Desperate Housewives (2004–2012)

Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood, after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor.

Creator:

Marc Cherry

Stars:

Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 49 wins & 127 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Teri Hatcher	...	Susan Mayer (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Felicity Huffman	...	Lynette Scavo (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Marcia Cross	...	Bree Van De Kamp (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Eva Longoria	...	Gabrielle Solis (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Ricardo Chavira	...	Carlos Solis (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Brenda Strong	...	Mary Alice Young (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
James Denton	...	Mike Delfino (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Doug Savant	...	Tom Scavo (175 episodes, 2004-2012)
Shawn Pyfrom	...	Andrew Van De Kamp (112 episodes, 2004-2012)
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Edie Britt (111 episodes, 2004-2009)
Andrea Bowen	...	Julie Mayer (105 episodes, 2004-2012)
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Orson Hodge (96 episodes, 2006-2012)
Brent Kinsman	...	Preston Scavo (88 episodes, 2004-2011)
Shane Kinsman	...	Porter Scavo (88 episodes, 2004-2011)
Kathryn Joosten	...	Karen McCluskey (87 episodes, 2005-2012)
Zane Huett	...	Parker Scavo (81 episodes, 2004-2010)
Mark Moses	...	Paul Young (74 episodes, 2004-2011)

Storyline

The "normal" suburban life for a group of close-knit housewives takes a dark turn when one of their closest friends mysteriously commits suicide. Now while trying to deal with their own hectic problems and romantic lives, each year brings on a new mystery and more dark and twisted events to come. Life behind closed doors is about to be revealed as suburban life takes a funny and dark turn.

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Plot Keywords:

secret | blackmail | suicide | friend | neighborhood | 

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Taglines:

Secrets. Romance. Murder. All On One Street.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

ABC [us] Canal+ [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beautés déséspérées

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherry Alley Productions, Cherry Productions, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Season 2 episodes that have Stephen Sondheim song titles or lyric references as their show titles (Except where denoted):

• 2.1: Next (Song title from Pacific Overtures)
• 2.2: You Could Drive a Person Crazy (Song title from Company)
• 2.3: You'll Never Get Away from Me (Song title from Gypsy Music by Jule Styne)
• 2.4: My Heart Belongs to Daddy (No Sondheim Reference. Cole Porter Leave It To Me)
• 2.5: They Asked Me Why I Believe in You (Song title from I Believe In You Unproduced)
• 2.6: I Wish I Could Forget You (Song title from Passion)
• 2.7: Color and Light (Song title from Sunday in the Park with George)
• 2.9: That's Good, That's Bad Season (Song title from Hot Spot. Music by Mary Rodgers)
• 2.10: Coming Home (Song title from Bounce)
• 2.11: One More Kiss (Song title from Follies)
• 2.12: We're Gonna Be All Right (Song title from Do I Hear A Waltz? Music by Richard Rodgers)
• 2.13: There's Something About a War (Song title from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum Cut)
• 2.14: Silly People (Song title from A Little Night Music Cut)
• 2.15: Thank You So Much (Song title from Do I Hear A Waltz? Music by Richard Rodgers)
• 2.16: There Is No Other Way (Song title from Pacific Overtures)
• 2.17: Could I Leave You? (Song title from Follies)
• 2.18: Everybody Says Don't (Anyone Can Whistle)
• 2.19: Don't Look at Me (Song title from Follies)
• 2.20: It Wasn't Meant to Happen (Song title from Follies Cut)
• 2.21: I Know Things Now (Song title from Into the Woods)
• 2.22: No One Is Alone (Song title from Into the Woods)
• 2.23 & 2.24 Remember: Part 1 & 2 (Song title from A Little Night Music)

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Goofs

Xiao-Mei would never be able to be a surrogate without having a child of her own first. All reputable surrogacy agencies in the US require their surrogates to have had at least one full-term, live birth before becoming a surrogate.

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Quotes

Mr. Shaw: Sometimes evil drives a minivan.

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Crazy Credits

The 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 Liechtenstein) and a 1940s "Am I Proud!" poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).

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Connections

Featured in La noche desesperada (2007)

User Reviews

The housewives' (and househusbands', and housesinglepeoples') choice.

One of the TV reviewers for "Time Out"'s London edition wondered why "Desperate Housewives" has so handily repeated its American success in Britain. Since not every show that's a hit in America exports well to the UK ("Friends" gathered plenty of them over here, and "CSI: Insert Subtitle Here" has consistently been a key player for what used to be called Channel 5; on the other hand, "Murphy Brown" landed on stony soil when it was shown on BBC2, and don't get UK fans started on how "The West Wing" fares here), that's a good question. Fortunately, there is an answer. In fact, several...

1. Germaine Greer, Janet Street-Porter, the editor of "Cosmopolitan" (UK edition) and the TV critics of "The Times" and "The Mirror" have all pooh-poohed it. Since I respect their opinions in the same way I admire Britney Spears purely for her music, this is pretty much a glowing recommendation.

2. Never discount prior experience; just as many critics noted David Chase's work on "The Rockford Files" when "The Sopranos" started here (and never once gave due credit for that beloved '70s show to Stephen J. Cannell and the late Roy Huggins, but that's another story), so creator Marc Cherry's years on "The Golden Girls" (another show that did well here) may have counted. And though I admit I've never liked her, the goodwill Teri Hatcher built up among viewers of both sexes from playing Lois Lane for four years cannot be overlooked.

3. It strikes a major blow on behalf of those of us who don't give a rodent's rump about reality TV.

4. It fills the "Melrose Place"/"Knots Landing"/primetime soap-sized hole that's been gaping for a while now, even down to having former cast members of same, and does it without wildly OTT acting (making it closer to "Knots Landing" in terms of temperament).

5. The series wisely makes at least one of its main characters (Felicity Huffman's Lynette) seem like someone you could actually imagine meeting (key rule of TV: never make everyone too implausible OR too plausible - if everyone really wanted reality no one would have a TV. Or fiction books...).

6. It's both emotional and funny; and it may take a while to wrap up its plot lines, but if the alternative is a whole load of wad-shooting, I'll be patient.

7. The acting. Hatcher may have top-billing and a Golden Globe (and don't bet against her adding an Emmy in September), but five minutes watching Marcia Cross or the aforementioned Miss Huffman will tell you who the real stars are, acting-wise (the ex-Kimberly should have won the GG, not the ex-Mrs. Superman).

8. The eye-candy; never mind "Which desperate housewife are you?" think "Which desperate housewife do you want to sleep with?" Teri still has plenty of devotees and Nicollette Sheridan remains as hot as she was on "Knots Landing" (even if it's not real, it's spectacular) but it's Eva Longoria who really regularly leads viewers into temptation. And please do not deliver us from Eva. (I'll move on before making a "rod and staff" joke.)

9. They had the good sense to get Danny Elfman to do the theme, and unlike "Point Pleasant," I can understand why he said yes.

Welcome to Wisteria Lane. A great place to visit, thus far.