Women of The House - Cancellation and Controversy

Cancellation and Controversy

The series was not heavily promoted. It debuted to low ratings. CBS bounced it on and off the schedule, and the network ultimately aired only nine of the thirteen episodes. After the eighth episode, "The Afternoon Wife," performed poorly in the ratings in March, the network canceled the show. The final episodes were to be aired over the summer. The ninth episode, "Veda," was broadcast in August. It was the last episode CBS would air.

The tenth episode, "Women in Film," featured a myriad of female celebrity cameo appearances and ended with a one minute montage of women being brutally abused. CBS agreed to air the episode, but only if the final montage was excised. The scene aired a week early on the tabloid television show Hard Copy, but CBS opted not to air the episode at the last moment, and the series abruptly vanished from the air. 21 days after "Women in Film" was initially scheduled to air, the Lifetime cable network (who had exclusive airing rights at the time for Designing Women) aired the final four episodes (along with a rerun of an earlier episode titled "Men Are Good") as a marathon. "Women in Film" aired last, out of sequence, and the marathon concluded with a brief interview with writer/creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. The heavily promoted marathon was broadcast several times; none of the other episodes were rerun in the US.