Does anyone think 'Golden Girls' was 'purposely' copied on CBS when they debuted 'Designing Women' in 1986, or was this just a coincidence?

The similarities in the premise are striking of course, and I recall many critics described this as 'a younger version' of GG when it debuted a year after them, but I always thought DW had a niche of their own. Other fans I have spoken to have also voiced their opinion that the show was purposely copied by CBS, due to the success of GG on NBC.

Thoughts?

I don't think Designing Women was a copy of Golden Girls. However I do think Golden Girls paved the way for Designing Women by proving that a sitcom with four female leads could be successful.

Yes, Designing Women was CBS answer to NBC's Golden Girls which was obvious. DW had 4 women who were young and it was made to pull people away from the Golden Girls

How could it pull people away from the "Golden Girls"? They were never even on the same night!

^Thank You Smartboy!

Would that be saying "Growing Pains" on ABC and "Charlie and Company" on CBS were designed to pull the audience away from "The Cosby Show" on NBC?

^Thank You Smartboy!

Would that be saying "Growing Pains" on ABC and "Charlie and Company" on CBS were designed to pull the audience away from "The Cosby Show" on NBC?


Charlie and Company was a clear copy of the Cosby Show

All Black Sitcom with Three Kids, a Mom and Dad living in a big city-lol

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

That's how I saw it as well. I don't think it was to 'pull' audiences from GG, but to capitalize on the success of the show, and have the GG audience tune into DW on Monday evenings.

I myself watched both shows, however I don't think DW ever really broke out of the GG mold.

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)


I never really got into "Designing Women", but I thought that for sure there were only four women. You described five. Please fill me in on what the circumstances were!

Bernice was not a main character, however she did appear frequently. She was a good friend of Suzanne and Julia's mother's. Once their mother moved to Japan, Julia and Suzanne more or less "adopted" Bernice. Bernice had an "arterial flow problem" from the neck up, which often caused her to say outrageous or unusual things, such as introducing Anthony as her illegitimate child, etc. While I don't think Bernice was nearly as outspoken as Sophia I do see the comparison of them both being the oldest of the group, and of course both nursing home residents.

- Kristen

The two shows were similar in scope, of course, and I do believe the success of The Golden Girls helped to get Designing Women greenlighted on CBS.

Yes, Bernice was only a supporting character, but I thought it seemed like her casting was Designing Womens' answer to Golden Girls' Sophia.
Even though theres similarities to the shows, I don't criticize DW creators, this show was unique enough in its own right.

Let us take a minute to look at other shows or groups of characters in which one was modeled after the other but that there were enough differences for the second one to be a show in its own right. One example that is very obvious is the "Flintstones" being modeled after the "Honeymooners". As non-negotiable as this statement is, I would argure that on the "Flintstones" there were enough differences in situations for it to be a sereis in and of itself. Also, a lot of people will say that, Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" were modeled after Felix and Oscar from the "Odd Couple". As true as this probably is, I would say that with Bert and Ernie, there were definately enough differances for them to be a different set of characters. In other words, Bert and Ernie were not a puppet version of Felix and Oscar but rather two puppets whose behavior resembled that of Felix and Oscar. Any thoughts anyone?

MAY BE sort of. I didn't like either of them.

I don't see it. I loved Golden Girls and didn't care that much for Designing Women. Except that it was about 4 women, I don't see any similarities.

Never thought about the similarities until now :lol:

Liked DW enough but GG still wins out for me! ;)

I don't see it. I loved Golden Girls and didn't care that much for Designing Women. Except that it was about 4 women, I don't see any similarities.
Actually the shows are very different, I just think the characters are comparable.

Yes, the Honeymooners/Flintstones is a very good example of just that.

Other than both sitcoms being about the lives of four women that ran about the same time, I never seen many similarities between the two shows. Designing Women had additional cast with Anthony and Bernice and the characters on that show qworked together--not lived together. Both shows did last seven seasons.

Other than both sitcoms being about the lives of four women that ran about the same time, I never seen many similarities between the two shows. Designing Women had additional cast with Anthony and Bernice and the characters on that show qworked together--not lived together. Both shows did last seven seasons.
They also had replacements when Delta Burke and Jean Smart left the show. Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks, and Judith Ivy were later Designing Women. The Golden Girls were never replaced!

The similarities are uncanny and pretty obvious...

Julia and Dorothy were (more or less) the leaders of each group of women. They were the intelligent, witty women who put things in perspective.

Charlene and Rose were the naive ones of the group. When Charlene left, she was replaced by her sister Carlene...who was the naive one of the group.

Suzanne and Blanche were the Southern Belles, the Beauty of the group, the one whom all men were attracted to of the group. They were each wealthy, due to their ex husbands (and later, BJ - who replaced Allison - who replaced Suzanne - was the southern wealthy beauty as well).

Berniece and Sophia were the senior citizens, the 'mother' of the group. They are both former nursing home residents, who had a medical problem which allowed them to speak their minds without thinking first.

The 'Girls' lived together, and gathered around the kitchen table to discuss life in general and solve each other's problems.

The 'Women' worked together, and gathered around the living room (of Julia's home) to discuss life in general and solve each other's problems.

'Girls' took place in Miami, while 'Women' took place in Atlanta.

The similarities are uncanny and pretty obvious...

Julia and Dorothy were (more or less) the leaders of each group of women. They were the intelligent, witty women who put things in perspective.

Charlene and Rose were the naive ones of the group. When Charlene left, she was replaced by her sister Carlene...who was the naive one of the group.

Suzanne and Blanche were the Southern Belles, the Beauty of the group, the one whom all men were attracted to of the group. They were each wealthy, due to their ex husbands (and later, BJ - who replaced Allison - who replaced Suzanne - was the southern wealthy beauty as well).

Berniece and Sophia were the senior citizens, the 'mother' of the group. They are both former nursing home residents, who had a medical problem which allowed them to speak their minds without thinking first.

The 'Girls' lived together, and gathered around the kitchen table to discuss life in general and solve each other's problems.

The 'Women' worked together, and gathered around the living room (of Julia's home) to discuss life in general and solve each other's problems.

'Girls' took place in Miami, while 'Women' took place in Atlanta.
You elaborated well on what I said! But I think one has to know Designing Women, as well as The Golden Girls to see the obvious similarities. But I still have to say Designing Women was original enough to be a great show in its own right! (Golden Girls still my favorite!!!!!!!!)

Does anyone think 'Golden Girls' was 'purposely' copied on CBS when they debuted 'Designing Women' in 1986, or was this just a coincidence?

The similarities in the premise are striking of course, and I recall many critics described this as 'a younger version' of GG when it debuted a year after them, but I always thought DW had a niche of their own. Other fans I have spoken to have also voiced their opinion that the show was purposely copied by CBS, due to the success of GG on NBC.

Thoughts?

Well on the surface their are some similarties in character type and some overlapping plots, but i don't really see much beyond surface comparisons in these two.

Sure they both have characters that might be considered dumb (Rose, Charlene), or trampy (Suzanne, Blanche), etc, but other than that i feel they are very different series.

"The Golden Girls" created by Susan Harris tends to vere more towards striaght out slap stick and broad comedy and goes for quick one-liners whereas "DW" seems to have a more realistic, political tone to it. Each of the characters on "DW" grew enormously over the course of their run and learned valuable lessons about themselves, whereas on "TGG" characters tended to learn a lesson one week and be back at square one the next week, their wasn't much character growth.

Now i love both shows, but it's clear to me that DW found it's niche very early on and totally came into it's own. By the end of the first season it had fine tuned it's characters and plots to the point it had it's very own distinct point of view.

DW tended to be more political and realistic than TGG whereas TGG tended to be more of a slap sticky, broad comedy type of thing. I admire both Susan harris and linda bloodworth-thomason but i don't belive DW was meant as a copycat at all. The characters and plots of DW were based very closely on Linda's life growing up in Poplar Bluff, Missouri so i don't think she intended to copy any other show.


Furthermore, DW had a clear point of view---it was a show about these women finding themselves and making it in the world. It had a very clear political viewpoint---and was able to tackle very topical issues that other shows couldn't have dreamt of tackeling in such a way. I can't think of a single other show that would have been able to do an episode like "Killing All The Right People" or "Julia Runs Over The First Admendment" and gotten away with it. TGG was a great show but was too focused on slap-stick and one-liners that even it's most serious episodes never packed quiet the same punch that a serious "DW" episode had.

I love both shows but in this case i say DW wins. It's not really a competition though as they are both superb in their own right but other than some surface comparison in the fact the main characters are women i can't see much of a resemblance.

Very insightful, Facts! I have to agree with all of that. I still enjoyed matching up the similarities of the characters, but they end there.

"Furthermore, DW had a clear point of view---it was a show about these women finding themselves and making it in the world. It had a very clear political viewpoint---and was able to tackle very topical issues that other shows couldn't have dreamt of tackeling in such a way. I can't think of a single other show that would have been able to do an episode like "Killing All The Right People" or "Julia Runs Over The First Admendment" and gotten away with it. TGG was a great show but was too focused on slap-stick and one-liners that even it's most serious episodes never packed quiet the same punch that a serious "DW" episode had."

Great post, and this paragraph really stood out for me...The reason is: I always thought The GG was about these 'older women' finding themselves (now single in the world) and making it in the world as well. There were some poignant storylines as well - dealing with age descrimination, deportation, etc. which the eps played down the 'jokes' (IMO).

However I do think Golden Girls paved the way for Designing Women by proving that a sitcom with four female leads could be successful.


Wait a minute. What about The Facts of Life? That was a series that was an all female cast and it started six years before The Golden Girls did. I thought The Golden Girls was a copy of The Facts of Life for when the girls get old and gray.

Wait a minute. What about The Facts of Life? That was a series that was an all female cast and it started six years before The Golden Girls did. I thought The Golden Girls was a copy of The Facts of Life for when the girls get old and gray.

Nahh i think there were a lot more differences in The Facts Of Life and The Golden Girls than there are things that are similar. Sure it had a female cast, but other than that the shwos were different in almost every way.

Yeah, I couldn't match up Blair, Jo, Tootie and Natalie, to The Golden Girls, like I can The Designing Women to TGG.

I don't think Designing Women was a copy of Golden Girls. However I do think Golden Girls paved the way for Designing Women by proving that a sitcom with four female leads could be successful.

I agree. There are several similarities, but major differences too.

I used to think "Designing Women" was just a younger version of this show too! It is very similar!

Nahh i think there were a lot more differences in The Facts Of Life and The Golden Girls than there are things that are similar. Sure it had a female cast, but other than that the shwos were different in almost every way.

Although thinkin about it Kim Fields other show "Living Single" is very similar to DW and TGG in it's characters:

The book-smart, business minded one: Dorothy on TGG, Julia on DW, Keedisha on Living Single

The Sexy one: Suzanne on DW, Blanche on TGG, Regine on Living Single

The dim-witted one: Rose on TGG, Charlene on DW, Synclaire on Living Single

and then there was the more sarcastic/immature (at times) one: Mary Jo on DW, Sophia on TGG, Maxine on Living Single.

Because I never watch "Living Single", I would be very interested in knowing what part Kim Fields played!

Because I never watch "Living Single", I would be very interested in knowing what part Kim Fields played!

Kim Fields played Regine, the sexy, vampy, self-absorbed one on "Living Single".

Queen Latifah was Kadesshia the business savy, smart one.

Kim Coles was Synclaire the quirky dim witted one.

Erika Alexander was Maxine the sarcastic one.

Thank you very much for the information!

The same can probably be said for the WB show "Girlfriends" as well.

I know 'Joan' could be seen as the Julia/Dorothy character.
'Maya' could be seen as the sexpot Blanche/Suzanne.
'Lynn' as the naive Rose/Charlene.

How bout the Sex and the City women? Could they be compared?

I don't know this show very well.

How bout the Sex and the City women? Could they be compared?

I don't know this show very well.


Yes they could...


Miranda is the Dorothy character
Samantha is the Blanche character
Charlotte is the Rose character
but that's where it ends because i definetly don't see Carrie as the Sophia character!

maybe SATC is easier compared to Desinging Women:

Suzanne is Samantha
Charlotte is Charlene
Miranda is Julia
Carrie is Mary-Jo?

I'm not sure it's Carrie that's tripping me up---I'm thinking she's a lot like Mary-Jo but she isn't very much like Sophia at all! But Charlotte could in some ways be compared to Mary-Jo as well!

I think that all of the shows mentioned were produced using the same basic recipe for an all-female show.That recipe being: a sexy one, an intelligent one, a naive or dumb one, and the fourth one tends to vary between the shows. Of course, the recipe is altered slightly for each show so that each show can bring something of its own to the table, but it is still the same basic recipe. Thus, there are going to be similiraties between all of the shows. I personally am a fan of all the shows, but TGG is probably my favorite because it seems to be the "original", if you will, that paved the way for shows like Designing women, Sex and the City, perhaps even Desperate housewives. Thats the best way i can explain the similarities. An interesting fact that is a little off subject but also connects some of the shows is that Marc Cherry who was a writer of TGG was also Dixie Carter's (DW's julia) personal assistant and now is the writer of Desperate housewives. I dont think this explains the similarities between all-female shows but its a funny coincidence lol!

I think that all of the shows mentioned were produced using the same basic recipe for an all-female show.That recipe being: a sexy one, an intelligent one, a naive or dumb one, and the fourth one tends to vary between the shows. Of course, the recipe is altered slightly for each show so that each show can bring something of its own to the table, but it is still the same basic recipe. Thus, there are going to be similiraties between all of the shows. I personally am a fan of all the shows, but TGG is probably my favorite because it seems to be the "original", if you will, that paved the way for shows like Designing women, Sex and the City, perhaps even Desperate housewives. Thats the best way i can explain the similarities. An interesting fact that is a little off subject but also connects some of the shows is that Marc Cherry who was a writer of TGG was also Dixie Carter's (DW's julia) personal assistant and now is the writer of Desperate housewives. I dont think this explains the similarities between all-female shows but its a funny coincidence lol!

Welll technically speaking "The Facts Of Life", "The Mary Tyler Moore show" or even "I Love Lucy" could all be considered the first shows the create a mold for female TV. FOL used the same basic forumla as the other shows we've mentioned and MTMS created it with characters like Mary, Rhoda, Sue-Anne and Phyliss. ILL is also the show most other shows aspire to be.