After winning the Tony Award for play of the year - for "The Widower", beating his lifetime rival, Andrew Lloyd Webber - a tabloid starts to publish fake stories about Mr. Sheffield and Fran having an affair since Maxwell's honeymoon. Maggie is very upset about it, and won't believe it's not true. Fran's upset not by the fact that it's a fake story, but that the story said she was 40. Maxwell and Fran go to the tabloid to confront the journalist, but he assures them he won't print any more stories about them, since they were the lowest selling edition in 5 years! Meanwhile, Niles is upset because Maxwell didn't invite him to the cast party, and Dr. Miller convinces Mr. Sheffield to give him a "Butler of the Year" award.

The episode was rated 7.62 from 87 votes.

After watching Tasha's (a new female rock star) video on MTV, Fran decides to write lyrics of her own about her misery and suffering and make it big on showbiz. Discouraged by Mr. Sheffield, Fran decides to hand her lyrics to Tasha no matter what, and even passes herself as hotel maid with Val just to meet Tasha. When she finally does, Tasha is so interested in reaching out and listening to what the people have to say that she actually hangs out with Fran. Unfortunately, Fran's song is no good, but her misery is good enough for Tasha, who uses Fran as her muse – until Mr. Sheffield tells Fran he misses her and Fran turns happy, which makes Tasha turn to Val for inspiration (after all, Val lives with her parents, is over 30 and single).

The episode was rated 7.63 from 67 votes.

Jay Leno leaves his dog under the cares of Mr. Sheffield. Meanwhile, Fran is being audited for her taxes, and not even flirting and champagne can help her out. She calls Mr. Sheffield for help, and they go to the IRS office to prove Fran's income taxes. The hearing doesn't go too good until Jay Leno shows up, making the appeals officer happy enough to dismiss the case.

The episode was rated 7.63 from 73 votes.

Fran decides to stop chasing men like Dr. Miller told her. Sylvia doesn't like that at all and blames Mr. Sheffield for her daughter staying single forever. Fran, Val and Ms. Babcock decide to go out together on a "girls night", with no pressure to find a man, but after Val and C.C. get dates, Fran finds herself as a fifth wheel on their double date. Alone, embarrassed and depressed, Fran goes home trying to act as if she had a great time with them, but can't. Once again, Mr. Sheffield and Fran find themselves alone, comforting each other. Meanwhile, Dr. Miller tries hypnosis with Sylvia but that doesn't go too well.

The episode was rated 7.64 from 78 votes.

Fran meets an incredible man at a singles bar. He's Jewish, he's a doctor, he's rich, he's everything Fran ever dreamed of in a man. But during her cousin's wedding - where she was a bridesmaid - Fran discovers that Mr. Perfect is her cousin! Seeing Fran devastated, Mr. Sheffield decides to send her to a therapist, and the therapist says Fran has an obsession about getting married. Fran decides to stop chasing men around, just to make Mr. Sheffield guilty.

The episode was rated 7.70 from 79 votes.

Maggie wants a new car, but since her father won't give her one she convinces Fran to enter a beauty pageant to win one for her. In the contest, Fran has to drive a stick shift car, which she doesn't know how to, so Mr. Sheffield takes her up to the country to teach her. But Fran gets traumatized after running over a bunny, which causes her to lose the contest. To cheer her up, Maxwell invites her to go with them to the charity dinner at Barbara Streisand's house. On their way there, Mr. Sheffield has a stomachache, forcing Fran to drive. Later she realizes it was all a plan of his to make her get over her trauma. Now she has to go to Barbara's again, but to return the boot and purse she stole from her.

The episode was rated 7.71 from 68 votes.

Maxwell's father is in town and Fran decides to help end the Sheffield family feud inviting James Sheffield over for dinner. He brings Joan with him, his old secretary for whom he left Max's mother. Maxwell is outraged at his father's selfishness during dinner, while Fran keeps wondering why can't Maxwell act more like his father and marry the help.

The episode was rated 7.72 from 85 votes.

Fran and Maxwell return from their trip to Paris, and Fran couldn't be happier. Just as they are about to get home, Mr. Sheffield takes back saying "I love you" to Fran, and she is devastated. C.C. takes advantage of the fact that Fran is vulnerable and says Maxwell probably only hired her for her looks, which is accidentally confirmed by Max when he tries to compliment Fran. She decides to go to a singles bar with Val and meets a blind guy. The idea of dating a blind man sounds nice to Fran, since it'll serve as a proof that she isn't just a pretty face. After she is dumped by the blind guy, she and Mr. Sheffield decide to remain just friends.

The episode was rated 7.72 from 94 votes.

A woman calls Fran saying she might be her mother due to a mix up that happened in the hospital the day she was born. Doubtful, Fran goes to Sylvia to ask her about the day she was born, and finds out the story might be true after Sylvia says she left her for a moment while chasing for food. Terrified that her whole life might have been a lie, Fran invites the strange woman to her house, and for her surprise, she turns out to be black. Still, after Fran pays a visit to Lila Baker's huge mansion, Fran insists that she might be her daughter, since her late husband was Jewish, but the DNA test proofs not. Fran is really Sylvia's daughter, which is something Sylvia only gets after spending some time pleasuring herself with the wonderful food Lila has at her house. Meanwhile, Niles tries to convince Maxwell to sell one of his plays to CBS so C.C. has to move to LA.

The episode was rated 7.76 from 67 votes.

Fran decides to spend her holidays away with Val, but this time just the two of them, no Mr. Sheffield, no kids, nobody but the two single gals. A hurricane hits the island, making Fran's dream vacations a living hell. She returns home early to find a lonely Maxwell, who later takes the entire family on a cruise around the Greek Islands.

The episode was rated 7.76 from 88 votes.

Mr. Sheffield is furious when he finds out Maggie is seeing a 25 year-old boy. He wants Fran to make it stop, but won't listen to her when she tells him to see a doctor for his hearing problem. Fran decides to chaperone Maggie on her (last) date with John, but she completely forgets Mr. Sheffield's orders when she meets John's gorgeous friend Mark, who is interested in Fran. Still, she has to fix Maggie's problem, so she decides to let it flow and wait until she gets tired of John, which doesn't take long to happen. Too bad it means that Fran will have to drop her 25 year-old as well. Meanwhile, C.C. misses an incredible opportunity of dinner with Max when she falls asleep (the result of a caffeine trick Niles pulled on her).

The episode was rated 7.79 from 89 votes.

Nigel Sheffield arrives in New York, but since Maxwell is too busy to spend time with him he has Fran show him around town. They go out to nightclubs and parties, and Fran starts acting very happy for finally having a social life, something she complained about not having since she started working at the house. Nigel surprises Fran when he proposes to her and asks her to leave with him aboard a luxurious boat. Doubtful, she thinks about her relationship with Maxwell, its past and its future. In one hand she has the man she really loves, who hasn't made a move in 3 years. In the other hand, a rich, good looking and single man, everything she always hoped for. She chooses to go with Nigel, but unfortunately she misses the boat and has to go back home. Maxwell arrives and takes care of Fran, who twisted her ankle on her way back. Some things are just meant (not) to be.

The episode was rated 7.85 from 85 votes.

Yetta's got a new boyfriend, who's much younger than her (he's 60) and already proposed. Afraid he's after Yetta's money, Sylvia decides to go to the bank to make sure money can't be taken out of their joint accounts without both signatures. While waiting in line, a very bumbling bank robber takes over the bank and makes Sylvia and Fran hostages. The bank robber is so unprepared that he even forgets to put on the mask and accidentally reveals his name - Leslie Tilbett - and Fran ends up making friends with him. They chat, order some food, and the kidnapper even acts as mediator between Fran and Mr. Sheffield (who messed things up with Fran with a Valentine's Day faux pas). When Leslie decides to leave, Fran and Sylvia argue about the best way he should take to escape the cops and they both end up going with him. At the bank door, Mr. Sheffield apologizes for taking back saying he loved Fran, and they make up. Sylvia, though, is still taken as hostage, but the kidnapper is arrested afte

The episode was rated 7.87 from 75 votes.

Danny Imperiali, Fran's former fiance, is dead. At his funeral (while comforting Danny's widow Heather Biblow), she meets a Jewish man who is ignored by his former lover's family and got nothing after he died. Afraid the same thing will happen to her, Fran stands up for herself and imposes Mr. Sheffield to do something. Afraid his grandmother (who's in town visiting), might judge him and remove him from her will, Mr. Sheffield does nothing, so Fran quits. When he realizes he might have lost Fran forever, Mr. Sheffield goes after her and takes back taking back saying he loved her.

The episode was rated 7.91 from 88 votes.

Mr. Sheffield is going to London to convince Celine Dion into doing Broadway. Fran decides to go after him and take advantage of the romantic scenario to solve their situation once and for all. After a romantic afternoon together, Max and Fran go back to the hotel and almost sleep together, if it wasn't for him backing out in the last minute. Insulted, offended and tired of all the cat and mouse play, Fran decides to leave him before it's too late for her to marry anybody. But they receive a phone call from NY saying that Niles just suffered a heart attack. Fran decides to stay and help while Niles recovers, giving Mr. Sheffield another chance to make a commitment. Meanwhile, C.C. is surprisingly sad after Niles's attack and even drops by at the hospital to bring him some flowers. She reveals to Fran that deep down she doesn't hate Niles as much as it seems.

The episode was rated 7.94 from 80 votes.