Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives is a popular American television show that first aired on October 3, 2004. An overnight sensation, the show became a primetime staple for real housewives-and their husbands-across the country.
Revolving primarily around five women who all live on fictional Wisteria Lane, the show buries its storylines (and often, its characters) in various mysteries and secrets. The impossibly attractive residents of Wisteria Lane spend most of their time trying to figure out each other’s lives, while simultaneously kicking their own “dirty laundry” into the closet.
In the premiere season, the plots centered primarily on only four of the housewives: Bree, Lynette, Susan and Gabrielle, played by Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria, respectively. However, due to the popularity of the “love to hate her” secondary character Edie Britt, Nicollette Sheridan was added as a lead actress in the cast, and her personal storylines were expanded.
Creator Marc Cherry was inspired to create Desperate Housewives by his mother, who told him in a telephone conversation that raising her children had made her feel a little “desperate” at times. The character of Bree Hodge is based on Cherry’s mother.
Desperate Housewives boasts multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins, as well as being the recipient of several lesser known awards. It airs Sunday nights at 9/8 central on ABC.
