Sweet Tea & TV

This is a special episode one year in the making: Soapdish. And with this 1991 cult classic under our belts, we will have rounded out the Robert Harling trifecta: Steel Magnolias, First Wives Club, and of course, Soapdish. 

Join us for Nikki’s first watch to see if she loved it or REALLY loved it. Clearly those are the only two options. Then it really gets the Sweet Tea & TV treatment – what we liked and didn’t, as well as movie trivia, and any Designing Women universe connections. 

You can find Soapdish streaming on MAX. You can also rent or buy it from Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, GooglePlay, and Vudu. 

Another season of “Designing Women” has come and gone. In this fifth season, “Sweet Tea & TV” explored every topic from cool stuff you have to see and do if you visit NOLA like the Sugarbaker’s team did, to a deep-dive on “To Kill a Mockingbird”, to “potty parity” (spoiler alert: it’s a thing!) But, believe it or not, there were some stones unturned. So, we’re using our traditional “finale-finale” to wrap up those loose ends, and do a little ST&TV season 5 reflection. 

We’re also delivering a Patreon-exclusive “Extra Sugar”, where we’re giving the episodes of “Designing Women” season 5 the ole “March Madness” treatment, in a segment we’re calling: Designing Women Season 5 Episode Showdown. (Consider joining us over at our Patreon page to hear us duke it out over our favorite episodes from season 5!)

Cue the sad music and grab the kleenex: today we say goodbye to Suzanne and Charlene. 

That's right, we’ve finally watched and discussed Delta Burke’s last episode. Jean Smart isn’t far behind.

Mourn the loss with us – let’s talk about some favorite moments, what they mean to us, and what happened to them both IRL next. We’ll wrap by asking…an oracle of sorts…what would have happened if we’d followed Charlene and Suzanne on their international journeys. 

Julia and Mary Jo go head-to-head – and arm-to-arm for that matter – after they start co-coaching Quent and Randa’s baseball team. 

Meanwhile Suzanne is protecting her car windshield from foul balls – and taking Charlene along for the ride. There’s no getting around the fact it’s our last episode with her. 

Meet us in the middle for a sidebar on parents who, uh, get a wee bit too into kids sports. Then come back Thursday to reminisce about Suzanne and Charlene. 

This week, we’re replaying a ST&TV “classic” (are we allowed to call it that???) At any rate, if not a classic, maybe it’s fair to call it an oldie but a goodie! We’re headed back to season 2 of ST&TV, to an “Extra Sugar” where we spilled the tea on country clubs. Throughout the segment, we learn about the history and breakdown some of the “-ism” claims Julia makes against Beaumont. 

There’s only one thing standing between Suzanne and the Beaumont Driving Club and his name is Anthony Bouvier. Worse still, there are only two things standing between us and the end of Suzanne’s reign on Designing Women: the last two episodes of season 5. Soak every moment up with us y’all. 

This one just has to be accompanied by Nikki’s previous “Extra Sugar” back when we very first encountered the illustrious Beaumont. Her exploration of country clubs gets right at the crux of what happens with Anthony.

Ah, Bernice. Forever our inspiration. But DEFINITELY our “Extra Sugar” inspiration when she spends an entire episode attempting to land a whopper of a home video for what would have been brand-new must-see TV: “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” 

Bernice didn’t succeed, but thousands of people have and we’re here to talk all about it.

Bill’s back from the Gulf War?! Mary Jo and Charlene are writing a kid’s book?! Julia is just now taking her driving test?! We have questions. 

Meet us in the middle for a Nibbles segment about Southern desserts – all thanks to Bill’s penchant for peach cobbler.

Then come back Thursday for an Extra Sugar all about America’s favorite pastime: watching people get hurt, but you know, in a hilarious way. We’re chatting America’s Funniest Home Videos, y’all. 

Julia’s hilariously unconventional parenting techniques had us cracking open our etiquette books and asking WWAVD? That is, what would the “arbiter of manners” and the “authority on etiquette” Amy Vanderbilt do? 

We’ll talk about it. But look: Ms. Vanderbilt has a fascinating story all her own – so we’re going to talk about her, too. We’ll wrap up with a chat about modern etiquette because someone has got to teach people how to be polite in social media comments. Sheesh.

We learn two major lessons: 1) Designing Women boyfriends don’t often make it (RIP Reese, who IRL was settling in on LBT’s other show Evening Shade) and 2) you will finish the burger Julia made you – come hell, high water, or several broken vases. 

Her unique parenting style inspired this week’s "Extra Sugar" was a perfect excuse to bust out the Amy Vanderbilt etiquette handbook that Nikki bought after she was first referenced in season 3. Yes, yes, we’ll talk etiquette, but also about Mrs. Vanderbilt, AND what would go in our updated guide.