Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional town of Fairview, the series tracks the lives of six housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries unfold in the background. The tone and style of the series combine elements of drama, comedy, mystery, and soap opera.

Plot and characters

:Main article: List of Desperate Housewives characters

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The show opens with the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), who narrates the episodes from beyond the grave. Mary Alice's suicide left behind a mystery involving her husband Paul Young (Mark Moses), her son Zach, and a mysterious toy chest, which Paul dug out from underneath the family's pool, that ultimately was revealed to have contained the skeletal remains of a dead woman's body.

Related Topics:
Brenda Strong - Mark Moses

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The story is unraveled through her four friends and neighbors. Each has their own storyline that ties into the theme of being a "desperate" housewife: accident-prone single mother Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) tries to find love; perfect housewife Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), mother of two problematic teenagers, struggles with the death of her husband; harried Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) tries to be super-mom of four while longing to return to her life as a corporate executive; and materialistic Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), an ex-runway model, who cheated on her husband, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), with their teenage gardener, is now pregnant and unsure who's the baby's father.

Related Topics:
Teri Hatcher - Marcia Cross - Felicity Huffman - Eva Longoria - Ricardo Antonio Chavira

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In its first season, the show reveals the mystery of why Mary Alice took her own life and the quest by a mysterious "plumber" named Mike Delfino (James Denton) to find out the fate of his former lover and fellow drug addict Dierdre. By the end of the season, the show resolves the mystery with the revelation that Mary Alice bought the heroin addicted Dierdre's only son Dana from her and then fled with her husband Paul to Fairview to keep the child (now named Zach) from being taken away from them. When Dierdre found them, Mary Alice refused to give up the child. Upon being accused of being back on drugs, Dierdre hit Paul and went to get her son, but Mary Alice murdered her and had her horrified husband dismember the body and bury it where the family was building a new pool in their backyard. What Mary Alice didn't count on was that one of her neighbors would find out about Mary Alice's secret from her sister (with whom Mary Alice had worked before fleeing town) and that she would attempt to blackmail Mary Alice. Rather than face this, Mary Alice killed herself. Mike learned of this information from Paul, whom Mike left in the desert (rather than killing), when Mike realized that Zach was the child he and Dierdre before Mike was imprisoned for killing a police officer in order to protect Dierdre (Mike had been told that Dierdre aborted the child).

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In the second season, the show's writers introduce numerous new interesting storylines for the housewives: Susan dealing with Mike's quest to reclaim his newly found son Zach; Bree dealing with her new status as a widow; the mystery of the new African-American residents on Wisteria Lane, Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard) and her son, and the prisoner they are keeping in their basement; Edie's (Nicollette Sheridan) attempt at a relationship with Susan's ex-husband Karl (Richard Burgi); Lynette's struggle with her fast-track career in advertising; and a pregnant Gabrielle trying to salvage her marriage to her husband, while trying not to cheat on him. Then there are the men: Mike, who has won Susan's heart; Lynette's adorable husband, Tom (Doug Savant), who volunteered to be "Mr. Mom" so his wife can go back to work; Gabrielle's better half, Carlos, who is currently in jail and recently learned of his wife's relationship with the gardener; Bree's pharmacist friend, George, who caused Rex's death by tampering with his medications; and Mary Alice's widowed husband, Paul, who is on the run from the demons in his past.

Related Topics:
Alfre Woodard - Nicollette Sheridan - Richard Burgi - Doug Savant

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Characters which categorize the families section not only include members of the actual family but also those who have an important relationship with them.

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