«Desperate Housewives» is an American comedy drama/mystery TV series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions.
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- Desperate Housewives is an American comedy drama/mystery TV series.
- It was created by Marc Cherry.
- It was produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions.
- It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a total of 180 episodes.
- Executive producer Marc Cherry served as showrunner.
- Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.
- Set on Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional town of Fairview in the fictional Eagle State, Desperate Housewives follows the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of their friend and neighbor who took her life by suicide in the pilot episode.
- The storyline covers fifteen years of the women’s lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2019 (the storyline includes a five-year jump in time, as well as flashbacks and flashforwards ranging from the 1980s to the 2020s).
- They work through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes, and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their—on the surface—beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood.
- The series features an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis.
- The supporting cast included Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt, Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair, and Vanessa Williams as Renee Perry.
- Brenda Strong narrates the series as the late Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
- Desperate Housewives was well received by viewers and critics alike.
- It won multiple Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
- From the 2004–05 through the 2008–09 television seasons, its first five seasons were rated amongst the top ten most-watched series.
- In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million and was also reported as the third-most-watched television series in a study of ratings in twenty countries.
- In 2012, it remained the most-watched comedy series internationally based on data from Eurodata TV Worldwide, which measured ratings across five continents; it has held this position since 2006.
- Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue-earning series for 2010, with $2.74 million per half an hour.
- The show was ranked at number fifty-six on Entertainment Weekly‘s “New TV Classics” list.
- In 2011, it was confirmed that Desperate Housewives would conclude after its eighth season; the series finale aired on May 13, 2012.
- By the end of the series, it had surpassed Charmed with the most episodes in an hour-long television series featuring all female leads.
- A fan loved the dress Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) wore in the pilot so much, she wrote to the producers asking the name of the designer, and if he could design her a prom dress. The producers instead sent her the actual gown, and she wore it to her prom.
- Originally started off as a comedy pilot, and was rejected by every network, including Lifetime and HBO. ABC expressed an interest, and it was retooled to its current format of a dark comedy and drama.
- Teri Hatcher is the first person to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series, for a show that had not yet completed its first season.
- Marcia Gross originally tried for the part of Mary Alice Young, but was cast as Bree Van De Kamp.
- Nicollette Sheridan tried for the part of Bree Van De Kamp, but was cast as Edie Britt
- After spending four seasons playing Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty (2006), Vanessa Williams was still under contract with ABC for two more years. Because of this, the part of Renee Perry was created for her
- Teri Hatcher broke two ribs filming the scene where she stumbles into a wedding cake and insisted they didn’t stop production.
- Producers believed Ricardo Chavira to be too young, and not suave enough, and almost didn’t cast him as Carlos Solis.
- Bree is based on Marc Cherry’s own mother. Dana Delany was the original actress considered for the part, declining it three times.
- Each hour-long episode was filmed in eight days, typically three on-location, and five on the Universal Studios backlot.
- Oprah Winfrey loved the show so much, she was invited to the set, and had an exclusive show, in which she showcased a fifteen minute “episode”, where Oprah (as a new neighbor) learned all of the secrets of the housewives.
- Sheryl Lee layed Mary Alice Young in the unaired pilot but was replaced by Brenda Strong for the series.
- Creator Marc Cherry said he got the idea to write the pilot after a conversation with his mother. She told him that raising Cherry and his siblings with their father away most of the time, made her feel “desperate” sometimes.
- Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, and Eva Longoria are the only actresses to appear in every episode of the series. Marcia Cross appeared in nearly every episode, except for the seven that she missed, near the end of the third season (due to her maternity leave)
- Courteney Cox was also considered for the role of Susan.
- Marc Cherry didn’t ask her, because at the time she was pregnant with her daughter Coco, and had expressed interest in taking some time off to raise the baby.
- Roselyn Sanchez lost the part of Gabrielle to Eva Longoria at the final auditions
- The first television series to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, for a show that had not yet completed its first season.
- According to the book, “Desperate Networks”, Series Creator Marc Cherry insisted every actor and actress had to audition for a part. Several actresses up for the part of Susan, including Mary-Louise Parker, Calista Flockhart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, declined to audition, and passed on the role. Felicity Huffman also declined to audition for the role of Lynette, preferring to be offered the role instead. Her agents convinced her otherwise, and she agreed to audition. Marc Cherry was so impressed with her performance, that he offered her the part on the spot.
- According to Marc Cherry, the ABC Chairman asked him to write Katherine out of the show, so Dana Delany could lead Body of Proof (2011)
- Dana Delany auditioned for the role of Bree, and was offered the part. After thinking about it, she declined the role. Her reasoning was that she had played a similar role in the soap Pasadena, and felt she would be repeating herself.
- All episodes except the pilot are named after Stephen Sondheim lyrics or song titles. For Sondheim’s 75th birthday celebration, the cast filmed a segment specifically for the party where each character named their favorite Sondheim song – each choice being especially apropos for the character.
- Michelle Rodriguez turned down a part in this show, to do «Lost» (2004). When Ellen DeGeneres asked her why on her show, Rodriguez joked: “Because if you’re not a housewife, then what’s the point?”
- Lynette’s boss’ name is Ed Ferrara. In real-life, Ed Ferrara is Writer and Producer Kevin Murphy’s former writing partner of several television shows including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997) and Weird Science (1994).
- Felicity Huffman admits in interviews she hates the name “Lynette Scavo”. “It sounds like something you have to scrape off your knee”.
- Almost every time a newspaper is shown throughout the series, they use the same one with the picture of a dark-haired girl in it.
- Miranda Richardson turned down a significant guest part in the second season of the show.
- Kyle Searles played John Rowland in the unaired pilot but was replaced by Jesse Metcalfe.
- Stephen Lang was considered for the role of Rex Van De Kamp
