What You Didn’t Know About Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives was a long running mystery series, which aired on ABC from 2004 until 2012. The series focused on “Wisteria Lane,” a street in a well-to-do suburban town that is racked by drama, murder, and mystery after the suicide of a housewife who narrates most of the series.

The show received positive ratings from audiences and critics, and was a multi-time winner of various Emmy awards, Golden Globe Awards, and even Screen Actors Guild Awards. Desperate Housewives also received mostly positive critical reviews, although the reviews towards the end of the series often criticized the sometimes rehashed storylines.

If you were a fan of the series as it aired or you are one of the many people watching it for the first time via streaming or DVD releases, you will definitely want to take a look at some interesting and even surprising things that you didn’t know about Desperate Housewives.

The show was originally pitched with a different genre and name

Creator Marc Cherry originally conceived the series to be a half-hour comedy show. However, after discussions with his agent, Cherry was convinced to re-frame the series into something more like a soap opera–drama, mystery, and humor all in one.

The series also had two different names before Cherry successfully fought to keep Desperate Housewives: ABC’s producers wanted it to be called Wisteria Lane or The Secret Lives of Housewives.

Many other actresses considered for the role of Susan Mayer

Fans of Desperate Housewives couldn’t imagine the series without Susan Mayer, but she wasn’t the first or only actress who was considered for the role. Prior to Hatcher’s audition–described by Marc Cherry as “the best network audition he’s ever seen”–Mary-Louise Parker, Heather Locklear and Courtney Cox were all considered.

The Desperate Housewives set has Hollywood history

The series was filmed on a back lot set at Universal Studios, which is known in the studio as “Colonial Street.”  This set was built back in 1946 and has been used in many TV show producers, including The Munsters and Leave it to Beaver! Desperate Housewives is the first TV show to actually use the entire street set at one time, although the houses were given new looks for the production to make them look more suburban.

The fourth season had to be heavily trimmed

The Writers Guilt Strike of 2007-2008 affected many TV shows, including Desperate Housewives. The show’s fourth season had to be reduced by seven episodes, which meant that multiple storylines and subplots had to be axed. Only two of these dropped stories were able to be written into the show at a later date, however; a storyline of Danielle getting her baby and Gabrielle facing her stepfather. Fans have often speculated what the other dropped storylines must have been, but so far, creator Marc Cherry and the show’s former writers have not revealed what their plans were—or how their plans for the characters may have changed due to the writer’s strike.  Just click http://cabletelevisionbundles.s9.com/time-warner-cable-packages-.html if you are looking for more great entertainment.

Everything You Need to Know About ABC’s Mistresses

Mistresses  is a recent ABC drama mystery which is currently set to premiere its third season in the late spring of 2015. The series has been received with mixed critical and audience reviews, although a sizable fan following of the show has developed, possibly due to its similarities to similar mystery dramas such as Desperate Housewives. Although the show is far from perfect, many fans find the mysterious, scandalous elements of the series to be enough of a draw to tune in every week. If you’re a fan of the show or are considering tuning in, take a look at everything you need to know about ABC’s mystery-drama, Mistresses.

The Story

The show is actually an adaptation of a British television series of the same name. Both shows follow four adult female friends who are involved in complex, scandalous, and illicit relationships, both with others—and within their own circle of friends. The American show, however, has adapted many of the characters and storylines to be more palatable and familiar to American audiences; these changes include changing character names, occupations and, in some cases, ages.

The Creative Team

The ABC version of Mistresses was developed by K.J Steinberg and is written by Lowri Glain; S.J. Clarkson is credited as the writer of the original UK series. The executive producers of the series include Douglas Rae and Rina Mimoun; Mimoun is best known for her writing credits on shows such as Dawson’s Creek, Everwood, Pushing Daisies and the Gilmore Girls while Rae is best known for his role as executive producer on numerous UK shows.

The Cast

The show’s primary cast for seasons 1 and 2 are Alyssa Milano as Savannah Davis, a divorced lawyer; Rochelle Aytes as April Malloy, a widow and single mother; Yunjin Kim as Dr. Karen Kim, a psychiatrist; and Jes Macallen as Josslyn Carver, a real estate agent. The show’s supporting cast includes Brett Tucker as Harry Davis, Savanah’s ex-husband; Jason George as Dominic Taylor, a co-worker of Savannah’s; Justin Hartley as Scott; Penelope Ann Miller as Elizabeth Grey; and Dondre Whitfield as Paul Malloy.

The show’s third season will see a drastic cast change; this is due to budget cuts, which have moved the filming location for the series from Los Angeles California to Vancouver, Canada. The budget cuts have made it impossible for the show to give actress Alyssa Milano her desired salary per episode in addition to paying for her expenses to fly to Canada for shooting; as a result, her character is being written out of the show, and a new character–Calista Raines, played by Jennifer Esposito–is expected to take her place.

This move has been heavily criticized by fans of the show due to the fact that Alyssa Milano was one of the most popular actresses in the series, and was considered by many to be the “main draw” to the show due to her popularity as a TV actress. Despite this criticism, the show’s writers are hoping to move forward with new storylines in season 3.  Interested in more?   Click cabletelevisionbundles.s9.com to access lots of great home entertainment.