Desperate Housewives

Last updated
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives Logo.svg
Genre
Created by Marc Cherry
Starring
Narrated by
Theme music composer Danny Elfman
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes180 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Charles Skouras III
  • Stephanie Hagen
  • Alexandra Cunningham
  • Jamie Gorenberg
  • Kevin Etten
  • Tracey Stern
  • Patty Lin
  • Annie Weisman
Production locations
EditorKaren Castañeda
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time43 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseOctober 3, 2004 (2004-10-03) 
May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13)
Related

Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama mystery television series created by Marc Cherry and 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.

Contents

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 died 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 2013–2018 (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. [1]

Desperate Housewives was well received by viewers and critics alike, receiving many accolades. 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. [2] In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million [3] and was also reported as the third-most-watched television series in a study of ratings in twenty countries. [4] 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. [5] [6] Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue-earning series for 2010, with $2.74 million per half an hour. [7] The show was ranked at number fifty-six on Entertainment Weekly 's "New TV Classics" list. [8]

In August 2011, it was confirmed that the eighth season of Desperate Housewives would be the show's last; the series finale aired on May 13, 2012. [9] [10] [11] By the end of the series, it had surpassed Charmed with the most episodes in an hour-long television series featuring all female leads.

Premise

The first season premiered on October 3, 2004, and introduces the four central characters of the show: Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, as well as their families and neighbors on Wisteria Lane. The main mystery of the season is the unexpected suicide of Mary Alice Young, and the involvement of her husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and their son Zach (Cody Kasch) in the events leading up to it. Susan fights promiscuous neighbour Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) for the affection of new neighbor Mike Delfino (James Denton), Lynette struggles to cope with her four demanding children, Bree fights to save her marriage to Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp) while dealing with her rebellious son Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), and Gabrielle tries to prevent her husband Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) from discovering that she is having an affair with their gardener, John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe). The first season is also marked by mystery surrounding the murder of a neighbour and some secrets revealed about Zach, Mike, and Paul. At the end of the season both Paul and Zach go missing.

The Applewhite house, focus of Desperate Housewives' season-long mystery from 2005 to 2006 WisteriaLanePurpleHouse.jpg
The Applewhite house, focus of Desperate Housewives' season-long mystery from 2005 to 2006

The second season premiered on September 25, 2005, and its central mystery is that of new neighbor Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard), who moves onto Wisteria Lane with her son Matthew in the middle of the night. She keeps someone prisoner in her basement who tries to escape multiple times. Throughout the season, Bree tries to cope with being a widow, unknowingly begins dating the man who had poisoned her husband, fights alcoholism, and is unable to prevent the gap between her and her son Andrew from growing to extremes, and deals with her daughter Danielle's new romance with Matthew Applewhite. Susan's love life becomes even more complicated as she has serious conflicts with Mike, and her ex-husband Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi) who is engaged to Edie, also starts to lean towards Susan. Lynette goes back to her career in advertising while her husband Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) becomes a stay-at-home father, and Gabrielle decides to be faithful to Carlos, who is now in prison after being double-crossed by a business partner, and begins preparations to have a child. Paul is framed and sent to jail, not for the murder he committed in the previous season, but for a fake one. Paul's son Zack reconnects with his wealthy maternal grandfather.

The third season premiered on September 24, 2006. In the third season, Bree marries Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), whose past and involvement with a recently discovered dead body becomes the main mystery of the season. Meanwhile, Lynette has to adjust to the arrival of Tom's previously unknown daughter and her mother to the family. The Scavos also experience tension as Tom wants to start a pizzeria. Gabrielle goes through a rough divorce, tries to get back into modelling, but finally finds new love in Fairview's new mayor, Victor Lang. After being run over by Orson in the previous season finale, Mike falls into a coma and suffers from amnesia when he wakes up. Edie sees her chance to make her move on Mike, and her family relations are explored throughout the season. Susan loses hope that Mike's memory will return and in the process moves on to a handsome Englishman whose wife is also in a coma, while her daughter Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen) starts dating Edie's nephew, of which Susan disapproves. Elderly neighbor Karen McCluskey (Kathryn Joosten) hides something in her freezer. A shooting at the local grocery store leaves two characters dead and changes everyone's lives forever.

The fourth season premiered on September 30, 2007, [12] and its main mystery revolves around new neighbor Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) and her family, who return to Wisteria Lane after twelve years away. Lynette battles cancer; the newlywed—but unhappy—Gabrielle starts an affair with her ex-husband Carlos; Susan and Mike enjoy life as a married couple and learn that they are expecting a child; Bree fakes a pregnancy and plans to raise her teenage daughter's illegitimate child as her own; and Edie schemes to hold on to her new love, Carlos, who has moved in with Mike as an interim arrangement. A gay couple from Chicago—Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm) and Bob Hunter (Tuc Watkins)—become residents of Wisteria Lane. A tornado threatens to destroy everything, and everyone, that the housewives hold dear. In the closing minutes, the characters and their story have flashed forward by five years.

The house of Katherine Mayfair on Wisteria Lane, as seen on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2010 KathrynsHouse.JPG
The house of Katherine Mayfair on Wisteria Lane, as seen on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2010

The fifth season premiered on September 28, 2008, with the time period jumping forward five years after the previous season, with some flashbacks to events which happened between the two periods. The season mystery revolves around Edie's new husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), who is looking for revenge on someone on Wisteria Lane (later revealed to be Mike because of a road accident Mike and Susan were involved in that killed Dave's wife and daughter). Susan and Mike are divorced due to the accident putting pressure on their marriage. Susan deals with being a single mother and having a new romance with her painter, while Mike starts dating Katherine. Lynette and Tom learn that their now teenage son Porter is having an affair with a married woman whose husband's nightclub burns down with all of Wisteria Lane's neighbors inside. Gabrielle struggles with Carlos' blindness, triggered in an injury during the tornado in season 4; two overweight young daughters; and a financial crisis. Bree and Orson have marriage problems because Bree had pressured Orson into doing time in prison for running over Mike and he resents her. She has become too focused on her career as a successful cookbook writer and caterer, and her daughter Danielle had come to claim back her son while Orson was in prison. Edie dies of electrocution after a car crash, before she can expose Dave's motives moments after she discovers his secret.

The sixth season premiered on Sunday, September 27, 2009, at 9pm. [13] The main mystery of this season is surrounding new neighbor Angie Bolen (Drea de Matteo) and her family. The first half of the season consists of Julie being strangled by an unknown person, the conflict between Gabrielle and her niece Ana Solis (Maiara Walsh), Karen McCluskey finding new love, Lynette's attempts to sue her new boss Carlos for firing her for getting pregnant, Katherine's eventual mental breakdown at losing Mike to Susan, and Bree's affair with Karl, which ends tragically when Karl's hired plane crashes into a building with him and Orson inside, killing Karl and leaving Orson paraplegic. The second half of the season focuses on Katherine experimenting with her sexuality, Lynette unknowingly inviting the Fairview strangler to stay with them before discovering the truth, the conflict between Bree and a son of Rex whom he had before meeting her, and the solving of the Bolen mystery.

The seventh season premiered on September 26, 2010, [14] and its main mystery is Paul's return to Wisteria Lane with a new wife and with plans of punishing the residents for shunning him during his incarceration, while an old nemesis of his still plans to get her own revenge on him. Lynette's best friend from college Renee Perry (Vanessa Williams) moves onto the lane and stirs things up among the other housewives. Gabrielle and Carlos learn an unsettling fact about their daughter Juanita Solis (Madison De La Garza) (who was switched at birth), which ultimately leads them back to Gabrielle's home town of Las Colinas. A now divorced Bree starts dating her contractor, and reveals the truth about the death of Carlos' mother Juanita at the hands of her son Andrew in the second season, consequently ending the friendship between the Solis family and Bree. Due to financial problems, Susan and her family have moved off the lane, and Susan is forced to earn money by doing pornography. Following a major riot on the lane, Susan is injured and put on the waiting list for a vital organ donation. Lynette persuades Tom to take an exciting new job, which leads to unprecedented problems in their marriage.

The eighth and final season premiered on Sunday, September 25, 2011. [15] The main mystery of the season is the death of Gabrielle's perverted stepfather Alejandro Perez (Tony Plana) at Carlos' hands, and its cover-up by the four housewives, which occurred in the previous season finale. After the murder, Bree receives a blackmail letter from an unknown person similar to the one Mary Alice had received in the first season. Due to her relationship with detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake), Bree becomes the main character affected by the cover-up of Alejandro's murder, and is eventually accused of killing Alejandro herself. A new neighbor, Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure), moves onto the lane, attracting Renee along the way. Ben is going through severe financial problems, and resorts to a dangerous and unruly loan shark to bail him out. Mike meddles in the business of Ben's loan shark in an attempt to protect Renee, but he is eventually shot dead by the loan shark. During the first half of the season, Susan struggles with the guilt of her involvement in the Alejandro case, and during the second half, she tries to deal with both Julie's unexpected pregnancy at the hands of Lynette's son Preston and Mike's death. Following the cover-up of Alejandro's murder, Carlos develops an alcohol problem, but Gabrielle persuades him to recover in rehab, which eventually results in Gabrielle and Carlos switching house roles. Tom moves out of the family home, and Lynette struggles to come to terms with how quickly Tom seems to have moved on, until she accepts that she is still in love with him, and decides she will try to win him back. Mrs. McCluskey receives worrying news about her health and decides to end it all, but Bree manages to convince her otherwise.

The two-hour series finale, which aired on Sunday, May 13, 2012, featured the conclusion of Bree's court case. To bring the series to a conclusion, there was a wedding, a birth, and a death, and the future of the four main housewives was revealed.

Cast and characters

During its premiere season, the show featured thirteen starring actors, all credited in the opening sequence. For the show's second year, several actors, mainly child and teenage ones, who had guest starred during the first season, were promoted to series regulars without having their names included in the opening sequence. Instead, they were billed as "also starring" during the first minutes of each episode, together with episode guest stars. This practice continued for the rest of the season.

Legend

  = Starring cast (credited)
  = Also starring cast (credited)
  = Recurring cast (3+)
  = Guest cast (1–2)
ActorCharacterSeason
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Starring
Teri Hatcher Susan Mayer Main
Felicity Huffman Lynette Scavo Main
Marcia Cross Bree Van de Kamp Main
Eva Longoria Gabrielle Solis Main
Nicollette Sheridan Edie Britt MainDoes not appear
Steven Culp Rex Van de Kamp Main Special Guest Guest [lower-alpha 2] Does not appearSpecial GuestDoes not appearSpecial Guest [lower-alpha 3]
Ricardo Antonio Chavira Carlos Solis Main
Mark Moses Paul Young Main Recurring Does not appearGuest [lower-alpha 4] MainGuest
Andrea Bowen Julie Mayer MainGuest Also starring GuestRecurring
Jesse Metcalfe John Rowland MainRecurring [lower-alpha 5] Special GuestDoes not appearSpecial GuestDoes not appear
Cody Kasch Zach Young MainRecurringDoes not appearRecurringDoes not appear
Brenda Strong Mary Alice Young Main
James Denton Mike Delfino Main
Alfre Woodard Betty Applewhite Special GuestMainDoes not appear
Doug Savant Tom Scavo RecurringMain
Richard Burgi Karl Mayer RecurringMainGuestRecurringDoes not appearGuest [lower-alpha 6]
Kyle MacLachlan Orson Hodge Does not appearRecurring [lower-alpha 7] MainSpecial GuestRecurring [lower-alpha 7]
Dana Delany Katherine Mayfair Does not appearMainDoes not appearSpecial Guest
Neal McDonough Dave Williams Does not appearMainDoes not appear
Shawn Pyfrom Andrew Van de Kamp RecurringAlso starringMainRecurring [lower-alpha 7] Special Guest
Drea de Matteo Angie Bolen Does not appearMainDoes not appear
Maiara Walsh Ana Solis Does not appearGuestMainDoes not appear
Kathryn Joosten Karen McCluskey GuestRecurringMain [lower-alpha 8] Also starring
Vanessa Williams Renee Perry Does not appearMain
Kevin Rahm Lee McDermott Does not appearRecurringMainAlso starring
Tuc Watkins Bob Hunter Does not appearRecurringMainAlso starring
Jonathan Cake Chuck Vance Does not appearRecurring [lower-alpha 7] Main [lower-alpha 9]
Charles Mesure Ben Faulkner Does not appearMain [lower-alpha 10]
Madison De La Garza Juanita Solis Does not appearRecurringAlso starringMain
Also starring
Joy Lauren Danielle Van de KampRecurringAlso starringGuest
Mehcad Brooks Matthew ApplewhiteGuestAlso starringDoes not appear
Brent Kinsman Preston ScavoRecurringAlso starringGuestDoes not appear
Max Carver Does not appearAlso starringRecurringGuest
Shane Kinsman Porter ScavoRecurringAlso starringGuestDoes not appear
Charlie Carver Does not appearAlso starring
Zane Huett Parker ScavoRecurringAlso starringDoes not appearGuestDoes not appear
Joshua Logan MooreDoes not appearAlso starring
Roger Bart George WilliamsRecurringAlso starring [lower-alpha 11] Does not appearGuest [lower-alpha 6]
Page Kennedy Caleb ApplewhiteDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
NaShawn Kearse Does not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
Josh Henderson Austin McCannDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
Lyndsy Fonseca Dylan MayfairDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appearGuestDoes not appear
Rachel Fox Kayla ScavoDoes not appearRecurringAlso starringDoes not appear
Kendall ApplegatePenny ScavoDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
Darcy Rose Byrnes Does not appearAlso starring
Jeffrey Nordling Nick BolenDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
Beau Mirchoff Danny BolenDoes not appearAlso starringDoes not appear
Mason Vale Cotton M.J. DelfinoDoes not appearRecurringAlso starring
Cast Notes
  1. Credited as Touchstone Television for first 3 seasons
  2. Voice only.
  3. In season 8, Culp also makes an uncredited cameo appearance in "Finishing the Hat" (8x23) in addition to his credited appearance in "Women and Death" (8x17).
  4. Moses makes an uncredited cameo in "I Guess This Is Goodbye" (6x23).
  5. Metcalfe is credited as a guest star in all of his appearances during the second season with the exception of "Remember, Part 2" (2x24) where he is credited as a special guest star.
  6. 1 2 Makes an uncredited cameo appearance in "Finishing the Hat" (8x23).
  7. 1 2 3 4 Credited as a special guest star in a recurring capacity.
  8. Joosten is credited as "starring" from "I Guess This Is Goodbye" (6x23) to "Come on Over for Dinner" (7x23). She is credited as "also starring" during the first 22 episodes of the sixth season.
  9. Cake is credited as a series regular until "Putting It Together" (8x09). He makes an uncredited cameo appearance in "Finishing the Hat" (8x23).
  10. Mesure is credited as "starring" from "Who Can Say What's True?" (8x11) onwards. He is credited as "also starring" in the first 10 episodes of the eighth season.
  11. Roger Bart is credited as "also starring" until "That's Good, That's Bad" (2x09). He returns as a special guest star in "Remember, Part 2" (2x24).

Production

The idea for the series was conceived as Marc Cherry and his mother were watching a news report on Andrea Yates. [16] Prior to Desperate Housewives, Cherry was best known for producing and writing episodes of Touchstone Television's hit comedy series The Golden Girls and its successor, The Golden Palace . In addition, he had created or co-created three sitcoms: The 5 Mrs. Buchanans , The Crew , and Some of My Best Friends , none of which lasted longer than a year. Cherry had difficulty getting any television network interested in his new series; HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime all turned the show down. [17] Finally, two new executives at ABC, Lloyd Braun and Susan Lyne, chose to greenlight it, [18] reportedly after The O.C. on Fox premiered in 2003 and showed that a soap opera could succeed in prime time. [19] Shortly thereafter, Disney had both Braun and Lyne fired, following their approval of another new drama series: Lost . [20]

The ABC executives were not initially satisfied with the name of the new show, suggesting Wisteria Lane and The Secret Lives of Housewives, instead. [21] [22] However, on October 23, 2003, Desperate Housewives was announced by ABC, presented as a primetime soap opera created by Charles Pratt Jr., of Melrose Place fame, and Marc Cherry, who declared the new show to be a mix of Knots Landing and American Beauty (1999) with a little bit of Twin Peaks . [23] While Cherry continued his work on the show, Pratt was credited as executive producer for the pilot episode only, remaining linked to the show as a consulting producer during the first two seasons.

On May 18, 2004, ABC announced the 2004–2005 lineup, with Desperate Housewives in the Sunday at 9:00–10:00 p.m. ET slot, [24] which it held all through the run of the show. After only three episodes, on October 20, 2004, ABC announced that Desperate Housewives, along with Lost, had been picked up for a full season. [25] A couple of weeks later after Housewives premiered the owners of NBC called to see who had passed on the series due to its ratings success.

Desperate Housewives was produced by creator Marc Cherry (Cherry Productions), Austin Bagley and, since 2007, ABC Studios. From 2004 to 2007, Desperate Housewives was produced in association with Touchstone Television. [26]

Production crew

Cherry, Tom Spezialy, and Michael Edelstein served as executive producers for the show's first two seasons. Spezialy, who also served as a staff writer, left his previous position as writer and executive producer for Dead Like Me to join the Desperate Housewives crew. He had also worked as writer and co-executive producer on several shows, among them Ed , Jack and Jill , and Parker Lewis Can't Lose , while Edelstein had been the executive producer of Threat Matrix and Hope & Faith .

Second season conflicts arose among the executive producers. Subsequently, Edelstein left the show mid-season, and by the season's end, so did Spezialy. [27] For the third year, Cherry was joined by award-winning writer and producer Joe Keenan—of Frasier fame—and television movie producer George W. Perkins, who had been a crew member of Desperate Housewives since the show's conception. Although receiving praise for his work on the show, Keenan chose to leave Desperate Housewives after one season to pursue other projects. [28] Replacing him as executive producer for season 4 was Bob Daily, who had joined the crew as a writer and co-executive producer during season 3. Daily's previous work include writing for the animated series Rugrats , and for Frasier. Also joining Cherry, Perkins, and Daily for season 4 were John Pardee and Joey Murphy, who had been with the series since the beginning. [29] Both had also worked on Cherry's previous show, The Crew, in 1995, as well as on the sitcom Cybill .

In the first four seasons, Larry Shaw and David Grossman have been the most prolific directors, together directing more than half of the episodes.

Filming

The residence of Mary Alice Young (as seen in the premiere episode of Desperate Housewives), on Wisteria Lane Beaver House 2003.jpg
The residence of Mary Alice Young (as seen in the premiere episode of Desperate Housewives), on Wisteria Lane

Desperate Housewives was filmed on Panavision 35 mm cameras (except for the final season, which was shot digitally on the Arri Alexa). [30] It was broadcast in standard and widescreen high definition, though it was framed for the 4:3 aspect ratio [31] until the final season.

The set for Wisteria Lane, consisting mainly of facades but also of some actual houses, was located on the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot. It was referred to by film crews as Colonial Street , and has been used for several motion pictures and television shows since the mid-1940s. [32] Notable productions that were filmed here include: So Goes My Love , Leave it to Beaver , The 'Burbs , Providence , Deep Impact , Bedtime for Bonzo , The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , Gremlins , The Munsters , Psycho , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and the Doris Day comedies The Thrill of It All and Send Me No Flowers . [32] For the second season of Desperate Housewives, the street underwent some significant changes. Among the most noticeable of these changes was the removal of a church facade and a mansion in order to make room for Edie's house and a park. [33] [34]

Interior sets were built on sound stages at Universal Studios Hollywood, some of which were duplicated in some form on the Wisteria Lane back lot for filming when conditions required it. [35]

Filming for the series ended April 26, 2012.

Opening sequence

The initial idea for the show's opening sequence was Cherry's. After asking 16 companies to come up with suggestions for how best to realize it, the producers finally hired Hollywood-based yU+co to provide the final version. [36] According to the yU+co's official website, the idea behind the sequence is, "to evoke the show's quirky spirit and playful flouting of women's traditional role in society." [37] The images featured are taken from eight pieces of art, portraying domesticity and male–female relations through the ages. [38]

The music for the opening was composed by Danny Elfman, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2005. It also has been awarded both a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2005 and the BMI TV Music Award. [39] In 2005, it was included on the album Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives . In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the show's opening sequence at the 29th position on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time. [40] When an episode runs long, only the first sequence (the falling apple) is kept. From the fourth season onwards, a shortened synthesized version of the theme (arranged and performed by frequent series composer Steve Jablonsky) is heard, which underscores the falling apple scene, and the photograph of the four lead actresses, crediting Marc Cherry as creator.

Music

In addition to the theme composed by Danny Elfman, the first two episodes scored by Elfman's former Oingo Boingo bandmate Steve Bartek, and the third episode scored by ex-Police Stewart Copeland, the series underscore music, composed by Steve Jablonsky since the fourth episode of the first season, defines the overall sound of the show by creating a musical counterpoint to the writing style. The score is electronic-based, but every scoring session incorporates a live string ensemble. Jablonsky incorporates recurring themes for events and characters into the score. [41] Hollywood Records produced the first soundtrack album, Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives (2005), distributed by Universal Music Group. Several of those songs have been used in subsequent seasons.

Desperate Housewives' unique style combined with the heavy dialogue and a quick-fire writing style limits the amount of popular music used within the series. The series' music supervisor, David Sibley, works closely with the producers to integrate these musical needs into the show. In addition to featured performances by central characters such as Susan Mayer singing along with Rose Royce's "Car Wash" and Lynette's rendition of "Boogie Shoes", several characters have been accomplished musicians, such as Betty Applewhite (a concert pianist) and Dylan Mayfair (a prodigy cellist).

Later seasons

In August 2009, Marc Cherry said that Desperate Housewives would be on television for a few more years, stating that the series still "has a lot of life left in it." He told The Wrap:

Steve McPherson (ABC Entertainment president) and I agree that we shouldn't keep the show going for more than a couple [of] years past my seven-year initial contract. We don't want it to just fade away. We've been in negotiations. I expect to sign my new deal soon to set up a future scenario for the show. Someone else will run the show after season seven and I will serve as executive producer from a distance.

He went on to explain that he felt the program had been revitalized by the five-year leap forward for season five, saying: "Yes, I think it worked well. It was a way to start fresh and let everyone start from scratch in a way". [42]

In October 2009, Cherry signed a two-year deal with ABC that could keep Desperate Housewives on the air until 2013. [43] The stars of Desperate Housewives finalized new deals to make way for the eighth season and signed at the price of $12 million. [44] [45] [46]

Cherry hinted that Desperate Housewives would end in 2013, [47] and in April 2011, Eva Longoria confirmed that there would definitely be an eighth season and expressed hopes for a ninth. [48] Desperate Housewives was officially renewed by ABC on May 17, 2011, for an eighth season. [9]

Final season

In August 2011, it was confirmed that the eighth season of Desperate Housewives would be the final season. [10] [11] Eva Longoria tweeted about the end of Desperate Housewives:

It's confirmed! We are filming our last season of Desperate Housewives! I am so grateful for what the show has given me! We always knew we wanted to end on top and I thank ABC for giving us our victory lap! And a special thanks to Marc Cherry who forever changed my life! [49]

Cherry, the show's creator, made a cameo as a mover in the last scene of the final episode.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankAverage viewership
(in millions)
18–49 Rank18–49 Rating
First airedLast aired
1 23October 3, 2004 (2004-10-03)May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)4 [50] 24.13 [50] 310.4 [51]
2 24September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)May 21, 2006 (2006-05-21)4 [52] 23.99 [52] 39.3 [53]
3 23September 24, 2006 (2006-09-24)May 20, 2007 (2007-05-20)10 [54] 19.18 [54] 56.9 [55]
4 17September 30, 2007 (2007-09-30)May 18, 2008 (2008-05-18)6 [56] 17.83 [56] 37.0 [57]
5 24September 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)May 17, 2009 (2009-05-17)9 [58] 14.80 [58] 55.3 [59]
6 23September 27, 2009 (2009-09-27)May 16, 2010 (2010-05-16)20 [60] 12.82 [60] 94.8 [61]
7 23September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26)May 15, 2011 (2011-05-15)26 [62] 11.17 [63] 183.8 [64]
8 23September 25, 2011 (2011-09-25)May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13)37 [65] 8.76 [65] 273.6 [66]

Reception

Ratings

SeasonTimeslot (EST)#
Ep.
PremiereFinaleTV seasonRank18–49 averageOverall viewership
DateViewers
(in millions)
DateViewers
(in millions)
1 Sunday
9:00 pm
23October 3, 200421.64 [67] May 22, 200530.62 [68] 2004–05 #4 [69] 10.66 [70] 23.69 [69]
2 24September 25, 200528.36 [71] May 21, 200624.23 [72] 2005–06 #4 [73] 10.09 [70] 21.70 [73]
3 23September 24, 200624.09 [74] May 20, 200718.82 [75] 2006–07 #10 [76] 7.57 [70] 16.70 [76]
4 17September 30, 200719.32 [77] May 18, 200816.84 [78] 2007–08 #6 [79] 6.71 [70] 17.52 [79]
5 24September 28, 200818.68 [80] May 17, 200913.96 [81] 2008–09 #9 [82] 5.29 [70] 15.66 [82]
6 23September 27, 200913.64 [83] May 16, 201012.75 [84] 2009–10 #20 [60] 4.25 [70] 12.83 [60]
7 23September 26, 201013.06 [85] May 15, 201110.25 [86] 2010–11 #26 [62] 3.46 [70] 11.85 [87]
8 23September 25, 20119.93 [88] May 13, 201211.12 [89] 2011–12 #37 [65] 2.74 [70] 10.60 [65]
Desperate Housewives: U.S. viewers per episode (millions)
SeasonEpisode number
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
121.6420.0320.8721.4922.1424.6024.2127.2421.5622.3425.2024.0925.9522.3024.1824.0824.6125.5525.2725.6926.1025.2830.62
228.3627.1126.0625.7825.2223.9325.9325.9225.8925.5223.7222.5225.3323.4723.4122.2021.4121.8220.0221.3021.3321.0324.2324.23
324.0921.4220.9620.6419.7121.2422.6522.2721.6321.4318.7116.7617.1418.1018.5118.3115.9316.3515.9117.1717.1616.1318.82
419.3217.8218.8918.2118.2818.5818.6318.6420.6519.7816.3715.7516.3516.7615.4316.8416.84
518.6815.6915.5115.4915.9515.9315.8516.8415.8116.0914.3913.7913.0813.8214.0113.6514.6014.7513.8513.6413.4912.2913.9613.96
613.6414.6413.4213.6814.1814.0813.8014.7212.7814.8615.3514.0311.3211.4410.9210.8912.0110.8410.6211.2912.1211.3612.75
713.0613.2312.3812.6712.1611.1012.7211.9211.3611.6012.1912.8310.259.2010.5811.359.059.1110.159.4410.0010.2510.25
89.939.168.638.279.179.288.789.298.208.847.917.486.407.658.218.399.038.818.498.029.2211.1211.12
Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research [90]

Critical response

The show was the biggest success of the 2004–05 television season, being well received by both critics and viewers. The pilot episode had 21.3 million viewers making it the best new drama for the year, the highest-rated show of the week, and the best performance by a pilot for ABC, since Spin City in 1996. [91]

Along with Lost and Grey's Anatomy , Desperate Housewives was credited to have turned around ABC's declining fortunes. [92] Many critics agreed with Cherry's initial comparison to the popular black comedy film American Beauty , [93] while its themes and appeal to female viewers were compared to those of the award-winning series Sex and the City , [94] and its mysteries were said to resemble those of David Lynch's classic series Twin Peaks . [95] In its first review, USA Today proclaimed the show to be "refreshingly original, bracingly adult and thoroughly delightful" and naming it to be "sort of Knots Landing meets The Golden Girls by way of Twin Peaks". [96]

Following the initial success of the show, the term "desperate housewives" became a cultural phenomenon. This warranted "real-life desperate housewives" features in TV shows, including The Dr. Phil Show , [97] and in magazines. [98] [99] Among the more prominent names to declare themselves fans of the show were Oprah Winfrey, [100] who also dedicated an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to her visit at the film set; and the former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, who, in a comedic speech during a dinner with White House Correspondents' Association on April 30, 2005, stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife", referring to the show. [101] The series ended up being the fourth-most-watched in the United States during the 2004–2005 season, with 23.7 million viewers each week. [102] [103] The first-season finale was watched by 30.62 million American viewers becoming the most watched episode of the series. [104]

For its second year, the show still maintained its ratings—with 22.2 million viewers, it reclaimed its position as the number four most-watched series. [105] [106] The second season's premiere was watched by 28.4 million viewers. [107] The episode drew in the second largest audience for the series in its history. However, several critics started to notice a declining quality of the show's script, [108] [109] and USA Today 's Robert Bianco suggested that the part of the series getting "less good" was that showrunner Cherry had left much of the series writing in the hands of others. [110] Midway through the season executive producer Michael Edenstein left the show due to conflicts with Cherry and in May 2006, just a couple of weeks prior to the second-season finale, so did Tom Spezialy. [27] After the end of the season, Cherry agreed that the second year's script had been weaker and also agreed that it had been a mistake to let go too much of the show. He now stated that he was back full-time, claiming that both he and the writing staff had learned from their mistakes. [111] [112] [113]

The critics generally agreed on the improved quality for the third year, [114] [115] [116] but the overall ratings fell notably from previous seasons. Due to complications from her pregnancy, Marcia Cross was put on bed rest. After filming one episode from her own personal bedroom she was forced to take maternity leave with eight episodes of season three still remaining. It was predicted that the ratings would be down by over 25% since the premiere year. [117] However, for the last three episodes of the season, the rating turned somewhat, and the season ended up with 17.5 million viewers, falling from number four to number ten on the list of most watched shows. [118] While Cross' departure allowed for the much-underused Edie to have more story, fans noticed a decline in the stories during Cross' departure. Stories such as Lynette's emotional affair with restaurant manager Rick proved unpopular. Furthermore, Susan's contrived triangle with Ian and Mike seemed tiresome to many viewers, particularly in an episode where Susan is lost in the woods trying to find Mike. Notable, however, was that the show's rating among viewers age 18–24 increased from the previous season. [119]

For its fourth season, the series proved to have staying power. [120] The series averaged 18.2 million viewers. Ratings rose in the ninth episode "Something's Coming", where 20.6 million viewers tuned in to see the heavily marketed tornado episode. The show once again moved back into the top five highest-rated programs in the 2007–2008 season, being the number-one ABC drama and beating popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy after falling behind it for the first time in the third season. It also became for the first time the number-one scripted series, beating CSI: Crime Scene Investigation .

Although ratings were down for the fifth season, along with every scripted series on television, Desperate Housewives was still the most-watched scripted series on ABC, consistently beating the other ABC flagship shows, Lost and Grey's Anatomy, although the latter is still number one in the 18–49 demographic, followed by Desperate Housewives.

Similar to the fifth season, ratings were down for the sixth season because of heavy competition in many airings, but the show still managed to remain the second most watched scripted show on ABC and the eleventh most watched scripted show of all broadcast television. The series continued to hit lower ratings, because of competition like the 67th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, 2010 Winter Olympics, and the new CBS reality television series Undercover Boss . Nevertheless, the sixth season managed to finish in the top twenty overall, both in total viewers and 18–49 demographic audiences. Among scripted shows, it still ranked in the top ten, in both categories. [121] [122] [123] [124] [125]

The seventh season premiered on September 26, 2010, and averaged 11.85 million viewers. The season saw new lows for the series reaching for the first time below 10 million viewers, and saw lows of 2.7 in the 18–49 demographic. For the first half of the season, ratings started strong averaging 12.3 million viewers and 3.9 in the 18–49 demographic which is similar to the second half of the sixth season. However, ratings declined in the second half of the season, after two contiguous episodes had to compete against the 68th Golden Globe Awards and then the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The show failed to recover to viewer levels hit in the first half of the season, and continued to receive 9–10 million viewers and 2.7–3.1 in the 18–49 demographic. This was the first time in its history that Desperate Housewives would not place in the twenty most watched shows of the season, although it would place in the twenty most-watched scripted shows.

The eighth season continued to see declines in the series' ratings. The season premiered to 9.93 million viewers and a 3.2 in the demo making it the least-watched season premiere in the series' history. The season began with ratings similar to those of the latter half of season 7, averaging 8–9 million viewers, and between a 2.8 to 3.0 in the 18–49 demographic. However, after the mid-season finale the ratings returned lower, hitting the seven million viewer mark and a 2.2–2.5 in the demo. The season also saw the lowest ratings in the show's eight-year run. Opposite the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, which featured a tribute to the then-recently deceased entertainer Whitney Houston, and the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC, the show fell to a 1.8 rating in adults 18–49 and 6.4 million viewers. [126] However unlike the seventh season, the show's ratings slightly recovered after the series low and leveled around the eight million viewer mark and a 2.6 in the demo. Despite the series lows, the season finale was able to go out on a season high in the ratings and the highest rated episode in over a year and a half, since March 2011 with "Searching". The series finale titled "Finishing the Hat" aired May 13, 2012 was viewed by 11.12 million viewers and a 3.2 in the demo. [127] Despite the lows in the ratings the show managed to remain in the top twenty-five-watched shows in the 18–49 demographic, placing at number twenty-five. However, the show dropped out of the top thirty most-watched shows in total viewers, coming in at thirty-fifth place. [128]

In 2006, the American cable network Bravo launched their reality series, The Real Housewives of... , in the footsteps of the "real life desperate housewives" phenomenon. [129] That program has taken place in areas such as Orange County (California), Atlanta, and two series within the New York-Tri-State Region, within the City itself and the New Jersey suburbs. According to a survey of twenty countries conducted in 2006 by Informa Telecoms and Media, Desperate Housewives was the third-most-watched television series in the world, after fellow American series CSI: Miami and Lost . [130] During a fundraising auction for the British child charity ChildLine in December 2006, a walk-on part in Desperate Housewives had the highest bid, £17,000, beating Daniel Craig's James Bond tuxedo from Casino Royale . [131] [132]

In its first public release of online individual television program rankings, Nielsen Media Research announced that the series had 723,000 unique online viewers in December 2008. [133] Desperate Housewives was the seventh-most-pirated television show of 2009. [134]

In fall 2013, North Korea allegedly executed eighty people for watching banned South Korean soap operas, Desperate Housewives being the most common soap opera. Desperate Housewives was being secretly watched using mp3 players, hard drives, and DVDs. [135]

In September 2015, Desperate Housewives ranked at number one hundred on The Hollywood Reporter 's "Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows", as determined by television industry professionals. [136]

Accolades

L-R: Dana Delany, Teri Hatcher, Brenda Strong and Andrea Bowen at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 18, 2009 Desperate Housewives at 2008 GLAAD Awards.jpg
L–R: Dana Delany, Teri Hatcher, Brenda Strong and Andrea Bowen at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 18, 2009

For its premiere season, the show was awarded seven Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The nominations of all of the leading actresses except Eva Longoria for both the Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award received some media interest. While Longoria seemingly wasn't bothered, stating for the press that "I'm new. I just arrived. I didn't expect at all to be in the minds of the Academy", Marc Cherry regarded them being left out as a "horrendous error". [137] In the end, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series went to Felicity Huffman, while Teri Hatcher won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress – Comedy Series.

The show's second Golden Globe Award for its first year was for Best Series – Musical or Comedy at the 62nd Golden Globe Awards, while the other Primetime Emmy Awards went to Kathryn Joosten, for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, for her guest role as Karen McCluskey (beating, among others, fellow cast member Lupe Ontiveros); to Charles McDougall, for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, for his direction of "Pilot"; to Danny Elfman, for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, for his theme music; for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series of "Pilot"; and for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The entire cast was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast – Comedy Series (in both 2004 and 2005), and Nicollette Sheridan was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

In 2006, the show continued to receive several nominations. It was awarded with yet another Golden Globe Award for Best Series – Musical or Comedy at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards, and all the four leading women received Golden Globe Award nominations, although none of them won. The cast ensemble was awarded with another Screen Actors Guild Award, as was Felicity Huffman. Primetime Emmy Award nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards included, among others, guest actress Shirley Knight and supporting actress Alfre Woodard, although none of them resulted in a win. It was nominated for the Pioneer Award at the BAFTA awards but lost to Doctor Who , which at the time was recently revamped.

The show did continue to be nominated in 2007—Felicity Huffman was granted a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the second time, and guest actresses Laurie Metcalf and Dixie Carter also received Primetime Emmy Award nominations, at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. The show, along with actresses Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman, received Golden Globe Award nominations at 64th Golden Globe Awards, and Huffman and the cast ensemble were also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. None of the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, or Screen Actors Guild Award nominations resulted in any actual awards.

2008 yielded the least nominations with none at the 65th Golden Globe Awards and only the cast being nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, including acting nods towards Polly Bergen and Kathryn Joosten for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Joosten won the show's seventh Primetime Emmy Award and first since its debut year.

Nominations continued to decline in later years. Notable nominations included nods towards Beau Bridges and Kathryn Joosten in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Additionally, Brenda Strong received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2011, a notable feat for a category usually dominated by animated series. Also in 2011, Vanessa L. Williams won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series at the 41st NAACP Image Awards and a Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Strong and Joosten received Primetime Emmy Award nominations again at 64th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2012 and Williams won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' eight and final season in 2013.

Other notable awards include the People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Drama at the 31st People's Choice Awards, the Future Classic Award at the 2005 TV Land Awards, the TP de Oro for Best Foreign Series in 2006, and seven Golden Nymph Awards at Monte-Carlo Television Festivals, among others.

Broadcast

From 2006 to 2012, it was syndicated on Lifetime in the United States. While the series no longer airs in the United States anymore, it still airs reruns internationally on channels such as Star World in the Middle East and Sky One, Sky Comedy, and Universal TV in Germany.

Internationally, the show aired on networks such as: OSN Series First and Showtime Arabia in the Middle East, CTV in Canada, Seven Network in Australia, n(Poland) in Poland, CNBC-e in Turkey, FoxLife in Italy, Portugal, Greece and Poland, RTE Two in Ireland, M-Net in Africa, TV2 in New Zealand, SF2 in Switzerland, ORF1 in Austria, ProSieben in Germany, Sony Entertainment Television in Latin America, TV 2 in Norway, Nelonen in Finland, 8TV in Malaysia, Channel 4, S4C, and E4 in the United Kingdom, yes stars 1 in Israel, La 2 in Spain, TV2 in Hungary, Tv Azteca in Mexico, Star World in Asia, BTV in Bulgaria, Polsat in Poland, TV3 in Latvia and Lithuania, Channel 5 in Singapore, RTS in Serbia, Canal+ and M6 in France, POPTV in Slovenia, A1 Televijza in Macedonia.

Home media and digital downloads

There have only been DVD releases of the series. On Prime Video and Hulu, the series is available for streaming [138] in 1080p HD; otherwise for offline viewing, all episodes of the show can be purchased from Prime Video, Google Play or Vudu. [139] It is also available on Disney+ in countries that have the Star brand. There has been no Blu-ray release as of 2021.

TitleRegion 1Region 2Region 3Region 4Region 5No. of discsNo. of episodesRef.
The Complete First SeasonSeptember 20, 2005October 10, 2005November 16, 2005November 28, 2005July 18, 2006
  • 6
  • 5
    (Region 5)
23 [140] [141]
The Complete Second Season – The Extra Juicy EditionAugust 30, 2006November 13, 2006November 8, 2006October 4, 2006June 28, 2007
  • 6
    (Regions 1 and 5)
  • 7
    (Regions 2, 3 and 4)
24 [142] [143]
The Complete Seasons 1–2November 13, 2006October 24, 20061347 [144]
The Complete Third Season – The Dirty Laundry EditionSeptember 4, 2007November 5, 2007October 30, 2007October 17, 2007April 12, 2011623 [145] [146]
The Complete Seasons 1–3November 19, 20071970 [147]
The Complete Fourth Season – Sizzling Secrets EditionSeptember 2, 2008November 3, 2008November 6, 2008October 29, 2008April 12, 2011517 [148] [149] [150]
The Complete Seasons 1–4November 3, 20082487 [151]
The Complete Fifth Season – The Red Hot EditionSeptember 1, 2009November 9, 2009November 3, 2009October 21, 2009April 26, 2011
  • 7
  • 6
    (Region 5)
24 [152] [153]
The Complete Seasons 1–5November 9, 200931111 [154]
The Complete Sixth Season – The All Mighty EditionSeptember 21, 2010October 4, 2010September 21, 2010October 20, 2010April 26, 2011
  • 5
  • 6
    (Region 3)
23 [155] [156] [157] [158]
The Complete Seasons 1–6October 4, 2010October 20, 2010
  • 36
    (Region 2)
  • 37
    (Region 4)
134 [159] [160]
The Complete Seventh Season – Wild, Wild Wisteria EditionAugust 30, 2011October 31, 2011October 4, 2011November 30, 2011May 15, 2012523 [161] [162]
The Complete Seasons 1–7October 31, 201141157 [163]
The Complete Eighth and Final SeasonSeptember 25, 2012September 24, 2012October 12, 2012October 3, 2012523 [164] [165] [166]
The Complete CollectionSeptember 25, 2012September 24, 2012December 7, 201245180 [167] [168]

Merchandise

Games

Buena Vista Games released the life simulation computer video game Desperate Housewives: The Game on October 5, 2006, in North America, featuring an original storyline spanning 12 episodes. [169] The game is set on Wisteria Lane, but the player does not play as any of the housewives, although they frequently appear. A couple of months later, Gameloft released a mobile game based on the series. [170] "The inspiration for Gameloft's take on Desperate Housewives comes from the most unlikely place, too—the original Mario Party on the Nintendo 64." [171]

In 2007, British company Re:creation published Desperate Housewives Dirty Laundry Game, a board game based on the third season of Desperate Housewives. [172] Players attempt to guess their opponents' secrets by answering trivia questions, while keeping clues to their own secrets concealed.

In June 2017, Megazebra released Desperate Housewives: The Game on App Store and on Google Play. Play as new neighbor on Wisteria Lane.

Soundtrack and literature

Ms.'s Desperate Housewives issue, published in 2005 Ms. magazine Cover - Spring 2005.jpg
Ms. 's Desperate Housewives issue, published in 2005

In September 2005, Hollywood Records released a soundtrack album distributed by Universal Music Group, Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives , featuring music inspired by the series, as well as sound clips taken from the first season of the series. The songs included have been described as promoting "girl power", and among the artists appearing—all being female—were LeAnn Rimes, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain. [173] Controversially, no music composed for the series was included on the album.

Two books have been officially released within the Desperate Housewives franchise. In September 2005, ABC's sister company Hyperion Books released Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors ( ISBN   978-1-4013-0826-1), a companion to the first season of the series, written by the production team behind the series. [174] One year later, in October 2006, Hyperion published The Desperate Housewives Cookbook – Juicy Dishes and Saucy Bits ( ISBN   978-1-4013-0277-1). [175] In addition, official wall calendars, featuring shots taken from the series, were published by Andrews McMeel Publishing for 2006, 2007 and 2008. [176]

Four unauthorized books written from different points of view were released in 2006. Delicious Housewives, A Novel of Erotica, by author Tamarias Tyree ( ISBN   978-0-930865-79-5), from RSVP Press, is an erotic parody of the series featuring the housewives' sexual misadventures which eventually lead them to an appearance on the Jerry Springer Show .

Reading 'Desperate Housewives': Beyond the White Picket Fence ( ISBN   978-1-84511-220-2), from I.B. Tauris, is an academic look at the show by film studies lecturers Janet McCabe and Kim Akass. [177] Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives ( ISBN   978-1-932100-79-2), published by BenBella Books, consists of seventeen essays written from a feminist perspective. [178] In Chalice Press' Not-So-Desperate: Fantasy, Fact and Faith on Wisteria Lane ( ISBN   0-8272-2513-X), author Shawnthea Monroe gives a Christian interpretation of the series. [179] Also, following the "real life desperate housewives" phenomenon, several books have been released dealing with life strategies for contemporary women.

Fashion dolls and fragrances

In December 2006, it was announced that the characters of Susan, Lynette, Bree, Gabrielle and Edie were to be made into 16 inches (41 cm) tall fashion dolls, produced by Madame Alexander. [180] In 2007, they were released in a limited edition of 300 pieces each. [181] A fragrance was also launched by Coty Inc. in 2006, titled Forbidden Fruit, and was composed of orange blossom, peach, apple, lily, wisteria, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla and cedar. [182] [183] [184] [185] In August 2009, a collection of four fragrances by LR Health & Beauty Systems, each based on and titled after a Desperate Housewives lead character, was presented: Susan's fragrance is composed of orange blossom, cedar, sandalwood and white musk, Lynette's fragrance is composed of cardamom, star jasmine and musk, Bree's fragrance is composed of green apple, white jasmine, raspberry, lily, amber and vanilla, and Gabrielle's fragrance is composed of raspberry, pineapple, rose, patchouli and blackberries. [186] [187] [188] [189]

Another Desperate Housewife commercials

In conjunction with season six, Marc Cherry was commissioned to write eight "mini-episodes" entitled Another Desperate Housewife. The episodes were written after the previous season's extensive product placement proved unpopular with the fans. The mini-episodes were written to advertise mobile phone company Sprint and involve just three characters. [190] The two main characters are Stephanie (played by Rebecca Staab) and Lance (played by David Chisum) who have moved into the former house of Edie Britt after her death. The third character, Elsa, was Stephanie's friend. It is eventually revealed that Lance and Elsa have been having an affair. Stephanie finds out and tells Lance to break it off. Elsa suggests killing Stephanie, but Lance gets a text message indicating he's seeing another woman and a furious Elsa shoots him. In truth, Stephanie had sent the message herself. The final mini-episode has Elsa being arrested and Stephanie attracted to a handsome policeman at the scene. Each episode ends with a Mary Alice-like narration saying things such as "This is suspicion on the Now Network" or "This is betrayal on the Now Network." [191]

Ask Desperate Housewives

For the sixth season of the series, ABC created "Ask Desperate Housewives" to promote their website. It was presented and sponsored by Sprint, and it was hosted by series creator, Marc Cherry. In each special, Marc Cherry and an actress/actor of the series would answer questions that fans submitted to abc.go.com.

Adaptations

On February 26, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced that four South American versions of the show were about to begin production: one for Argentina, one for Colombia, one for Ecuador and one for Brazil. [192] Later on, the Colombian and Ecuadorean productions merged, leaving three Latin American shows. The Argentine version, titled Amas de Casa Desesperadas , began being broadcast in 2006. The first year proved successful enough for a second season to begin production. [193] The first season of the version for Colombia (RCN TV) and Ecuador (Teleamazonas), also titled Amas de Casa Desesperadas , began being broadcast in Ecuador in May 2007, and was broadcast five days a week. [194] In addition, Donas de Casa Desesperadas began being broadcast on RedeTV! in 2008. [195] The Turkish version titled Umutsuz Ev Kadınları aired on Kanal D in Turkey from 2011 until 2013 and on FOX Turkey from 2013 until 2014. [196] In fall 2013, the Disney Media Distribution and the Nigerian television network EbonyLife TV announced that they were producing an African version of Desperate Housewives. The series, titled Desperate Housewives Africa , was scheduled to premiere in summer 2014 on EbonyLife TV. However, it aired its only season during 2015. [197]

TitleRegion(s)ReleaseNetwork(s)
Amas de Casa Desesperadas Argentina2006–07 Canal 13
Amas de Casa Desesperadas
  • Colombia
  • Ecuador
2007
Donas de Casa Desesperadas Brazil2007–08 RedeTV!
Umutsuz Ev Kadınları Turkey2011–14
Desperate Housewives Africa Nigeria2015EbonyLife TV
Desperate Housewives: The Game [198] 2017Megazebra

Related Research Articles

Next (<i>Desperate Housewives</i>) 1st episode of the 2nd season of Desperate Housewives

"Next" is the second season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 24th episode overall. It was originally broadcast in the United States on September 25, 2005, on ABC. It was written by Jenna Bans and Kevin Murphy and was directed by Larry Shaw.

"One Wonderful Day" is the 23rd episode and first season finale of the American comedy-drama television series Desperate Housewives. It was originally broadcast in the United States on ABC on May 22, 2005. The episode was directed by Larry Shaw and written by John Pardee, Joey Murphy, series creator Marc Cherry, Tom Spezialy, and Kevin Murphy.

Pilot (<i>Desperate Housewives</i>) 1st episode of the 1st season of Desperate Housewives

"Pilot" is the first episode of the American dramedy-mystery series Desperate Housewives. It premiered on October 3, 2004, on the ABC network. It was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Charles McDougall. The pilot introduces the residents of the suburban neighborhood of Wisteria Lane. Following the suicide of an outwardly successful neighbor, her friends begin to deal with the problems in their personal lives. Susan Mayer competes for the attention of a new plumber who has moved across the street; Bree Van de Kamp struggles with her failing marriage and ungrateful family; Gabrielle Solis continues an affair with her sixteen-year-old gardener; and Lynette Scavo copes with life as a stay-at-home mother of four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Alice Young</span> Fictional character from the television series Desperate Housewives

Mary Alice Young is a fictional character from the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and is portrayed by Brenda Strong, who also serves as the narrator of the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. The narration provided by Mary Alice is essential to the tale of Wisteria Lane, as the series revolves around her sharing the secrets of her friends and neighbors. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915).

"Bang" is the seventh episode of the third season of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, and the 54th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Joe Keenan and directed by Larry Shaw, and was first broadcast on November 5, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Mayfair</span> Fictional character on Desperate Housewives

Katherine Irma Mayfair is a fictional character created by Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was portrayed by Dana Delany and first appeared in the series' fourth season premiere on September 30, 2007, as the focus of the yearly mystery.

"Now You Know" is the fourth season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and the 71st episode overall. The episode premiered on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on September 30, 2007. It was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Larry Shaw.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 5) Season of television series

The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008, and concluded on May 17, 2009. The season takes place five years after the events of the season four finale in 2008 and continues to focus on the lives of Wisteria Lane residents Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Hodge, Gabrielle Solis, Edie Britt and Katherine Mayfair, as seen through the eyes of the series' deceased narrator, Mary Alice Young. The season's mystery is centered on Edie Britt's third husband, Dave Williams. The series received media attention following the announcement that Edie, portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan, would be killed off close to the end of the season. Edie takes on the narration in "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" following her death, marking the second time Mary Alice's voice is not heard in an episode.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2004, concluded May 22, 2005, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Mary Alice Young, a seemingly perfect housewife who commits suicide, fearing that a dark secret involving her, her husband, and their son would be exposed. At her wake, Mary Alice's four close friends and the main characters, Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, are introduced. All of them live in the suburb of Fairview on Wisteria Lane. Narrating the series from beyond the grave, Mary Alice describes how her friends try to find out the reason for her suicide while trying to deal with the problems of their personal lives.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 4) Season of television series

The fourth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, premiered on September 30, 2007, on ABC. Filming for the series was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike in November 2007, after production on the two-episode tornado storyline wrapped. The first part, "Something's Coming", aired on December 2, 2007. "Welcome to Kanagawa", the second part and the last episode filmed before the strike, was originally going to be aired after the strike's resolution, but aired on January 6, 2008. Seven additional episodes were produced for the fourth season after the strike, the first of which aired on April 13, 2008. The final two episodes served as a two-part finale and were aired consecutively on May 18, 2008. A total of 17 episodes aired as part of the season, with one recap special airing on September 23, 2007.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 3) Season of television series

The third season of the American dramedy-mystery television series Desperate Housewives commenced airing on ABC in the United States on September 24, 2006, and concluded on May 20, 2007. The season continues the story of the Wisteria Lane residents, describing their lives in the suburban neighborhood, while dealing with the arrival of the mysterious Orson Hodge. The season follows the lives and events of Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van De Kamp, Gabrielle Solis and Edie Britt. Broadcast in the Sunday night timeslot at 9:00 ET, the season aired twenty-three regular episodes. In addition, two clip shows were produced for the season, in order to put the previous events of the show in perspective. "The Juciest Bites" aired before the seventeenth episode, detailing the events of the first three seasons, in order to introduce the new story arcs in the end of the season. "Secrets and Lies" was narrated by Brenda Strong and was the last clip show to be produced for the series, airing before the inception of the fourth season.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 2) Season of television series

The second season of the American dramedy-mystery television series Desperate Housewives commenced airing in the United States on September 25, 2005, and concluded on May 21, 2006. The season continues the story of the Wisteria Lane residents, while their seemingly perfect lives in the suburban neighborhood are shaken by the arrival of the mysterious Betty Applewhite. Broadcast in the Sunday night time slot at 9.00 ET, the season aired twenty-four regular episodes, including a two-part season finale. In addition, three clip shows were produced for the season, in order to put the previous events of the show in perspective. "All the Juicy Details" aired before the eleventh episode, detailing the most memorable events of the season's first half, whereas "The More You Know, The Juicier It Gets", which aired before the twentieth episode, prepared the viewers for the highly anticipated season finale. "Time to Come Clean" aired three weeks before the inception of the third season, and reviewed the previous mysteries of the series before introducing the new story lines. The second season had fourteen roles receiving star billing, out of whom eleven were part of the first season's main cast. The main story lines of the season were Susan Mayer's relationship with her former husband, Gabrielle Solis' upcoming motherhood, Lynette Scavo's return to work and the death of Bree Van de Kamp's husband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You're Gonna Love Tomorrow</span> 1st episode of the 5th season of Desperate Housewives

"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" is the fifth season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 88th episode overall. It originally aired on September 28, 2008, in the United States on ABC. The episode was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Larry Shaw. "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow", as well as all subsequent episodes, takes place five years after the events of the fourth season finale following Cherry's decision to revamp the series with a time jump.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 6) Season of television series

The sixth season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 27, 2009, and concluded on May 16, 2010. The season consists of 23 episodes. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane residents, Susan Delfino, Lynette Scavo, Bree Hodge, Gabrielle Solis and Katherine Mayfair. Angie Bolen and her family are the focus of this season's mystery.

"Nice Is Different Than Good" is the sixth-season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 112th overall episode of the series. It originally aired in the United States on September 27, 2009, on ABC. In the episode, Mike marries Susan and Angie Bolen and her family move onto Wisteria Lane as they attempt to escape their sordid past.

"How About a Friendly Shrink?" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and the 124th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on ABC in the United States on January 17, 2010. In the episode, Tom tries to convince Lynette to seek marriage counseling, Gabrielle clashes with Susan about their children's intelligence, and Bree tries to care for an increasingly irritable Orson.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 7) Season of television series

The seventh season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 26, 2010, and concluded on May 15, 2011. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane residents, Susan Delfino, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis. New housewife Renee Perry is introduced in this season. Paul Young returns to the lane and is the center of this season's mystery.

<i>Desperate Housewives</i> (season 8) Season of television series

The eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began broadcasting in the United States on September 25, 2011, and concluded on May 13, 2012. The season was promoted as Kiss Them Goodbye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secrets That I Never Want to Know</span> 1st episode of the 8th season of Desperate Housewives

"Secrets That I Never Want to Know" is the eighth-season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama television series Desperate Housewives, and the 158th overall episode of the series. It was originally broadcast in the United States on September 25, 2011, on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode focuses on the aftermath and cover-up of an accidental killing.

"Finishing the Hat" is the second part of the two-hour series finale of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twenty-third and final episode of the show's eighth season and the 180th episode overall, which was broadcast on May 13, 2012. Although the season was promoted as "Kiss Them Goodbye", the series finale was promoted as "The Final Kiss Goodbye".

References

  1. "Desperate Housewives Cast & Crew". TV.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  2. "The War of 18-49, Desperate Housewives".
  3. "Desperate Housewives On SABC3 Confirmed". TVSA. April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. "CSI show 'most popular in world'". BBC News . July 31, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  5. "Most-Watched TV Show In The World Is 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'". HuffPost . June 14, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  6. Monte-Carlo TV Festival (2006)
  7. ""American Idol" king of TV advertising revenue". Reuters . March 17, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  8. "The New Classics: TV". Entertainment Weekly . June 17, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (May 17, 2011). "ABC 2011–12 Primetime Schedule Announced". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Finke, Nikki; Andreeva, Nellie (August 5, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: ABC Will End 'Desperate Housewives' In May 2012 After 8th Season". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Ausiello, Michael (August 7, 2011). "Desperate Housewives Boss on Cast's Reaction to Show Ending: 'There Was a Touch of Shock'". TVLine . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  12. "ABC Announces Fall Premiere Dates". The Futon Critic. July 25, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  13. Mitovich, Matt (June 9, 2009). "ABC Announces Fall Premiere Dates for 19 Shows". TV Guide . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  14. Seidman, Robert (July 8, 2010). "ABC Announces Fall 2010 Series Premiere Dates". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  15. Nededog, Jethro (September 25, 2011). "'Desperate Housewives' Season 8 Premiere: The Ladies Keep a Killer Secret". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  16. Carter, Bill (2006). Desperate Networks . New York: Doubleday. pp.  161–162. ISBN   9780385514408.
  17. McDougall, Charles (January 5, 2005). "Desperately seeking a ratings hit" . The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  18. "ABC exec helps 'Desperate' network find its footing". The Augusta Chronicle . Associated Press. February 22, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  19. Gopalan, Nisha (August 5, 2013). "Josh Schwartz on The O.C., Casting George Lucas, and the Onslaught of Emo". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  20. Craig, Olga (August 14, 2005). "The man who discovered 'Lost' – and found himself out of a job" . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  21. "Desperate Housewives – The Complete First Season" DVD
  22. Carter, Bill (2006). Desperate Networks . New York: Doubleday. p.  203. ISBN   9780385514408.
  23. "Development Update: October 23". The Futon Critic. October 23, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  24. "2004 Broadcast Upfront Presentations: Abc, Part 1". The Futon Critic. May 18, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  25. "ABC Orders Back Nine of Two Top-10 Series; 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Lost' Get Full Season Pick-Ups". The Futon Critic. October 20, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  26. Touchstone Television (2005). Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors. Hyperion Books. ISBN   1401308260.
  27. 1 2 Keck, William (May 19, 2006). "Wisteria Lane's new landscape". USA Today . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  28. Schneider, Michael; Adalian, Josef (March 29, 2007). "Keenan not 'Desperate' any more". Variety . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  29. "Development Update: Week of June 11–15". The Futon Critic. June 15, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  30. "Alexa meets Desperate Housewives". Arri Group. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  31. Feld, Rob; Oppenheimer, Jean; Stasukevich, Ian (March 2008). "Tantalizing Television". American Cinematographer. 89 (3). Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  32. 1 2 "Colonial Street – History". The Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  33. "Colonial Street – Church". The Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  34. "Colonial Street – Colonial Mansion". The Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  35. R. Craig Wolf (March 26, 2013). Scene Design and Stage Lighting. Cengage Learning. pp. 76–. ISBN   978-1-111-34443-6 . Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  36. "yU + co Opens ABCs Desperate Housewives". Digital Producer. November 12, 2004. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  37. "Desperate Houswives". yU+co. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  38. Phelan, Joseph (May 2005). "Missing the Picture: Desperate Housewives Do Art History". ArtCyclopedia . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  39. "BMI Film & Television Awards Tout Composers of Year's Top Film, Television, & Cable Music". BMI. May 21, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  40. Charisma, James (January 4, 2017). "The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time". Paste . Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  41. "Desperate Housewives" Ah, But Underneath (2004)
  42. Parks, Tim (August 25, 2009). "Cherry: 'Housewives could be on for years'". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  43. Schneider, Michael (October 28, 2009). "Marc Cherry signs new deal with ABC". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  44. Andreeva, Nellie (April 11, 2011). "'Desperate Housewives' Stars Finalizing New Deals, Paving Way To Season 8 Pickup". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  45. Stahler, Kelsea (April 12, 2011). "'Desperate Housewives' Cast Signs on For Season 8". Hollywood.com. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  46. McCathie, Lewis (April 14, 2011). "Desperate Housewives stars net $12m". Digital Journal. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  47. Wightman, Catriona (February 5, 2011). "'Desperate Housewives' exec plans 2013 end". Digital Spy . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  48. Still, Jennifer (April 6, 2011). "Eva Longoria: 'Housewives finale amazing'". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  49. "Eva Longoria's post "It's confirmed! We are filmin ..." on WhoSay". WhoSay. August 7, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  50. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/20/04 through 05/22/05". ABC Medianet. May 24, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  51. "Primetime series". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  52. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/19/05 through 05/28/06". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  53. "Series". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  54. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/18/06 through 06/03/07". ABC Medianet. June 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  55. "2006-07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter . 25 May 2007.
  56. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/24/07 through 05/25/08". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  57. "Ratings - ABC Primetime Performance - 2008 May Sweep/2007-08 TV Season". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  58. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/22/08 through 05/17/09". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  59. "Ratings - ABC 2009 May Sweep / TV Season Ratings | TheFutonCritic.com".
  60. 1 2 3 4 Final 2009–2010 Broadcast Primetime Show Average Viewership, TV by the Numbers , June 16, 2010
  61. "Private Site". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13.
  62. 1 2 Gorman, Bill (June 1, 2011). "2010–11 Season Broadcast Primetime Show Viewership Averages". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  63. "2010–11 Season Broadcast Primetime Show Viewership Averages". TV by the Numbers . June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  64. "Private Site". Archived from the original on 2014-10-21.
  65. 1 2 3 4 Gorman, Bill (May 24, 2012). "Complete List Of 2011–12 Season TV Show Viewership: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops, Followed By 'American Idol,' 'NCIS' & 'Dancing With The Stars'". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  66. "Full 2011-2012 TV Season Series Rankings". 25 May 2012.
  67. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 5, 2004. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  68. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 24, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  69. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/20/04 through 05/22/05". ABC Medianet. May 24, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  70. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The War of 18–49, Desperate Housewives". Spotted Ratings. July 25, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  71. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. September 27, 2005. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  72. TV Ratings Top 25: American Idol Back On Top With Both Viewers and Adults 18–49. Weekly Program Rankings. May 23, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  73. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/19/05 through 05/28/06". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  74. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. September 26, 2006. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  75. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 22, 2007. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  76. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/18/06 through 06/03/07". ABC Medianet. June 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  77. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  78. "Nielsen Ratings May 18, 2008: Housewives Rule, Country is Cool". TV by the Numbers. May 19, 2008. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  79. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/24/07 through 05/25/08". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  80. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 30, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  81. (source needed)
  82. 1 2 "Season Program Rankings from 09/22/08 through 05/17/09". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  83. TV Ratings: Sunday Night Football, House win week with adults 18–49; NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles with total viewers... Archived May 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . TV by the Numbers. September 29, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  84. "TV Ratings Top 25: American Idol Back On Top With Both Viewers and Adults 18–49". TV by the Numbers . May 18, 2010. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2022..
  85. Gorman, Bill (September 28, 2010). "Sunday Finals: Amazing Race Premieres Up; Undercover Boss A Bit Less Bossy vs. Football". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  86. TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: "American Idol", "The Voice", "Modern Family", "Dancing with the Stars", "NCIS" Top Week 34 Viewing, TV by the Numbers , May 17, 2011
  87. 2010–11 Season Broadcast Primetime Show Viewership Averages, TV by the Numbers , June 1, 2011
  88. Gorman, Bill (September 27, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'CSI: Miami,' 'The Simpsons' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  89. Bibel, Sara (May 15, 2012). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time', 'Family Guy', 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; 'Survivor: Reunion', 'Dateline' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  90. "Desperate Housewives - TV Series Finale". TV Series Finale. May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  91. Jaffer, Murtz (October 4, 2004). "'Housewives' Premiere Cleans Up for ABC". Inside Pulse. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  92. Bianco, Robert (April 26, 2005). "A good season, with reason". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  93. Danger, Nick (October 4, 2004). "TV Review: "Desperate Housewives"". Blogcritics . Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  94. McFarland, Melanie (September 30, 2004). "Timely 'Desperate Housewives' is life after 'Sex and the City'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  95. Schmeiser, Lisa (October 5, 2004). "Fall '04: "Desperate Housewives"". TeeVee.org. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  96. Bianco, Robert (September 30, 2004). "'Housewives' has the recipe for a bubbly evening soap". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  97. Dr. Phil – The Real Lives of Desperate Housewives, Retrieved August 5, 2007
  98. "The Real Desperate Housewives". Manchester Evening News. July 1, 2005. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  99. Blackwell, Elizabeth. "Confessions of Real-Life Desperate Housewives". Ladies' Home Journal . Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  100. Brioux, Bill (February 2, 2005). "Oprah pays a visit to 'Housewives'". Canoe.ca . Archived from the original on April 17, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  101. "Laura Bush: First lady of comedy?". USA Today. May 1, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  102. Grover, Ronald; Fixmer, Andy (January 14, 2011). "'Desperate Housewives' Hold Out for Pay Raise at ABC". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  103. "Final audience and ratings figures". The Hollywood Reporter . May 27, 2005. Archived from the original on December 26, 2005.
  104. "Weekly Program Rankings" (Press release). ABC Medianet. May 24, 2005. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  105. "2005–06 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter . May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on May 29, 2006.
  106. Carter, Bill (March 15, 2006). "Mob Boss Takes Hit; Housewife Implicated". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  107. Primetime Ratings for the Week of September 19–25, 2005, The Futon Critic, September 27, 2005, Retrieved November 13, 2009
  108. Guthrie, Marisa (March 30, 2006). "In its second season, 'Desperate Housewives' is at a dead end". The Star Online. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  109. Goldblatt, Henry (October 21, 2005). "TV Review: Desperate Housewives (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  110. Bianco, Robert (October 9, 2005). "'Housewives' is dragging desperately". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  111. Martin, Ed: Exclusive Interview! Desperate Housewives Creator Marc Cherry, Jack Myers Media Village, January 25, 2007 Archived December 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  112. ABC vows stronger third season for its 'Desperate Housewives' Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Wilmington Star, July 26, 2006
  113. Network exec promises better 'Housewives' season, CTVA.ca, July 18, 2006 [ dead link ]
  114. "Report: ABC's 'Desperate Housewives' back on track for third season". Reality TV World. September 12, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  115. Martin, Ed: Sizzling Preview of Desperate Housewives Archived October 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine , Jack Myers Media Village, September 14, 2006
  116. Taroli, Justin. "The Third Time Isn't Always the Charm for TV Hits". The Crown Online. King's College. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  117. Ryan, Joal (April 10, 2007). "Housewives' Most Desperate Hour". E! Online. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  118. "2006–07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter . May 25, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  119. Vasquez, Diego (July 23, 2007). "Fact: College kids now watch more TV". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  120. Stack, Tim (November 7, 2007). "TV Review: Desperate Housewives". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  121. Final 2009–10 Broadcast Primetime Show Average Viewership, TV by the Numbers, June 16, 2010
  122. "ABC's 2010 May Sweep and 2009–10 TV Season highlights". ABC Medianet. May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  123. "Die Season ist vorbei: Amerikas heißeste Liste". quotenmeter.de. July 5, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  124. Final 2009–10 Broadcast Primetime Show 18–49 Ratings, TV by the Numbers, June 16, 2010
  125. Final 2009–10 Broadcast Primetime Show Live+7 DVR Ratings, TV by the Numbers, June 16, 2010
  126. Gorman, Bill (February 13, 2012). "TV Ratings Sunday: Whitney Houston Memories Rocket 'Grammy Awards' Ratings, Pushes Competition To Lows". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  127. "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time', 'Family Guy', 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; 'Survivor: Reunion', 'Dateline' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  128. Gorman, Bill (May 24, 2012). "Complete List Of 2011–12 Season TV Show Viewership: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops, Followed By 'American Idol,' 'NCIS' & 'Dancing With The Stars'". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  129. Chang, Richard (March 12, 2006). "TV: "The Real Housewives of Orange County"". The Orange County Register . Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  130. "CSI show 'most popular in world'". BBC. July 31, 2006.
  131. "James Bond tuxedo raises £12,000". BBC News. December 11, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  132. "James Bond, 'Desperate Housewives' Raise Money for UK Charity". Starpulse.com. December 11, 2006. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  133. ""Lost" Is Found By Online Viewers". Neilsen. February 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  134. Bierly, Mandi (January 5, 2010). "Most pirated shows of 2009: Someone's still watching 'Heroes'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  135. "North Korea publicly executes 80 people 'for watching smuggled South Korea TV shows'". South China Morning Post . 2013-11-11. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03.
  136. "Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows". The Hollywood Reporter . September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  137. Longoria: "I Never Expected an Emmy", ContactMusic.com, July 24, 2005
  138. Desperate Housewives is streaming again – and it's as delicious as ever
  139. How to watch Desperate Housewives online: stream every episode from anywhere
  140. "Desperate Housewives: Season 1 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Teri Hatcher and 1 more". Amazon.co.uk. 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  141. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (Season 1) (Vol.1–23) (End) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. November 16, 2005. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  142. "Desperate Housewives – The Complete Second Season". Amazon. 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  143. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (Season 2) (Vol.1–24) (End) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. November 8, 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  144. "Desperate Housewives : Complete Series 1&2 Box Set DVD". Amazon.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  145. "Desperate Housewives – Season 3 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Teri Hatcher and 1 more". Amazon.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  146. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (Season 3) (End) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. October 30, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  147. "Desperate Housewives: Seasons 1–3 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.co.uk. November 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  148. Desperate Housewives Season 4 (Region 2) See Product Details
  149. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives Season 4 Boxset (DVD) (Korea Version)". November 29, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  150. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (The Complete 4th Season) (Hong Kong Version)". November 6, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  151. "Desperate Housewives: Seasons 1–7 (Box Set) [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk". Amazon UK. November 3, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  152. Desperate Housewives Season 5 (Region 2) See Product Details
  153. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (The Complete Fifth Season) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. November 3, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  154. "Desperate Housewives – Seasons 1 – 5 – Box Set: Amazon". Amazon. November 9, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  155. Desperate Housewives: The Complete Sixth Season on DVD. Amazon.com. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  156. "Mixup Music Store". Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.. www.MixUp.com. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  157. Desperate Housewives – The Complete 6th Season Announced ... More Desperate DVDs Are On the Way! Archived April 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , TVShowsonDVD.com, April 2, 2010
  158. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (The Complete Sixth Season) (Hong Kong Version)". September 20, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  159. Desperate Housewives – Season 6 – Complete DVD (2009), Amazon.co.uk, August 2, 2010
  160. "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES BOX SET (SEASON 1–6) (37DISCS) | DVD, DVD Genres, Drama/Romance : JB HI-FI". Jbhifionline.com.au. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  161. Lambert, David (May 6, 2011). "Desperate Housewives – Get 'Wild' on Wisteria Lane with 'The Complete 7th Season'!" Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  162. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (The Complete Seventh Season) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. October 4, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  163. "Desperate Housewives - Complete Seasons 1-7 - Amazon.com". Amazon. October 31, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  164. "Desperate Housewives – The Complete 8th and Final Season". Ezydvd.com.au. April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  165. "Desperate Housewives DVD news: Announcement for the Complete 8th and Final Season and the Complete Collection | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.. TVShowsonDVD.com, Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  166. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (The Complete Eighth And Final Season) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia. October 12, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  167. "Desperate Housewives DVD news: Announcement for the Complete 8th and Final Season and the Complete Collection | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012., TVShowsonDVD.com, May 5, 2012
  168. "YESASIA: Desperate Housewives (DVD) (S1-S8 Boxset) (Taiwan Version)". YesAsia. December 7, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  169. "Desperate Housewives – The Game". Beuna Vista Games. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  170. Desperate Housewives Mobile Game Official Website Archived 2007-10-17 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 3, 2007
  171. Buchanan, Levi (January 29, 2007). "Desperate Housewives Review". IGN . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  172. Re:Creation 2007 Product Catalogue, page 15 Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 3, 2007 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  173. Allmusic: Desperate Housewives, Retrieved August 3, 2007
  174. Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors. Hyperion Books. September 28, 2005. ISBN   978-1-4013-0826-1 . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  175. Styler, Christopher; Tobis, Scott S. (September 26, 2006). The Desperate Housewives Cookbook: Juicy Dishes and Saucy Bits. Hyperion Books. ISBN   978-1-4013-0277-1 . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  176. Andrews McMeel Publishing: Desperate Housewives 2008 Wall Calendar Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 5, 2007
  177. I.B. Tauris: Reading "Desperate Housewives" – Beyond the White Picket Fence, Retrieved August 5, 2007   Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  178. BenBella Books: Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 5, 2007
  179. Chalice Press: Not-so-desperate – Fantasy, Fact And Faith on Wisteria Lane Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 5, 2007
  180. Finn, Natalie (January 2, 2007). "Desperate Housewives Play Around". E! Online . Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  181. Madame Alexander Fall 2007 collection: Couture – Desperate Housewives, Retrieved August 5, 2008 Archived June 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  182. Elliott, Stuart (December 18, 2006). "Woman of a Scent". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  183. "Desperate Housewives Forbbiden Fruit Coty for women". Fragrantica. Coty Inc. 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  184. "Amazon.com : Desperate Housewives Forbbiden Fruit By Coty For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4-Ounces". Amazon.com . Coty Inc. 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  185. "Desperate Housewives Forbbiden Fruit Eau De Parfum for Women by Coty". Fragrance Net. Coty Inc. 2006. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  186. "Desperate Housewives Susan LR for women". Fragrantica. LR Health & Beauty Systems. August 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  187. "Desperate Housewives Lynette LR for women". Fragrantica. LR Health & Beauty Systems. August 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  188. "Desperate Housewives Bree LR for women". Fragrantica. LR Health & Beauty Systems. August 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  189. "Desperate Housewives Gabrielle LR for women". Fragrantica. LR Health & Beauty Systems. August 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  190. Parpis, Eleftheria (October 19, 2009). "The New Mini-Series". Adweek . Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  191. Nakashima, Ryan; Yao, Deborah (October 1, 2009). "Dramatized ads weave plot lines around product". The Age . Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  192. "'Housewives' going global". Variety. March 5, 2006. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  193. Amas de casa desesperadas Official Canal 13 Website Archived June 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 3, 2007
  194. Amas de casa desesperadas Official Teleamazonas Website Archived July 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved August 3, 2007
  195. Donas de Casa Desesperadas Official RedeTV Website, Retrieved August 3, 2007 Archived December 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  196. Do You Know Turkey (October 20, 2011). "New Tv Series: Turkish Desperate Housewives". Do You Know Turkey. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  197. "Desperate Housewives Africa". EbonyLife TV. 15 December 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  198. "Desperarate Housewives: The Game Archived 2018-02-18 at the Wayback Machine , Megazebra