Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional town of Fairview, the series tracks the lives of four housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries unfold in the background. The tone and style of the series combine elements of drama, comedy, mystery, satire, and soap opera.

Cherry initially pitched the series to HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime; but all turned it down for one reason or another. The series was unique in that it rocketed to the top of the ratings from the premiere episode, and immediately the term "desperate housewives" became a cultural phenomenon, warranting "the real desperate housewives" features in magazines and such TV shows as Dr. Phil and Oprah. The show has been credited with almost single-handedly (along with Lost) reviving the long-dormant fortunes of ABC, whose last major ratings hit had been Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

The show has come under critical fire by religious and conservative groups due to what some consider the seeming lack of morality amongst the characters. Though it is not uncommon for soap opera characters to make melodramatically questionable decisions, in the first season of "Housewives" almost every character (including children) has arguably committed a major crime.

Tagline: Everyone has a little dirty laundry.

Template:Spoiler The show begins with the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), who narrates the episodes from beyond the grave. Mary Alice's suicide left behind a puzzle involving her husband Paul, son Zack, and a mysterious toy chest. The story is unraveled through her four friends and neighbors. The show also follows the mystery of why Mary Alice took her own life and precisely who Mike Delfino really is. At least once every episode, the 'surviving' housewives (Mary Alice was one of the group before her suicide) meet and discuss over either coffee or poker the events in the current storyline.

• Susan Mayer: an attractive but annoyingly self-righteous, and sanctimonious single mother, dating Mike Delfino, the plumber who has just moved in across the street. After a difficult break-up with Karl, her ex-husband, she sufferred from depression for a long time, and was essentially cared for by her daughter, Julie. She sees Mike as an opportunity to find a better life than the one she has been living. She is naturally inquisitive, and is perhaps the driving force behind the housewives' efforts to discover the truth about Mary-Alice. She is particularly suspicious of Paul Young. She dislikes Zach, and worries about the threat he poses to her daughter, describing him as 'rampage-crazy' (whilst admitting that she herself is 'adorable-crazy'). Susan is also a neighborhood gossip and busy-body as she hired a private investigator to uncover the dark secrets of the Youngs and Mike Delfino. She also has a long-running competitveness with Edie Britt.

• Julie Mayer: Susan's 14 year old daughter, who usually helps her deal with problems regarding her love life. She also helped to care for her mother after her divorce. She was briefly romantically involved with Zach Young, but came to find him disturbing and broke up with him.

• Karl Mayer: Susan's ex-husband, Susan divorced him after he left her for his secretary, Brandi. Susan also discovers that he flirted with Edie whilst they were married. Karl is somewhat jealous of Mike, and actually asks to get back together with Susan.

• Sophie Bremmer: Susan's meddling mother, who came to stay with her after she had exaggerated that her boyfriend Morty was abusing her. Shes gets engaged in the episode "Sunday In the Park With George" after reconciling with ex-boyfriend Morty.

• Lynette Lindquist Scavo: an ex-career woman, now mother to three boys (two of whom are twins) and a baby girl. Considered to have been a corporate "shark", she has declined the option to go back to work, but misses it. Her husband, Tom, has been working with his ex-fiancee, Annabel; Lynette will do anything to keep them apart. This ties to her desire to keep her family together, to the extent that she asks Tom's boss not to promote him, so that he won't take trips away. She was hit by her mother, and refuses to spank her own children as a result. However, this pushes her to the limit as the children become more and more badly behaved.

• Tom Scavo: Lynette's husband, who is frequently out of town. Tom has been keeping a secret from his wife that only his father, Rodney Scavo, knows about. Tom decides to become a house-husband after he loses his promotion to Annabel and subsequently quits his job. He seems to genuinely care about Lynette, being prepared to discuss family matters with her if she feels that they need to.

• Preston and Porter Scavo: The Scavos' twin boys. They repeatedly misbehave and drive Lynette to distraction.

• Parker Scavo: The third son of the Scavos. After the twins put gum in his hair, Lynette shaved his head and used Parker to get into a yoga class by pretending he was afflicted with cancer.

• Penny Scavo: A baby girl, 18 months old.

Note: Before Episode 3, Penny's name was Daisy.

• Bree Mason Van De Kamp: described as "Martha Stewart on steroids," Bree is a deeply religious WASP, ultra-conservative ex-young Republican control freak who was trapped in a sterile marriage with Rex, her fed-up husband, and her rebellious children. Bree is obsessively concerned with perfection, keeping up appearances, as shown when Rex claimed "I'm sick of the bizarre way your hair doesn't move," and showing as little emotion as possible, much to the displeasure of her family. She was fiercely determined to save her marriage and would do anything to protect her family, as evidenced by her cover-up of son Andrew's hit-and-run. At the end of Season One, she reconciled with Rex over what happened with their family before he died.

• Rex Van De Kamp: the doctor husband of Bree, it was found out that he had an extra-marital affair with local homemaker/prostitute Maisy Gibbons. He also wanted to divorce Bree because he could no longer "live in this detergent commercial" and because of his inability to ask his wife to dominate him. Rex had a near-fatal heart attack. However, because his pharmacist was in love with Bree and jealous of their marriage, Rex was not receiving the proper medication to prevent further heart complications. As a result, Rex appears to die, due to a heart failure on the season finale, convinced by the doctor that Bree altered his diet and killed him. Rex's "death" may or may not be completely as it seems. Creator Marc Cherry has stated that Rex isnt truly dead, however Marcia Cross has stated that Rex is dead, at least to Bree.

• Andrew Van De Kamp: the highly troubled and possibly sociopathic 16-year-old son of Bree Van De Kamp. He was expelled from school for smoking marijuana on school grounds and was involved in a hit-and-run while under the influence that landed Juanita Solis in the hospital. It has also been revealed that he is gay (or bisexual) following his 'escapades' with John Rowland's roommate Justin. After using his sexuality to manipulate his way out of a juvenile delinquent boot camp, Andrew vowed to play the perfect son for his mother until the day he gets his revenge and destroys her world.

• Danielle Van De Kamp: seemingly the most normal member of the family, 15-year-old daughter Danielle was the head of her school's abstinence club, but Bree discovered she had planned to give up her virginity to her ex-boyfriend, John Rowland, in order to lure him back to her.

• Mother Van De Kamp: Rex's mother, she has a very cold relationship with Bree. She will be played by Shirley Knight

• Gabrielle Solis: a former model who married her husband Carlos for money, but found satisfaction with her teenage gardener John Rowland. She questions her relationship with Carlos, commenting once that she loved him, and all her teenage fantasies had been fulfilled, yet she still wasn't happy. She absolutely despises Carlos' mother Juanita. Towards the end of season one, Gabrielle learns she's pregnant and that her husband has been replacing her birth control pills with sugar pills. She almost left Carlos after finding out the truth about her birth control pills, but she eventually decided to blackmail him into taking complete care of the baby in return for her testimony.

• Carlos Solis: the husband of Gabrielle who has some trouble with the law and a very meddling mother. Carlos wants to begin a family, so much so that he secretly replaced his wife's birth control pills with sugar pills since Gabrielle is against the idea of getting pregnant. Due to apparent financial difficulties, Carlos took a plea bargain which forces him to serve eight months in jail; separately, he was going to be tried in two hate crimes against two gay men (the family cable guy & Justin) whom he thought were having affairs with Gabrielle. Gabrielle originally refused to get him off doing extra time after finding out it was him who messed with her birth control, but then she decided to blackmail him into taking complete care of the baby in exchange for her testimony.

• Juanita Solis: the deceased nosy mother of Carlos, who was convinced that Gabrielle was cheating on him with another man, she had obtained photographic evidence of the affair moments before being accidentally run over by Andrew Van De Kamp. She remained in a coma for five months before awakening, only to fall to her death down a flight of stairs at the hospital. Before dying Juanita told a nurse of Gabrielle's infidelity; however, the nurse couldn't hear her because she was wearing headphones and listening to loud music.

• Mary Alice Young / Angela Forrest: The deceased wife of Paul Young, who one day decided to end her life by committing suicide, narrates the show from beyond the grave. Her real name is Angela Forrest and she worked with Martha Huber's sister Felicia Tillman at a rehabilitation clinic in Utah 15 years prior. One of her patients at the rehabilition clinic was a drug-addict (Dierdre Taylor) who gave birth to a baby boy named "Dana". Deirdre sold the baby to her in order to feed her drug habit. Mary Alice was scared the police might find out that she had "Dana" in her possession, so she moved to Fairview where she re-named the baby Zach and changed her name to Mary Alice Young (to try and avoid being traced). In a flashback we see Felicia Tillman explaining the whole story to Mrs. Huber who in turn writes the blackmail note which gets sent to Mary Alice. After receiving this note, Mary Alice killed herself. Later Paul Young killed Mrs. Huber to avenge his wife's death. Mary Alice is the murderer of Dierdre Taylor (when Dierdre returned several years later and demanded the child back) whom she stabbed in the chest, before cutting her body up and stuffing her in a toy chest. Witnessed by Zach as a small child.

• Paul Young: The widower of Mary Alice, who tried to find out exactly what caused her death and who sent the note to her. When he found out it was his neighbour Martha Huber, he strangled her and dumped the body, but he also put Martha Huber's bracelet and ring in Mike Delfino's garage to try and frame him. He helped his wife dispose of Dierdre Taylor's body after Mary Alice killed her. He also had been drugging his son with tranquilizers to keep him from seeing Felicia Tillman. It was believed that Mike wanted to kill him to get revenge for Dierdre, however, Mike spared him. Until this day, Paul's former name has not been revealed...

• Zach Young / Dana: The mentally unstable son of Paul, he found love in the form of Julie Mayer who befriended him. Zach eventually got her to agree to let him stay in her bedroom after he had escaped from a juvenile rehabilitation center. This innocent infatuation turned into a strong obsession, and he was dumped by Julie. Early in season one Zach was disturbed with visions of killing his younger sister, Dana. However, later it was discovered that Zach's original name was "Dana". Zach has been commonly referred to in many forums now as "Zana." Zach is the biological son of Dierdre Taylor, who was killed by Mary Alice while attempting to take her child back after recovering from drug addiction. There is a possibility that Zach's biological father is Mike Delfino, however Mike was not aware that Deirdre had a son until the season one finale.

• Mike Delfino: a man who posed as the friendly neighborhood plumber, but who was actually working to find his former girlfriend (Dierdre Taylor) who had been missing for years and whose father, Noah, was dying. It was discovered that the toy chest that was dug up from the Young family pool contained the remains of Dierdre. Delfino was at one point convicted of dealing drugs and committing manslaughter when he accidentally killed a corrupt cop who was forcing Dierdre to have sex with him to keep quiet about her drug addiction (Dierdre, not Mike, was the drug dealer). Mike is possibly Zach Young's biological father. There is also a possibility that the corrupt cop could be Zach's biological father however either way this has not yet been revealed.

• Dana / Zach Young: The mentally unstable son of Paul, he found love in the form of Julie Mayer who befriended him. Zach eventually got her to agree to let him stay in her bedroom after he had escaped from a juvenile rehabilitation center. This innocent infatuation turned into a strong obsession, and he was dumped by Julie. Early in season one Zach was disturbed with visions of killing his younger sister, Dana. However, later it was discovered that Zach's original name was "Dana". Zach has been commonly referred to in many forums now as "Zana." Zach is the biological son of Dierdre Taylor, who was killed by Mary Alice while attempting to take her child back after recovering from drug addiction. There is a possibility that Zach's biological father is Mike Delfino, however Mike was not aware that Deirdre had a son until the season one finale.

• Deirdre Taylor: Mike Delfino's ex-girlfriend who was on drugs, Zach's biological mother and the woman Mary Alice killed and stuffed inside a toy chest. She appears in the season finale of season one. The Taylor family and Mike Delfino are believed by many to be Italian Mafia... That Noah is a Godfather, and that Mike was his number one man and the fiance of his daughter... The basis is primarily on Mike's Italian last name, and the dark nature of the Taylor Family, if true Diedre's depression could have stemmed from their complicated family...

• Noah Taylor: The father of Dierdre and Kendra Taylor, and the grandfather of Zach. Noah first appeared on Episode 5, where Mike met him in Fairview Park to discuss his break-in at the From Residence. Noah came off as a bitter old man after being nasty to the local kids in front of Mike. He then reappears in Episode 12, where Mike visits his mansion where it is revealed that Noah hired Mike to find his daughter Dierdre, who is also Mike's ex-girlfriend and first love. Noah had felt that Mike abandoned his daughter by finding a nice wife. However, it is believed that Noah was exagerating, and that Mike married his 1st wife after Dierdre had ran away from home, and after Mike got out of prison. Noah arranged for Mike to murder Dierdre's killer and decided to put him back on his payroll. Noah had fired him because of his slow pace, which was a major flaw due to Noah's brain tumor. Noah made it clear that he had only 1 year left. Mike returned with Noah's money. On Episode 15, Noah appears again to discuss Martha Huber's murder and how her watch got into Mike's garage. Noah points out that whoever did it probably killed Dierdre. On Episode 19 Noah is seen in a cemetery where he tells Mike about Dierdre's death, and that she had been stuffed into a toy chest (the same chest Paul had in his pool and put into Rock Water Lake). Noah arranged for Sullivan to give Mike the case file on Dierdre's murder and bribed him to keep quiet to prevent Mike from being imprisoned, where Mike discovered that the Youngs did it. Noah appears for a final time on Season 1 in Episode 21, where Noah attempts to break up Susan and Mike forever, by giving Susan false information about Mike's criminal records. Surprisingly enough, Kendra comes to the rescue and sets Susan straight. Who Noah is, still remains unknown. Rumors now suggest that he is a Mafia Godfather, and that Mike was his No.1 Man and the fiance of his daughter, until this day, the truth about the Taylors is a mystery...

• Kendra Taylor: The older sister of Dierdre Taylor, the oldest daughter of Noah Taylor, and the aunt of Zach. Kendra first appeared on Episode 7, where she came to check up on Mike's investigation and the progress of his work, making Susan think she was an ex-girlfriend in the act. After settling in at Mike's place, Kendra made it very clear that she cared for Noah's inheritence money, and only herself when she told Mike to stop looking for her own sister. Mike seems to have a grudge against Kendra based on his continous nasty attitude toward her displayed on Episodes 7 and 21. It is believed that Kendra was always jealous of Dierdre, that she was always 2nd to her and living in her shadow. Rumors now suggest that Kendra might have known about Dierdre's preagnancy and that Kendra might have had something to do with pushing Dierdre into running away from home... the truth about the Taylor Family conflict has not been fully revealed to this day...

Template:Spoiler

Mid-Way through the season, almost all posters on Desperate Housewives messageboards have speculated that Dierdre was Zach's mother... On the Season 1 Finale it was revealed that this was indeed the case... Afterwards the identity of the father was in question... this twist in the show has polarized viewers into believing differently regarding Zach's (Dana's) paternity...

Viewers have been divided into 3 Categories

• People that believe Mike Delfino is Zach's Father

The most common and obvious explanation was that Mike was Dierdre's boyfriend and he left Dierdre preagnant after being imprisoned

Supportive Evidence

1. Mike and Dierdre's romantic relationship
2. Continous mirroring between the Susan / Mike and Julie / Zach relationships (Like Mother like Daughter, Like Father like Son)
3. Mike's statement about wanting to have kids (Susan does not want too have kids)
4. The continous focus on the the photograph of Mike and Dierdre together (Zach could be the product of the two)
5. Susan and Zach's relationships (Comparable to Bongo, element of Mike's relationship with another woman in his life, could stand in Susan's way)
6. Dierdre would abort a baby fathered by a man she didn't care anything about

Arguments

1. Mike was imprisoned in 1987, Dierdre gave birth to Dana in 1989

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: Timetables in this show have already been defied, this could easily occur again

1. Deirdre hated Mike towards the end of their relationship, she would not have sex with him

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: See Above

• People that believe the Corrupt Cop is Zach's father

Before Episode 21, most viewers who predicted that Dierdre was Zach's mother believed that Mike was the father without a shadow of a doubt. However, Kendra shocked viewers as she told Susan that Dierdre had been raped. Thus a new theory was born... The second argument is that the Corrupt Cop impreagnated Dierdre before falling off the balcony

Supportive Evidence

1. Dierdre was raped by this man

Arguments

1. The Corrupt Cop would not have reached an orgasm before Mike broke in

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: It could have been an on going thing between Dierdre and the Cop

1. Dierdre would probably abort a baby fathered by a rape

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: Catholic Faith

• People that believe an unknown man is Zach's father

Before Episode 23, viewers were split 50 / 50 regarding Zach's paternity. However, on the Season Finale, it was clear Dierdre was a wild girl, going to crackhouses while having an infant son, selling your baby for drugs and sex, the possibility of just anybody being the father arose!!!

Supportive Evidence

1. Dierdre had ran away from home, she could have slept with any guy in Utah
2. Dierdre was the wild type, care free, would have sex with a random guy

Arguments

1. Dierdre would probably abort a baby fathered by a man she did not know

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: CATHOLIC FAITH

SPOILER: ZACH'S TRUE FATHER On July 25, 2005... it was revealed that Mike Delfino is in fact Zach's Biological Father through a Spoiler Leak

Source: http://www.spoilerfix.com/desperate.php

NOTE: The First person to Predict Mike and Zach were father and son (After Episode 2 in Mid October) was the notorious Vanessa Short (PzzSchool) of the ABC Desperate Housewives Messageboard... President of the Susan Mayer Hate Club

• Betty Applewhite: The first African-American housewife joined the series as a recurring guest in the final episode of season one, and will join as part of the main cast in season two. She is a single mother, with strong religious beliefs and is also rumoured to be a former concert pianist.

• Matthew Applewhite: Matthew is Betty's only child, and struggles under her extreme religious views and her over-protectiveness. He is suspected to have a future role on the show in the field of carpentry, as a side plot to Mike Delfino's plumbing business.

• Edie Britt: a serial divorcee, man-hungry real estate agent who tried to steal Mike away when not having sex with someone else. It was found out that even after all this time she was still interested in trying to move in on Mike. In the pilot episode, Martha Huber mentions Edie has a son but he is never seen or mentioned again in season 1, however it was recently confirmed that he will appear in season 2.

• John Rowland: Gabrielle and Carlos's (former) 18 year old gardener, he was having an affair with Gabrielle until Juanita discovered their secret. John was then convinced that the connection between Gabrielle and him meant a lot more than just sex. He proposed to her, but Gabrielle, who was threatened with legal proceedings by his parents, talked him out of it. John also had a relationship with Danielle Van De Kamp, until Bree asked him to be brutally honest with her. However after Carlos abused Gabrielle, she came running right back into his arms. Carlos found out that John was the one having the affair with Gabrielle at the end of season one, Carlos promised John that he "would kill him".

• George Williams: The Van De Kamp family pharmacist, who started to have a relationship with Bree after she found out that Rex was having an extra-marital affair with Maisy Gibbons. Things were going extremely well until Bree shot off his toe (by accident) with a gun that was given to her as a gift by George. He returned after a short absence and started to lust after Bree. Rex immediately took offence to his advances on his wife and it culminated with him being pushed into a pool at Carlos Solis's going-away party. It had been found out that he is obsessed with Bree, as can be noted by the scene showing him watching surveillance footage of her, and had been doing anything in his power to destroy the Van De Kamps' already rocky marriage. He is now responsible for the death of Rex Van De Kamp through his tampering with Rex's prescription drugs, though some speculate that the so-called "death" may have been a stunt pulled off by Rex himself.

• Annabel Foster: Tom Scavo's ex-fiancee, Lynette is extremely jealous of her and has been doing anything she can to break her up from Tom. She gets the promotion of Vice President which Tom was eyeing.

• Claire: a nanny who was hired by Lynette to help her take care of her kids. However, she was fired by Lynette after it was found out she was sexually exciting her husband.

• Felicia Tilman: Martha Huber's sister, she always hated Martha. She was originally working in Utah with Mary Alice Young when she was a nurse by the name of Angela Forrest, she came to Fairview to find out what happened to her sister, and ends up exposing Zach Young to the truth about himself that Paul has kept hidden from him. She had been entrusted with Zach's care after she blackmailed Paul Young into giving him up. But she was attacked with a hockey stick courtesy of Zach and it is unknown what condition she is in.

• Maisy Gibbons: a woman who was found to be selling sex to various men around the neighborhood, including Rex Van De Kamp. She was arrested during season one and her "little black book" with all the names of her clients was publicly exposed.

• Martha Huber: a nosy neighbor who sent Mary Alice Young the blackmail note which led to her suicide, which was discovered by her after hearing a shot from her kitchen. She was killed by Paul Young in the first season. Martha has a sister, Felicia Tilman, who coincidentally knew Mary Alice and was very suspicious of Paul Young.

• Justin: John's roommate, he has been having a sexual relationship with Andrew Van De Kamp, and he - at least - has developed emotional feelings. He was beaten up by Carlos Solis on suspicion of having an affair with Gabrielle.

• Lynette's Boss: A woman boss to be played by Joely Fisher, little is known except that she will be Lynette Scavo's Boss.

• Teri Hatcher - Susan Mayer
• Felicity Huffman - Lynette Scavo
• Marcia Cross - Bree Van De Kamp
• Eva Longoria - Gabrielle Solis
• Nicolette Sheridan - Edie Britt
• Ricardo Chavira - Carlos Solis
• Andrea Bowen - Julie Mayer
• Cody Kasch - Zach Young / Dana
• Brenda Strong - Mary Alice Young / Angela Forrest
• James Denton - Mike Delfino
• Doug Savant - Tom Scavo (Season 2 - )
• Richard Burgi - Karl Mayer (Season 2 - )
• Roger Bart - George Williams (Season 2 - )
• Alfre Woodard - Betty Applewhite (Season 2 - )
• Mehcad Brooks - Matthew Applewhite (Season 2 - )
• Steven Culp - Rex Van De Kamp (Season 1)
• Mark Moses - Paul Young (Season 1)
• Jesse Metcalfe - John Rowland (Season 1)

• Zane Huett - Parker Scavo (24 Episodes)
• Shane Kinsman - Porter Scavo (24 Episodes)
• Brent Kinsman - Preston Scavo (24 Episodes)
• Shawn Pyfrom - Andrew Van De Kamp (12 Episodes)
• Harriet Sansom Harris - Felicia Tilman (10 Episodes)
• Joy Lauren - Danielle Van De Kamp (9 Episodes)
• Christine Estabrook - Martha Huber (9 Episodes)
• Richard Roundtree - Jerry Shaw (7 Episodes)
• Lucille Soong - Yao Lin (7 Episodes)
• Lupe Ontiveros - Juanita Solis (6 Episodes)
• Ryan Carnes - Justin (5 Episodes)
• Bob Gunton - Noah Taylor (5 Episodes)
• Lesley Ann Warren - Sophie Bremmer (4 Episodes)
• Melinda McGraw - Annabel Foster (4 Episodes)
• Sam Lloyd - Dr. Albert Goldfine (4 Episodes)
• Emily Christine - Ashley Bukowski (3 Episodes)
• Marla Sokoloff - Claire (3 Episodes)
• Sharon Lawrence - Maisy Gibbons (3 Episodes)
• Jolie Jenkins - Dierdre Taylor (3 Episodes)
• Heather Stephens - Kendra Taylor (2 Episodes)
• Bob Newhart - Morty (2 Episodes)
• Kathryn Joosten - Karen McCluskey (2 Episodes)
• Marlee Matlin - Alisha Stevens (1 Episode)
• Rick Ravanello - Bill Cunningham (1 Episode)
• Ryan O'Neal - Rodney Scavo (1 Episode)

¹ On April 24, 2005 a special episode aired called "Desperate Housewives: Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry". The episode was interestingly enough not narrated by Brenda Strong. It replayed memorable moments from season one as well as gave viewers a preview of the season finale.

In its first season out, Desperate Housewives was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy. On January 16, 2005, it won that top honor, and star Teri Hatcher won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross were nominated as well). Nicolette Sheridan was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

On July 14, 2005, the show was nominated for 15 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series and three nominations in the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series category for Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman. Nicolette Sheridan nor Eva Longoria were nominated in any Emmy acting category.

At the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards or SAG Awards Desperate Housewives picked up two awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (for Teri Hatcher) and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

• In the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; Gardener John Rowland by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced, of course, by Brenda Strong for the series; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks.

• Opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including American Gothic and The Arnolfini Portrait

• Every episode title in the first season references a song title, many of them by Stephen Sondheim: they include Every Day a Little Death and The Ladies Who Lunch.

• Various sources on the Internet and in the press have stated that the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey and Miranda Richardson (Richardson, in fact was considered, but declined the role of an English nanny) have expressed interest in guest starring on the show, however, it is unlikely they will ever get the opportunity as the producers do not want big names to distract the viewer from the plot.

Note: Oprah Winfrey did appear in one episode of Desperate Housewives but it has only appeared in a special episode of Oprah.

• On April 13, 2005, Touchstone Television announced Alfre Woodard would join the Desperate Housewives cast starting from the second season as the first African-American 'wife' on the street. On April 22, Touchstone announced Mehcad Brooks would also join as Woodard's son.

• The show's set is on the Universal Studios backlot and has been used for decades in many TV and movie productions to represent a typical American suburban neighborhood. It includes the houses used in The Munsters and the 1989 film The Burbs. An aerial photograph of the set is available from Microsoft TerraServer. [1]

• Steven Culp confirmed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he would not return at all next year and that his character really is dead. He also said that the cast is expendable and at any time a character can die without the actor knowing.

• Charles Pratt Jr., head writer of ABC's successful daytime soap General Hospital, is a consultant on the series.

• Producer: Touchstone Television
• Theme music composer: Danny Elfman

• United States and Canada: October 3, 2004 on ABC (US) and CTV (Canada) Was also presented in French on Radio-Canada during the summer of 2005 (Canada)
• Germany: October 14, 2004 on Premiere (German pay TV, undubbed original version).
• Brazil: November 4, 2004 on Sony Entertainment Television
• Ireland: January 4, 2005 on RTÉ Two.
• United Kingdom: January 5, 2005 on Channel 4 (each episode followed by a première of the next on E4 - which therefore did not initially screen episode 1, but re-ran episodes 1 and 2 later in the first week).
• Norway: January 11, 2005 on TV 2 as Frustrerte fruer (season 1 was concluded on July 5)
• Belgium: January 21, 2005 on één.
• Australia: January 31, 2005 on the Seven Network. This registered 2.5 million viewers, one of the highest for a premiere in Australian history.
• Singapore: January 31, 2005 on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.
• Croatia: February 17, 2005 on Nova TV as Kućanice
• Italy: February 22, 2005 on FOX Life (pay TV); September 12, 2005 on Rai Due.
• Turkey: February 28, 2005 on CNBC-é.
• Netherlands: March 1, 2005 on Net 5.
• Denmark: March 2, 2005 on TV 2
• Spain: March 3, 2005 on FOX as "Mujeres desesperadas".
• Sweden: March 29, 2005 on Kanal 5.
• Switzerland: April 11, 2005 on SF DRS
• Germany: April 12, 2005 on PRO 7 (free-to-air, dubbed in German).
• Mexico: May 3, 2005 on Canal 7 (VHF). However, it was initially broadcasted in Sony Entertainment Television several months ago.
• Hong Kong: May 12, 2005 on TVB Pearl.
• Portugal: May 22, 2005 on SIC, as Donas de Casa Desesperadas. However, it was also broadcasted on FOX, two weeks before the show was broadcasted on SIC.
• India: July, 2005 on Star World.
• Malaysia: July 5, 2005 on 8tv and Star World.
• New Zealand: July 18, 2005 on TV2

• Template:Google Video Search1
• ABC: Desperate Housewives
• Desperate Housewives (2004-present) at IMDb
• Get Desperate! - unofficial news site
• Desperate.TV
• DesperateHousewives.org
• Desperate Housewives Forum
• Television Without Pity
• Desperate Days
• Desperatefans.org
• Wisteria.tv - Desperate Housewives