing Women.

From Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the original comedy centered on an Atlanta-based interior design business and the four women who run it. The cast included Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Meschach Taylor, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Alice Ghostley, Jan Hooks, and Judith Ivey. The series ran on CBS from 1986 to 1993.

Read More…...

Everything old is definitely new again — with word that ABC is looking at a reboot sequel series to the 1986 until 1993 groundbreaking TV show, Designing Women. That show's creator, Linda Bloodworth Thomason, is returning to serve as executive producer and write the script that the network has put into development. The original is set at Sugarbaker & Associates, an interior designing firm, run by four women. It stars Dixie Carter as the president of the company, Julia Sugarbaker; Delta Burke as Julia's ex-beauty queen sister and a silent partner at the firm, Suzanne Sugarbaker; Annie Potts as head designer Mary Jo Shively, and Jean Smart as officer manager Charlene Frazier. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "The new Designing Women — which is a multicamera comedy like its predecessor — will follow the next generation of Sugarbakers with a crop of new, young, female designers at an Atlanta interior design firm. The new take will...

ABC is rolling out the red carpet — or at least hanging up the red drapes — for the Designing Women. A sequel of the Emmy Award-winning comedy, which ran from 1986 to 1993 on CBS, has received a script commitment from the Alphabet Network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Original series creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason and executive producer Harry Thomason are behind the new multi-cam series, which will “follow the next generation of Sugarbakers with a crop of new, young, female designers at an Atlanta interior design firm.”

“I’m very excited to be working with ABC,” Bloodworth Thomason tells THR. “And Sony...

ABC has given a script commitment to what is described as a “sequel” to the classic 1990s sitcom Designing Women, with the series’ original creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason heading the new iteration, Deadline has confirmed. The previously announced project had been in the works at original series producer Sony Pictures TV, which also is producing the new version.

The series, which ran from September 29, 1986, until May 24, 1993, centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an Atlanta interior design firm. Designing Women starred Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Meshach Taylor, Alice Ghostley, Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks and Judith Ivey.

Written by Bloodworth Thomason, the sequel will follow the next generation of Sugarbakers with a crop of new, young, female designers at an Atlanta interior design firm, but still with the same razor-sharp dialogue and ability to cut through the political, cultural, and social...

The “Designing Women” sequel has found its home. ABC has handed out a script commitment to the project from Sony TV and original series creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.

The project is described as a “sequel” to the CBS comedy. Bloodworth Thomason will write the script and executive produce alongside her husband, Harry Thomason.

The “Designing Women” sequel is a multicamera comedy, just like the original, and will follow the next generation of Sugarbaker women with a crop of new, young, female designers at an Atlanta interior design firm.

Also Read: 'Designing Women' Reboot in the Works at Sony

Sources told the Hollywood Reporter, which first reported news of the deal, that original cast members will occasionally stop by the new show, should it be picked up to series at ABC.

“Designing Women” ran for seven seasons on CBS, before concluding on...

Everything old will become new again if the TV industry has its way. The trend of TV reboots, remakes and revivals is not going away anytime soon thanks to the success of revivals like Will & Grace, Roseanne (before the implosion), and reboots like Queer Eye and Hawaii Five-0. The latest show to possibly return from the grave is Designing Women. According to TVLine, original series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is behind the updated series. There's no word on whether any of the original show's cast, which included the late Dixie Carter and Meshach Taylor, Jean Smart, Annie Potts and Delta Burke. Sony is also reportedly working on a reboot of The Facts of Life and already assembled Helen Hunt and Paul...

With a reboot of the 1980s sitcom “Designing Women” in the works during the presidency of Donald Trump, it’s worth looking back to an episode of the original series that needled the future commander in chief.

In the 1991 episode “Marriage Most Foul,” the gang of Atlanta interior designs begin by discussing the short-lived marriage of tabloid staple Trump to former TV personality Marla Maples.

And at the end of the episode — in which Maples herself makes a guest appearance — Dixie Carter’s Julia Sugarbaker makes a phone call to The Donald to give him a piece of her mind.

Also Read: 'Designing Women' Reboot in the Works at Sony

“I’m just calling you to say on behalf of the American public, Mr. Trump, we no longer care who you date,” she says. “We really don’t.

“You are no longer obligated to alert the news media every time...

Twenty-five years after the original series wrapped its seven-season run on CBS, a revival of the classic 1990s sitcom Designing Women[/link] is in the works at Sony Pictures TV, with the series’ original creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason heading the new iteration, Deadline has confirmed.

The series, which ran from September 29, 1986, until May 24, 1993, centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an Atlanta interior design firm. Designing Women starred Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Meshach Taylor, Alice Ghostley, Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks and Judith Ivey.

This is the latest revival to come out of Sony Pictures TV. The studio also is behind the revival of One Day at a Time, a reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, at Netflix. Deadline recently reported Sony is in the very early stages of a reboot of the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life, with Appian Way,...

Sony has yet another reboot in the works. The television studio is developing an update of the ’90s sitcom “Designing Women,” according to TVLine.

The show’s original creator, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, is attached to lead the reboot.

“Designing Women” ran for seven seasons on CBS, before concluding on May 24, 1993, sharing a night with “Murphy Brown.” You know, that other classic comedy about to return to the network.

The series centers around the fictional design firm Sugarbaker and Associates, a witty bully pulpit for caustic social and political humor. The founder of the company is Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), a sharp-tongued but elegant and surprisingly compassionate woman. Her younger sister, Suzanne (Delta Burke), is a former beauty queen who is long on charm but a bit slow on the uptake. Their associates are Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts), a recent divorcee,...

Sony’s got Georgia on its mind. TVLine has learned exclusively that the studio is developing a reboot of the classic ’90s sitcom Designing Women, with the series’ original creator, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, shepherding the update. The project is expected to be taken out to the marketplace soon.

The news comes roughly one month before CBS is set to launch a revival of Designing Women‘s former time slot companion, Murphy Brown.

Designing Women debuted on September 29, 1986 and ran for seven seasons, before concluding on May 24, 1993. It centered on the lives of four women (played by Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts...

Twenty-five years after wrapping its seven-season run on CBS, Designing Women is plotting a return to the small screen.

Series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is behind the revival, which hails from producers Sony Pictures Television Studios. The project has been in the works for months as the indie studio searches for a home for its revival of the comedy about four women (and one man) working together at an interior designing firm in Atlanta.

Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart and Meshach Taylor starred on the original series, which took on subjects including women's rights, domestic abuse, homophobia ...

Speaking about his Emmy victory last year for “This Is Us,” Gerald McRaney tells Gold Derby, “What I didn’t expect was my wife’s [Delta Burke] reaction to it. I’ve never seen anything like it. I refer to it as projectile crying.” McRaney may want to bring some tissues to this year’s ceremony because he’s been nominated once again as Best Drama Guest Actor for his work as Dr. K on NBC’s family drama. Watch our exclusive video interview with McRaney above.

SEEGerald McRaney (‘This Is Us’) would be first multiple Best Drama Guest Actor Emmy winner for the same role

This year’s Emmys feature many first-time nominees in the acting races, and McRaney has advice for all of them. “Take a deep breath. Just take in your surroundings when you’re there. Don’t let yourself get so caught up in the idea of winning or losing,...

Annie Potts found inspiration for the look of her character, Meemaw, on the hit CBS comedy “Young Sheldon” from one of the biggest guest stars she worked with on “Designing Women”: Dolly Parton. As she explains in our exclusive video interview (watch above), Connie Tucker may be a grandmother but she is not ready for a rocking chair just yet. She thinks the tough-talking Texan would have modeled herself on Parton who was starring in “Steel Magnolias” in 1989, the year that this prequel to “The Big Bang Theory” is set.

SEEEmmys 2018: Experts say Iain Armitage (‘Young Sheldon’) could become youngest Comedy Actor nominee in history

To get a sense of who Meemaw was to Sheldon (played by Iain Armitage as a boy and Jim Parsons as a man), the actress binged on “Big Bang.” But as she explains, “all of that is just a departure point.” She does...

Louise Latham, the actress who made her big-screen debut by portraying the manipulative mother of Tippi Hedren's character in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller Marnie, has died. She was 95.

Latham died Feb. 12 in a retirement home in Montecito, California, it was announced.

On television, Latham showed up as Olivia's (Michael Learned) Aunt Kate on a 1977 episode of The Waltons, and she portrayed Perky, the mother of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter and Delta Burke, respectively) in 1986 on Designing Women.

She also appeared on the first episode of Family Affair as Aunt Fran in 1966...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: Which is your favorite scripted TV show about sports? Old and current shows are fair game.

June Thomas (@junethomas), Slate

I was a big fan of the Freeform show “Make It or Break It,” about the lives of a group of elite gymnasts working toward their dream of competing in the Olympics. Even typing that sentence, I know how hokey it sounds, and yes, it touched on all the clichés about women’s gymnastics – eating disorders, overburdened parents, inappropriate relationships with coaches – but you know what, all those things bubble up in the real sport with depressing regularity.

The show had more than its fair share...

Gerald McRaney took home the very first Emmy of his nearly 50-year acting career this weekend for his supporting role on This Is Us, but the Emmys have always been good to him. After all, the award show served as the setting for one of his earliest dates with his wife, Delta Burke.

The couple, married for 28 years, showed up arm in arm at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday. McRaney won for outstanding guest performance on a drama for his turn as the NBC show’s Dr. K, and the two reminisced on the red carpet with...

At age 70, This Is Us’ Gerald McRaney landed his first Emmy nomination and first win for playing Dr. K, aka Dr. Nathan Katowski, on the NBC drama. The win left McRaney in disbelief, he said later backstage Sunday night. “My first thought was, ‘Did I hear that right?’ and when Delta (his wife Delta Burke) started reacting, I thought, ‘Well I guess I must have.’ So I went up on stage and I’m glad I heard it right because it would have been awfully embarrassing if I went and…...

If you’ve been missing Sydney Bristow, better book a ticket to Austin, TX. The Atx Television Festival announced today it will be hosting an “Alias” writers’ room reunion featuring many of the show’s long-time scribes, including Ken Olin, Lawrence Trilling, Sarah Caplan, Monica Breen, Jeff Pinkner, Andre Nemec, and Josh Appelbaum.

Creator J.J. Abrams has yet to be confirmed, but additional panelists will be announced at a later date. Last year, the Atx Festival hosted a writers’ room reunion for “The O.C.” that included creator Josh Schwartz.

Also announced this afternoon was a “Parks and Recreation” community screening. For the first five seasons of the festival, the Austin-based event celebrated an Austin-based show: “Friday Night Lights.” But last year marked the final tailgate party / community screening for the beloved series, and festival programmers found a more than fitting replacement in “Parks and Recreation.”

Read More: ‘Puppy Bowl’: Adoptions,...

A version of this article originally appeared on EW.com.

The casts of two popular ’80s television series are reuniting at Atx Television Festival next year.

On Thursday, the Austin-based festival announced the cast and creator of CBS’ Designing Women will reunite for a special 30th anniversary panel. Stars Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Gerald McRaney, Hal Holbrook and Douglas Barr will join creator and executive producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason for the event. The festival is also planning retrospectives for Bloodworth-Thomason’s Evening Shade and Hearts Afire.

The cast of the quirky CBS comedy-drama Northern Exposure will also get together at Atx next year.

The Designing Women are getting back together.

Cast members Delta Burke, Annie Potts and Jean Smart and guest stars Gerald McRaney, Hal Holbrook and Douglas Barr will join creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason for a reunion panel, marking the CBS comedy’s 30th anniversary, at the Atx Television Festival.

PhotosYour Guide to TV’s 100+ Reboots and Revivals: Knight Rider, Dynasty, Greek, L.A. Law, Twin Peaks and More

The fest will take place June 8-11 in Austin, Texas.

Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…

* Greg Grunberg (Heroes, Alias) will recur on The Flash, beginning with the Nov. 22 episode, as Detective Tom Patterson,...

The sixth Atx Television Festival is beginning to roll out its first panels and programming for the fest set for June 8-11 in Austin, TX. Highlights include reunions for groundbreaking comedy series Designing Women and iconic drama Northern Exposure. To mark the 30th anniversary of Designing Women, Atx’s reunion will feature creator/Ep Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, along with stars Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Gerald McRaney, Hal Holbrook, and Douglas Barr. Northern…...

Move over, Girls. Forget Sex and the City. The original female quartet, Designing Women, debuted on CBS 30 years ago today.Created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the sitcom centered on four women and one man who worked at an interior design studio in Atlanta, Ga. The cast included Dixie Carter, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Meshach Taylor, and Jan Hooks.Read More…...

Mel Gibson, whom I interviewed for Venice Magazine in late 2000, was my first real childhood hero I sat down with. If you were a Gen-x male, Mel Gibson was the closest thing we had to Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Sean Connery: a guy's guy whom guys wanted to emulate and women wanted to copulate. If you were a guy who liked girls, the math in the previous equation was pretty simple: be like Mel. Sadly, Gibson's life has taken a very public turn for the worse in the last decade, since his personal legal and troubles stemming from a 2006 DUI arrest in Malibu were made public, one from which his image has yet to fully recover. It was an unfortunate fall from grace for a guy who literally had Hollywood, and the world, in the palm of his hand after sweeping the 1995 Oscars with his box office smash "Braveheart.

If you're like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's the best of what happened last night on late night.

Taylor Swift was on "The Tonight Show" Tuesday night, and Jimmy Fallon told her he was really upset because she dances all the time now, but that used to be their exclusive thing. They were "famous Jumbotron dancers." Jimmy shared "random" Jumbotron footage showing the two of them going for it. Love how they flip the popcorn every time. Funny bit. The people in the background are the best. Taylor and Jimmy also cemented their new Bff status by drawing each other without looking.

Kristen Bell was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" to talk about Dax Shepard's 40th birthday and their two young daughters, Lincoln and Delta. They almost...

While Miss America hasn’t bred any headline-stealing celebrities recently, beauty pageants were once a place where future stars got their start. Oprah was Miss Black Tennessee; Halle Berry was Miss Ohio. Vanessa Williams made it all the way to the top, nabbing the Miss America title in 1984.

With Miss America’s 88th annual pageant airing Sunday on ABC at 9 p.m. Et, EW took a look at the most famous Oscar winners and television icons who once won crowns and sashes:

Cloris Leachman

Leachman represented Chicago in 1946’s Miss America pageant and, though she didn’t win the ultimate crown,...

Because he wore women’s clothes, because he did great impersonations, because he had a high, nervous laugh that made playing it cool all but impossible, and because he was a man who wasn’t fettered by any great concern over his masculinity, Anthony Bouvier, the role played by the late Meshach Taylor on Designing Women, was one of the great enduring pleasures of my childhood.I grew up mostly in Atlanta, where the sitcom was set. My grandmother and her Buckhead friends were the kind of women who might have hired Sugarbaker’s, the design run by sisters Julia (Dixie Carter) and Suzanne (Delta Burke) Sugarbaker, along with Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts) and Charlene Frazier Stillfield (Jean Smart). For me, seeing those Southern Living–inspired interiors represented one of the first times I recognized my world on TV. That part of my world, anyway. The elementary school I...

Meshach Taylor, who died Saturday, was most well known for his role as the lovable assistant Anthony Bouvier on the hit CBS sitcom “Designing Women.” He earned an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor while showing his comedic chops playing against Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts and Jean Smart — and always gave as good as he got. Also read: Meshach Taylor, Star of TV's ‘Designing Women,’ Dead at 67 Taylor was mainly a TV actor, but his big-screen role as the flamboyant Hollywood Montrose in the 1987 cult favorite movie “Mannequin” was a classic. Here a few of his most memorable comedic.

Actor Meshach Taylor has died at the age of 67. He passed last night at his family's home in Altadena, California, where he was receiving hospice care. It's reported that he had been battling cancer.

Taylor was best known for playing Anthony Bouvier, an ex-con who worked at the Sugarbaker interior design firm on CBS' Designing Women. During the show's seven season run, he co-starred with Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Alice Ghostley, Jan Hooks, Julia Duffy, and Judith Ivey.

Following Designing Women's cancellation, Taylor moved on to another CBS sitcom, Dave's World. Starring Harry Anderson, it ran for nearly 100 episodes and four seasons. He later became a semi-regular on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.

Taylor guest-starred on numerous other TV shows over the years. His most recent appearance was on an episode of Criminal Minds, playing...

Meshach Taylor, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Anthony Bouvier, the assistant to the Sugarbaker interior-design firm on Designing Women, passed away in hospice care last night. He was 67. Born in Boston to two college professors, Taylor grew up in New Orleans. After graduating from Florida A&M, he got his first break on a national tour of Hair. His role on Designing Women was originally supposed to be a one-shot deal, but he told Wendy Williams in 2011 that the energy between him and Delta Burke and Dixie Carter was so good that they kept him on.In 1983, he married General Hospital veteran Bianca Ferguson, with whom he had four children. In a Facebook post on Friday, his family wrote, "It is with love and gratitude that we sorrowfully announce that our darling, amazingly brilliant and dynamic, Meshach, the incredible father, husband, son and friend has begun his grand transition.

Meshach Taylor, who played a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom "Designing Women" and appeared in numerous other TV and film roles, died of cancer at age 67, his agent said Sunday.

Taylor died Saturday at his home near Los Angeles, according to agent Dede Binder.

Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Anthony Bouvier on "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1993. Then he costarred for four seasons on another successful comedy, "Dave's World," as the best friend of a newspaper humor columnist played by the series' star, Harry Anderson.

Other series included the cult favorite "Buffalo Bill" and the popular Nickelodeon comedy "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."

Taylor's movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance "Mannequin" as well as "Damien: Omen II."

He guested on many series including "Hannah Montana," ''The Unit," ''Hill Street Blues," ''Barney Miller," ''Lou Grant,...

Some may say that television hasn’t been too good to senior citizens in terms of their stereotypical depictions. Regardless of the unflattering portrayals there had been some memorable oldsters (in this case over 60) that have given us equal shares of both laughs and cries. In “For Mature Audiences Only”, let’s take a look at some of the more mature characterizations that had an impact on our daily doses of entertainment on the glorious boob tube.

Instead of doing a typical top ten or top twenty listing let’s go in between with a top fifteen selection, shall we? The “For Mature Audiences Only” choices are not necessarily a tasting that everyone will agree on. Perhaps you have your own preferences that were omitted or something that you feel should be added? Anyway, here are the candidates in alphabetical order…

Now for our pop cultural Pepto Bismol personalities:

1.) Doc Galen Adams,...

Christopher Meloni has had the kind of varied, almost schizophrenic, and very vivid acting career in which the first thing you see him in would likely color your perceptions of him for years to come. I first encountered him in the sixth season of “1st & Ten,” a raunchy ‘80s HBO comedy about a pro football team whose cast at various points included Delta Burke, Shannon Tweed, O.J. Simpson and, for a season — as an ex-con quarterback calling himself Johnny Gunn — a young Meloni. (Here’s the opening credits for that season.) As a result of that and a few other sitcom roles immediately after, I thought of him as a comedy guy and was thrown when he would pop up playing intense dramatic roles in the ‘90s on shows like “NYPD Blue,” “Homicide” and, for a long and memorable stretch, “Oz,” HBO’s first original dramatic series, in which Meloni...

“Every winning streak will have to end sometime.”

Jahinger Khan

In recognition of the job HBO CEO Michael Fuchs had done growing HBO and diversifying its business, he was invited uptown in 1995 to take over Warner Music while still keeping HBO as part of his new, expanded dominion. Assuming Fuchs’ top exec slot at HBO was Jeff Bewkes.

Not long after Fuchs had been given command of HBO in 1984 after the ouster of Frank Biondi, it had been clear that Fuchs’ strengths were not universal. Programming and long-term strategic vision were his fortes. Some of the more mundane and, for Fuchs, onerous tasks, such as kissing up to officers of the major cable MSOs, was something for which the often high-handed Fuchs didn’t have much of an affinity. The solution had been to divvy the company up, putting those non-Fuchsian — but critically important — responsibilities under a newly-created office of President.