Desperate Housewives
File:Desperate titlethem.jpg Desperate Houseswives title design
Created by	Marc Cherry
Starring	Teri Hatcher Felicity Huffman Marcia Cross Eva Longoria Nicolette Sheridan
Narrated by	Brenda Strong
Theme music composer	Danny Elfman
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	69 (plus five specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	42 minutes (excluding commercials)
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 3, 2004 – Present

Desperate Housewives is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American television comedy-drama series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on October 3, 2004 on ABC. It is the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 119 million viewers. ^[1]. Only the BBC's Top Gear is viewed more around the world with an estimated 350 million viewers. ^[2]

The show takes place on the fictional street of Wisteria Lane in the American suburban town of Fairview, located in the fictional Eagle State. It follows the lives of four women, seen through the eyes of their dead neighbor - as they work through domestic struggles while several mysteries unfold in the background.

It stars Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Nicollette Sheridan, and Eva Longoria. Since the pilot episode, Brenda Strong has narrated the show.

The most significant inspiration for this series is probably Sex and the City. Although, Desperate Housewives is much more popular and is based on the portrayals of married women. Although, Sex and the City covered more realistic views on sex, relationships and life. Desperate Housewives is styled as more of a primetime soapie. It has been classifed as a soap opera only because it is very serialized with its storylines.

Desperate Housewives is also the most successful show to ever hit Australian television and is one of the best rated shows in America.

Nielsen Ranking (2004-05 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #4 (23.7 million viewers)^[3]

Season one began airing on October 3, 2004 and featured a total of 23 episodes . The show opens with the mysterious suicide of housewife Mary Alice Young on a beautiful day in the suburbs, on a street called Wisteria Lane. Mary Alice, who narrates the show from the afterlife, had four friends: Bree Van De Kamp, the seemingly-perfect mother (of two teenagers) struggling to save her marriage; Lynette Scavo, the mother of four whose husband is always away on business; Susan Mayer, the divorced mother in search of love, who finds love in the form of her new neighbour Mike Delfino, who has a secret of his own; and Gabrielle Solis, the materialistic ex-runway model who cheats on her husband. While trying to be good wives and mothers, the four friends also try to find out why their friend committed suicide. The discovery of a blackmail note among Mary Alice's belongings, a therapy session tape in which she admits her real name was Angela, and her widowed husband's strange behaviour really make them wonder about the mystery surrounding their deceased friend.

Nielsen Ranking (2005-06 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #4 (22.2 million viewers)^[4]

Season two began airing September 25, 2005 and featured a total of 23 episodes (including a two-hour season finale) and two clip shows. After discovering Mary Alice's dark secret, the housewives continue to move on with their lives. Bree, whose husband just died, is not coping well with being a widow, and is unknowingly dating the man who poisoned her husband to be with her. Susan, still searching for love after breaking up with Mike, ends up in bed with her ex-husband who is now dating the neighborhood hussy, Edie Britt. Lynette goes back to her career in advertising, as her husband Tom becomes a stay-at-home dad. And now-pregnant Gabrielle decides to be faithful to her husband Carlos who is now in jail; just as she starts accepting her upcoming motherhood, she suffers a miscarriage. While managing their busy lives, the women cannot help noticing something suspicious about the new neighbours: Betty (played by Alfre Woodard) and Matthew Applewhite, who moved in in the middle of the night, and are keeping a prisoner in their basement.

Nielsen Ranking (2006-07 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #10 (17.5 million viewers)^[5]

Season three began airing September 24, 2006 and featured a total of 23 episodes and one clip show. It has been six months since Orson Hodge ran Mike over with his car. Bree, who has finally put Rex's death behind her, marries Orson. At their engagement party, a mysterious woman accused him of killing his wife, and as the season progresses, his horrific past is revealed. Lynette, meanwhile, has to adjust to having another child around the house when Tom's ex is killed and they have to take her daughter in. The Scavos also leave their careers to open a pizzeria. Gabrielle divorces Carlos after finding out he cheated on her with their former maid and surrogate mother and finally finds a new love in politician Victor Lang. Edie sees her chance when Mike is shown to suffer from amnesia, and Susan moves onto handsome Englishman Ian Hainsworth. Finally, Edie's son Travers McLain pays a visit, as well as her nephew Austin, who starts a relationship with both Julie and Danielle.

On March 21, 2007, ABC announced that it has renewed Desperate Housewives for a fourth season. The season is due to premiere on ABC (Canada also) on September 23, 2007.

Cherry initially had pitched the series to HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime. ABC was the only network to accept Cherry's offer, although they initially weren't satisfied with the name, suggesting titles like Wisteria Lane and The Secret Lives of Housewives instead.

Before Touchstone offered Desperate Housewives to ABC, in the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; John (the gardener for Carlos and Gabrielle Solis) by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced by Brenda Strong; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks. Strong also guest starred in two Twin Peaks episodes during their second season. Also, in the original pilot, when the camera is pulling away from the housewives after they found the note, there is a ghost of Mary Alice standing on her lawn looking at them.

One of the biggest inspirations for the show was the film American Beauty^{[citation needed]}. The series has also been likened to other TV shows such as Knots Landing, Twin Peaks, and Sex and the City^{[citation needed]}. In relation to its comparison with Sex and the City, Eva Longoria on Oprah mentioned that she hopes Desperate Housewives can do for married women what Sex and the City did for single women. Although, Sex and the City is much less serialized than Desperate Housewives is.

The show's opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. Also alluded to are the lesser known Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple by Robert Dale (drawn in a comic book style similar to that of Roy Lichtenstein) and a 1940s Am I Proud! poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).

The show's theme is composed by Danny Elfman.

Since its US premiere, Desperate Housewives has been broadcasted by the ABC network, with reruns on Lifetime Television. In addition it has been sold to over fifty countries worldwide.

In Australia, the program airs on the Seven Network on Monday nights at around 8.30. In South Africa the series is showing on M-Net & M-Net Series Channel

In the UK where it premiered on January 5, 2005 Channel 4 show the original show on a Wednesday night at 10.00 followed by next week's brand new episode on digital sister channel E4 at 11.00pm. The New Show gets repeated on a Sunday night on E4 as part of Second Chance Sunday which also consists of What About Brian, One Tree Hill (TV series), Ugly Betty, and ER. However all except season premieres and finales (with the exception of season 2 finale) were originally premiered on the 10.00pm Wednesday slot on Channel 4.

Irish TV station RTE 2 have shown the show from January 4, 2005 making it the first terrestrial TV station to broadcast Desperate Housewives within Europe. The show broadcasts from 9.55pm until 10.50pm every Tuesday and has began to be repeated every Friday night any time between 11.30pm and 12.30am. Ireland is normally a day in front of E4.

In February 2007, it was reported that Cherry and key cast members have been contracted until May 2011 (the end of the series' seventh season). Cherry indicated that he would like the show to run for at least seven seasons.^[6]

With the one exception of Kyle MacLachlan the entire current main cast, as at the end of the show's third season, has been on the show since the very first episode. However - only Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher have appeared in every episode.

• Teri Hatcher - Susan Mayer
• Felicity Huffman - Lynette Scavo
• Marcia Cross - Bree Hodge
• Eva Longoria - Gabrielle Solis
• Nicollette Sheridan - Edie Britt
• Alfre Woodard - Betty Applewhite (Season 2, guest starring previous)
• Steven Culp - Rex Van De Kamp (Season 1, guest starring afterwards)
• Ricardo Antonio Chavira - Carlos Solis
• Mark Moses - Paul Young (Seasons 1-2, guest starring afterwards)
• Doug Savant - Tom Scavo (Seasons 2-, guest starring previous)
• Andrea Bowen - Julie Mayer
• Cody Kasch - Zach Young (Seasons 1-2, guest starring afterwards)
• Jesse Metcalfe - John Rowland (Season 1, guest starring afterwards)
• Richard Burgi - Karl Mayer (Season 2, guest starring otherwise)
• Kyle MacLachlan - Orson Hodge (Season 3, guest starring previous)
• Brenda Strong - Mary Alice Young
• James Denton - Mike Delfino
• Shawn Pyfrom - Andrew Van De Kamp (Season 2-3, guest starring previous)
• Joy Lauren - Danielle Van De Kamp (Season 2-3, guest starring previous)
• Roger Bart - George Williams (Season 2, guest starring otherwise)
• Mehcad Brooks - Matthew Applewhite (Season 2, guest starring previous)
• Josh Henderson - Austin McCann (Season 3, up until episode 62)
• Brent Kinsman - Preston Scavo (Season 2-3, guest starring previous)
• Shane Kinsman - Porter Scavo (Season 2-3, guest starring previous)
• Zane Huett - Parker Scavo (Season 2-3, guest starring previous)
• Page Kennedy - Caleb Applewhite (Season 2, up until episode 30)
• Nashawn Kearse - Caleb Applewhite (Season 2, starting with episode 31)

The show has so far had about one hundred recurring actors in addition to the main cast. For a list of every actor credited in two episodes or more of the show, see List of recurring actors on Desperate Housewives.

The set for the street, comprising facades of houses, is located on the Universal Studios backlot. It is referred to by film crews as Colonial Street, and before Desperate Housewives it was used in several motion pictures and televisions shows, starting in the 1950s.

For the first 14 episodes of season one, scenes set in Bree's living room were filmed inside the Young house on the street. To cover up the similarities between the rooms, most of the Youngs' scenes took place in a fictional area of the house, which only existed on a sound stage.

From the outside, Bree's home has a set of windows either side of the front porch. However indoors, windows can only be seen on one side of the front door. This is because the inside of Bree's house is actually shot on a soundstage.

On the street, Lynette's green house is simply a facade, and Bree's house functions solely as restrooms for the production crew.

At the end of Wisteria Lane, by Edie's house, there is a cul-de-sac. However, cars are seen both entering and leaving the neighborhood from there.

The former home of the Applewhites' was also used as the exterior of Herman and Lily Munster in The Munsters. Late in the first season the house underwent a face lift to become less recognisable as the home from The Munsters.

One of the main reasons for Susan burning down Edie's home was that it could be opened up inside, making filming easier for the production crew.

The show was the big success of the 2004-2005 television season, and gained much critical acclaim. Its pilot episode which aired in October 2004, gained a stunning 21.3 million viewers making it the best new drama for the year, the highest rated show of the week, and also the best performance by a pilot for ABC, since Spin City in 1996. ^{[citation needed]}

In the footsteps of the show, the term "desperate housewives" became a cultural phenomenon. This warranted "real" desperate housewives features in magazines and TV shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Phil Show. The show, along with Lost, has been credited with reviving ABC's ratings.^{[citation needed]} Later on, Grey's Anatomy, and more recently, Ugly Betty have helped further this revival.^{[citation needed]} Prominent names like Oprah Winfrey and Michele Lee have stated that they are fans of the show.^{[citation needed]}

However as the series has progressed, critics have noticed its growing disconnect with the stories of real women and have also pointed out how it is gaining characteristics of a soap opera.^{[citation needed]}

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Desperate Housewives on ABC:

By the end of the first season, all the housewives except Eva Longoria were nominated for both a Golden Globe and Emmy. Longoria responded with a skit in the Emmys with Ellen DeGeneres mocking her situation. The following year all four were nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy.

This is a list of the Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards that the show has won.

Golden Globe Awards

• 2005
  • Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series: Musical or Comedy: Teri Hatcher
  • Best TV Series: Musical or Comedy
• 2006
  • Best TV Series: Musical or Comedy

Primetime Emmy Awards

• 2005
  • Outstanding Guest Actress in A Comedy Series: Kathryn Joosten
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman
  • Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Charles McDougall for "Pilot"
  • Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
  • Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
  • Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series ("Pilot")

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2005
  • Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Teri Hatcher
  • Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
• 2006
  • Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman
  • Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

There are four official versions of the show at the moment, all of them approved by ABC and Buena Vista International.

An Argentinan version of the show, Amas de Casa Desesperadas, began airing on 2006. The first season was successful and a second season in now in production.

A Brazilian version, Donas de Casa Desesperadas is currently in production.

A version for Colombia (RCN TV) and Ecuador (Teleamazonas), has finished production and is set to launch in 2007.

In addition, a second US version is being developed for US Spanish-language television network Univision. It will go under the same title as the Argentinean and the Colombian version, Amas de Casa Desesperadas. The show is set to begin production in July 2007.^[10]

Note: In Belgium and the Netherlands (Region 2), the DVD for season 2 was released on September 06.^[12]

In 2005, UK company Re:creation published Desperate Housewives Dirty Laundry Game, a board game based on season one of Desperate Housewives. Players attempt to guess their opponents' secrets while keeping clues to their own secrets concealed by answering trivia questions.

Buena Vista Games released the sim computer game Desperate Housewives: The Game in 2006. The game is set in Wisteria Lane and features an original storyline spanning 12 episodes. You do not play as one of the housewives, but meet them frequently in the game. They are not voiced by the original cast, however, only by sound-alikes.

Gameloft released the Puzzle/mind game called Desperate Housewives in 2006, twenty four exclusive episodes were written by one of the writers to the show.. You play as the housewives, a few others and a new character on a board with dices to reach for three clues before the computer gets them. Including trivia pop-quizzes and puzzles once in a while on certain spots.

In September 2005, Universal Music released Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives.

• ABC Official Homepage
• "Desperate Housewives" at Yahoo! TV
• Channel 4 Official Homepage
• Australian Official Website
• RTÉ Official Homepage

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