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.

Trivia

• In the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; Gardener John by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced, of course, by Brenda Strong for the series; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks.
• Opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. Also alluded to are the lesser known Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple by Robert Dale (drawn in a comic book style similar to that of Roy Liechtenstein) and a 1940s "Am I Proud!" poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).
• Every episode title in the first season (except Pilot), and now the second season references a song title, many of them by Stephen Sondheim: they include Every Day a Little Death, You Could Drive A Person Crazy and The Ladies Who Lunch.
• Various sources on the Internet and in the press have stated that the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey and Miranda Richardson (Richardson, in fact was considered, but declined the role of an English nanny) have expressed interest in guest starring on the show, however, it is unlikely they will ever get the opportunity as the producers do not want big names to distract the viewer from the plot.
• Note: Oprah Winfrey did appear in one episode of Desperate Housewives but it has only appeared in a special episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.
• The show's set is on the Universal Studios backlot and has been used for decades in many TV and movie productions to represent a typical American suburban neighborhood. It includes the houses used in The Munsters and the 1989 film The Burbs. An aerial photograph of the set is available from Microsoft TerraServer. http://terraservice.net/image.aspx?T=4&S=8&Z=11&X=7519&Y=75568&W=2
• Steven Culp confirmed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he would not return next season and that his character really is dead. He also said that the cast is expendable and at any time a character can die without the actor knowing.
• Charles Pratt Jr., head writer of ABC's successful daytime soap General Hospital, is a consultant on the series.
• Before the start of season 2, Eva Longoria and Jesse Metcalfe were Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher and his crew members. (NOTE: Metcalfe appeared on Punk'd twice)
• In the middle of the first season, there was a special on CBS, which showed families that lived on the real Wisteria Lane, in Wantagh, Long Island. The "desperate housewives" appeared on the cover of Newsday, and on the cover of the newspaper in England. These people stated that 'some people take drugs, some people aren't always sane, and that's very different then what you see on the TV show.' Another person stated that 'it's a funny show, but I don't want their problems.'