Desperate Housewives Cast And Season Episode Guide
The soap opera-likee comedy, mystery and drama series, aka Desperate Housewives, will always be remembered by viewers. The show has certainly entered motion picture history with the number of awards, positive reviews and several million views. Desperate Housewives is an American TV show produced by Cherry Production and ABC Studios.
The creator of the show, at the same time and executive producer, Marc Cherry, was in the role of a show-runner as well. Since the fourth season, other executive producers’ names were written on the board like George W. Perkins, Larry Shaw, Bob Daily, John Pardee, David Grossman, and Joey Murphy. the first episode of the Desperate Housewives show was aired on October 3, 2004, and since then every Sunday at 9 p.m. ( 9 p.m. eastern time or 8 p.m. central time) a new episode was released on ABC.
Flashback
The story revolved around four female characters, residents at the Wisteria lane, friends, family, and neighbors. If you have seen the show then you must have heard that the typical opening and ending of each episode is by a narrator, who is none the less but their dead neighbor- Mary Alice Young. Wisteria Lane, the show’s setting, is a fictional street in a non-existent place called Fairview in the invented Eagle State. The narrator of the show unravels the Wisteria Lane’s secrets, mysteries, misfortunes, fortunes, and funny situations.
Physically Mary Alice Young is present only in the first episode when she allegedly commits suicide. In the latter episode and seasons, we can see Mary Alice only through flashbacks, memories, and dreams. The story that she tells covers the eight seasons of the show which include around thirteen years of the main character’s lives. The beginning of the story was set between 2004 and 2008, and the later part of the story was a few years on, from 2013 to 2017. The storyline also moves to and fro in time through flashbacks set as early as in 1980 and as futuristic as in 2020.
A Word Or Two About The Desperate Housewives Production Crew
Executive producers changed from season to season. The only producer being always there was, of course, the creator himself- Marc Cherry. Other than him co-executive producers in season 1 and season two were Tom Spezialy and Michael Edelstein.
Tom even left his previous job to be a part of the new hit series- Desperate Housewives.
Filming The Series For Desperate Housewives
The opening sequence was the creator’s idea, but Cherry had some trouble executing it. Even though he sought for help in over a dozen of specialist companies, the solution was no way near. In short, the opening sequence maybe portrays one of the oldest stories about female-male interaction and connection.
Although the electronic sound pervades there are still a few live tunes. Themes for particular events repeat as well as for certain characters in the show.
Universal Records
Universal Records even distributed the soundtrack album of the first season of Desperate Housewives which was produced by Hollywood Records. All the songs on the album were either inspired by the show of were used in the first season. Later on, when they were filming the following seasons some of the songs were incorporated in scenes there too.
After the break of a few years, the show continued filming in 2009. The price signed for the last season to be was 12 million American dollars. This amazing deal with ABC raised the hopes of the whole crew for yet another season, season 9. The official agreement for season 8 with the ABC studios was signed on May 17, 2011.
The final season of Desperate Housewives
A few months after making the official agreement for the eighth season the rumors were confirmed. In August 2011, it was published that the eighth season of Desperate Housewives would also be the last one. All the hopes of the crew for season 9 were completely dashed. However, leading actresses parted with the ABC production and Marc Cherry with tons of gratitude for the life-changing experience they have had while filming it.
Desperate Housewives Episode Guide
Desperate Housewives Season 1
We get to know the leading characters in the show through the main mystery around which the first season revolves.
The relationship with her husband Tom Scavo is not brilliant either which makes things for Lynette even worse. The most attractive one of the group is the ex-model- Gabrielle Solis. She is married to a rich and handsome husband, Carlos Solis, played by Ricardo Antonio Chavira.
Even though the love and respect towards her husband are great she still feels like something is missing from her life which pushes her in the arms of their gardener. The affair develops and Gabrielle is out of her mind terrified that her husband doesn’t find out about it. The perfectionist of the group is Bree Van de Kamp who struggles to save the not so perfect marriage to Rex Van de Kamp, played by Steven Culp.
Desperate Housewives Season 2
The premiere of the second season was scheduled for September 25, 2005. The key mystery in this season is the new neighbor on Wisteria Lane – Betty Applewhite, played by Alfred Woodard. The reason why the group of housewives worked up their imagination was the strange hour of moving in. the new neighbor joined the neighborhood late and night and under, according to them, suspicious circumstances.
When it comes to the personal lives of our heroines there are some turbulences there too. Bree, for example, lost her husband and after that, she struggles to find the meaning of her life. She turns to alcohol, promiscuous behavior, reckless activities and even accidentally dating her late husband’s murderer. So she and her son are growing apart at a mighty fast rate and there is absolutely nothing she can do about it.
She starts a job in advertising where she proves to be awesome.
Her husband Tom, played by Doug Savant, thinks that staying at home is amazing and doesn’t see why Lynette hates it so much, but soon enough he sees her part of the story. Gabi is sick of playing games and realizes that maybe it is time for her and Carlos to have a baby. Her mother-in-law gets on her nerves, but all in all, Gabrielle manages well.
Desperate Housewives Season 3
This season’s premiere was aired on September 24, 2006.
To make matters worse, a girl appears at their doorstep claiming to be Tom’s daughter from another woman. After an unbearable tension, Gabi and Carlos crackdown too and they get divorces. At times of desperation the former Mrs.
Season 4
In the fourth season, there is another mystery around which other events developed. In this season the prime mystery is yet another new neighbor. This time it is about Katherine Mayfair, played by Dana Delany. Katherine and her family come back to Wisteria Lane after the long absence of 12 years.
The newcomers stick to each other a lot which makes the air around them even more dreadful. Lynette learns that she has cancer and does everything to win the battle. Her friends are around for support but at times she feels like she cannot take it anymore. Gabrielle’s marriage to the mayor, Victor becomes extremely unbearable. Gabrielle is desperate and realizes she misses Carlos badly.
Gabrielle
The pair starts an affair that will lead to something else later on. Edie dates Carlos in this season and would do anything to keep him by her side, although not very successfully. Susan discovers that she is expecting a baby and there seems nothing that can shatter their happiness. In the meanwhile, Bree’s daughter comes at her mother’s door uncovering a baby bump. Bree decides to fake her own pregnancy and to claim the illegitimate child of her daughter as her own. New neighbors from Chicago move in down the street.
The new characters in the fourth season are the gay couple Lee and Bob. There is a potential tornado disaster by the end of the fourth season which shakes up the main characters as well as all the residents on Wisteria Lane.
Desperate Housewives Season 5
The premiere of the fifth season was on September 28, 2008, but in the show, there was a five-year- leap since season four. There is no main mystery in the fifth season but many minor ones.
Dave married Edie and is acting somewhat dodgy. All the time he lives on Wisteria Lane he looks for a way to get revenge on Mike.
Mike and Susan are no longer together and it is hard for Susan to cope with the responsibilities that a single mother has. Though times are hard she still finds a speck of hope in the romance with the painter that works for her. Mike starts a relationship with Katherine who is working with Bree.
Her husband is a night club owner which burns down when most of the residents of Wisteria Lane were in it. Gabrielle and Carlos are back together and now have not only one, but two daughters. However, things are not as fabulous as Carlos has temporary blindness, and a financial crisis is also hanging over their heads. By the end of the fifth season, Edie suddenly dies after a car crash. Her premature death stopped her from sharing the secret about her husband, Dave that she wanted to share with all the residents of Wisteria Lane.
Desperate Housewives Season 6
The premiere of the sixth season was on September 27, 2009. The new neighbor on the street, Angie Bolen, played by Brea de Matteo, brought in the new mystery as well. Gabrielle feels threatened by a niece, Ana Solis, played by Maiara Walsh, and has a hard time trying to tame the teenage diva that uses her beauty to make boys do everything she asks for.
Lynette is working for Carlos and she is proving herself to be a very trustworthy employee. However, things don’t go that smoothly in the office later on and Lynette is considering suing Carlos. Mike and Katherine break up and she starts a strange act.
Mike and Susan get back together again. Susan’s ex-husband, Karl hooks up with Bree in this season. Bree develops deep affections towards him but it all ends in tears when his rented plane crashes in a structure with Orson inside. services
Season 7
This time Paul comes with another wife and plots revenge on the neighbors who turned a cold shoulder on him while he most needed support.
Renee Perry, the ex-wife of a famous football player, moves in Wisteria Lane. Renee and Lynette’s friendship goes back in college days when they were inseparable.
Season 8 – The Last One
The central mystery in this season is the murder of Alejandro Perez, played by Tony Plana. He was Gaby’s stepfather who also abused her as a child. He manages to track her down and at the end of the previous season, she confronts her. Carlos then steps in and accidentally kills him.
The four housewives then decide to cover for Carlos’ deed and come up with a story that they should hold on to in case it is necessary. Bree starts dating Chuck Vance, played by Jonathan Cake. Chuck is a detective who will start investigating Alexandro’s murder. This puts Bree in the center of the investigation and the one who will take the greater part of the burden herself even the accusation of murdering Gabrielle’s dead stepfather.
Important
Ben has some financial issues and involves himself with shark loans to manage to save his project. In this season Mike somehow stands in the middle between his friend and neighbor Ben and the loan shark.
This dangerous issue ends with the murder of Mike while sitting on his doorstep. In the meanwhile, Susan has to find a solution for Julie’s pregnancy. Initially, Julie wants to give the baby up for adoption so she could move on with her studies and then her carrier but Susan somehow manages to dissuade her. As it turns out Julie is pregnant by Lynette’s son, Porter. Susan is not the only one feeling guilty about what happened to Alexandro, Carlos too cannot erase the scene from his head.
He resorts to drinking and develops addiction towards alcohol. Gaby sees that this can destroy her husband and sends him in a fancy rehab place. During Carlos’s rehab, she finds a job as a personal shop assistant and makes a lot of money. For the first time, she and Carlos switch roles when it comes to providing for the family. She uses her daughter to spy on her father and his new girlfriend.
About Last Season
Lynette is very resourceful in this season and uses Tom’s boss to keep Tom busy with an extra load of work and consequently to spend less time with his co-worker and lover. At this point, Lynette realizes that she cannot have anything to do with Tom’s boss because she still has strong feelings for Tom. The elderly Mrs. McCluskey is having some health issues. She feels depressed and thinks that it would be best if she took her own life. Luckily Bree succeeds in convincing her that life is worth living.
In the last episode of the show, there was something from everything, a birth, a wedding, and a death. There was even a flashback for the future of the four Desperate Housewives. The season’s finale lasted for two straight hours. Everything almost happens at once.
After this chaotic set of events, the wedding finally happens and Lynette realizes what she has been doing wrong all the time. She and Tom get back together and they decide to go to New York. Bree falls in love with the lawyer who is standing her case but is not willing to let herself so easily in this relationship. The lawyer knows every speck of dirt under the mat regarding Bree and still considers her as an amazing woman. Karen, unfortunately, loses her battle with cancer and dies. Eventually, everyone moves away from Wisteria Lane to live their fantasy lives.
Season Cast
In the second season of the Desperate Housewives, the number of starring actors escalated as quite a few guest star actors in season one became regular characters in the Desperate Housewives series.
Desperate Housewives Season First-year Sucess
During this time the popularity of the Desperate Housewives show grew to that point that everyone knew what the term Desperate Housewives referred to. The review was amazing and the reception by the critics and viewers was unbelievably huge. Solely the pilot episode has 21.3 million views which figure spoke for itself and the show as voted as the best new drama of the year, the best pilot episode for ABC studios and the highest-rated and viewed series in the last decade.
Thanks to the series Desperate Housewives ABC managed to win the struggle with the possible downfall. Along with LOST and the ABC popular series GREY’S Anatomy, Desperate Housewives is one of the best and most successful productions of ABC.
Season Afterwards
The popularity maintained and the views were as huge as in year one, only this time 22.2 million. In the list of the most-watched TV shows of all times, our Desperate Housewives managed to get the fourth place. Season by season the number of viewers grew by millions. In the second year of broadcasting, the most-watched episode was the season’s finale and the number of viewers was already 28.4 million.
The final episode of the second season is the second most-watched in the series. However, with the switching and changing of executive producers and co-executive producers, critics have noticed decreasing of spirit and wit and mystery characteristic for the show. However, he did not predict that one of the crucial actresses, Marcia Cross had to take a maternity leave due to her complicated pregnancy.
She wasn’t able to film much which was a reason enough for concern but still, the views of the show didn’t drop as low as the creator had feared. For season 3 the number of views was 17.5 million. After the leave of Macia, there was more room for the character of Edie which adds to the fact that the number of viewers aged between 18 and 24 escalated in this season. This number brought the show to the tenth most-watched show. It was quite a blow to drop from the fourth to the tenth place on that list but this gave the zeal much needed for both. The creator and the team of writers to strive for an amazing comeback with season four.
Finally
The most viewed episode in season four was the ninth episode with as many as 20.6 million viewers. This brought the show loser to the top of the list with the fifth position. That year Desperate Housewives even managed to outshine the still-filming drama, Gray’s Anatomy, and CSI, in terms of script.
On the list of most-watched TV shows with season six, Desperate Housewives had the 11th place.
The seventh season proved to be a failure in terms that the show for the first time was not in the top 20 most-watched TV shows. In terms of views, season 7 hit the show’s lowest point. For the first time, the views were less than 10 million.
After the second half of the show, the ratings dropped even lower with only 7 million views. The final episode managed to recover the ratings of the show with 11.12 million views. Desperate Housewives had its low and high moments.
The show received numerous Prime Teem Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
