Watchmen and Mare of Easttown co-star Jean Smart says a revival of Designing Women would be "sad and pointless" because key members of the ensemble cast have passed away.
Smart co-starred as Charlene Frazier during the first five seasons of the 1986-1993 CBS sitcom about friends who ran a design firm in Atlanta, along with Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Meshach Taylor and Annie Potts. Smart recalled reuniting with Potts recently for a charity event, Collider reported, and while the experience was fun, she said, it showed why a revival couldn't work.
"Well, no, because we only have less than half the cast, so that would be very sad and pointless. We did do a reading for Sony when they were having Zoom script readings with casts from old shows and we were raising money for charity. Kyra Sedgwick did a beautiful job of reading Dixie's role and Wendi McLendon-Covey from The Goldbergs did Delta's part. That was absolutely shocking, how familiar it felt," Smart said.
McLendon-Covey stepped in because "Delta couldn't do it," Smart said. "She was taking care of her mother."
Smart continued, "Annie and I were saying, 'This is bizarre. It feels like we just did this a week ago.' We did a reading of the pilot, and it was crazy. It was fun. But we couldn't remake that without Dixie Carter, Meshach Taylor, or even Alice Ghostley, who was just the funniest woman in the world."
Carter died in 2010. Taylor died in 2014. Ghostley, who recurred as a "special guest star" during the series run, died in 2007. Smart was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for Watchmen in 2020.
Source: Collider
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