Wasn't the "Rowdy Girls" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0558676/) episode (http://greginhollywood.com/designing-women-thursday-when-kim-zimmer-guest-starred-as-charlenes-battered-cousin-35144) filmed (http://www.designingwomenonline.com/Episodes/Summaries/071.php) around the time (https://daytimeconfidential.com/2009/02/03/happy-birthday-rowdy-girl-kim-zimmer) that Delta was feuding with the producers?

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The Rowdy Girls episode aired in Oct 1989 and the feud did not become public until over a year later. I never heard Kim's name mentioned when speculation became public. I do recall one of the tabloids mentioning Jackee, Loni Anderson and even Bette Midler as possible replacements.


During all of this, Jean Smart's departure was not mentioned at all. It flew so far under the radar, that when PEOPLE magazine ran a small blurb with a picture of Delta and Jan Hooks together from an SNL skit they had recently done, I assumed Hooks would be taking over -- which I thought an odd choice character-wise.(It turns out PEOPLE erroneously inferred Hooks WAS indeed the one. Julia Duffy's name had not popped up anywhere yet).