Marji Martin

Fran discovers that Maxwell stills sees her as his children's nanny.

Series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason uses the fictional Atlanta design firm of Sugarbaker and Associates as a witty bully pulpit for caustic social and political humor. The founder of the company is Julia Sugarbaker, a sharp-tongued but elegant and surprisingly compassionate woman. Her younger sister, Suzanne, is a former beauty queen who is long on charm but a bit slow on the uptake. Their associates are Mary Jo Shively, a recent divorcee, and officer manager Charlene Frazier, whose sweetness is matched only by her naivete. Their deliverman is Anthony Bouvier, a well-spoken ex-convict, and cheerfully dotty senior citizen Bernice Clifton often drops by for a visit as well.

Jessica becomes enmeshed in feuds, infidelity and murder in Nashville when visiting her friend, blues singer Patti Sue Diamond (Florence Henderson), whose country-singer husband, Bobby (Jimmy Dean) is having trouble with his manager.

A widower and former pro baseball player, Tony Micelli takes a job as a housekeeper for a high-powered divorced businesswoman, Angela Bower, and her son. He and his daughter, Samantha, move into the Bower residence, where Tony's laid-back personality contrasts with Angela's type-A behavior. Angela's man-hungry mother, Mona, is also in the mix.

At a dinner party with a gossip magazine editor (Penny Fuller), Jessica imagines the plot for her next novel.