Desperate Housewives Trivia!
We've been trawling the internet for fascinating Desperate
Housewives facts for you! Did you know....
1. Creator Marc Cherry said he got the idea to write the pilot
after a conversation with his mother. She told him that raising
Cherry and his siblings with their father away most of the time
made her feel "desperate" sometimes. Cherry based the character of
Bree on his mother.
2. Oprah Winfrey loved the show so much, she was invited to the
set, and had an exclusive show in which she showcased a 15-minute
"episode", where Oprah (as a new neighbour) learned of all the
secrets of the housewives.
3. Desperate Housewives was the first television series to win the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an
Ensemble in a Comedy Series for a show that had not yet completed
its first season.
4. Marcia Cross originally tried for the part of Mary Alice Young,
but was cast as Bree Van De Kamp. Nicollette Sheridan tried for the
part of Bree Van De Kamp, but was cast as Edie Britt.
5. Bree's response when her son tells her he's gay is, "I'd love
you even if you were a murderer," the same quote that Marc Cherry's
mother told him when he came out.
6. Producers believed Ricardo Chavira to be too young and not suave
enough, and almost didn't cast him as Carlos Solis.
7. Calista Flockhart, Heather Locklear, and Mary-Louise Parker were
considered for the role of Susan. Courteney Cox was also considered
for the role of Susan. Marc Cherry didn't ask her because at the
time she was pregnant with her daughter Coco and had expressed
interest in taking some time off to raise the baby.
8. Dana Delany, who now plays Katherine, auditioned for the
role of Bree and was offered the part. After thinking about it, she
declined the role. Her reasoning was that she had played a similar
role in the soap Pasadena, and felt she would be repeating
herself.
9. Sheryl Lee was originally cast as Mary Alice Young and actually
shot the pilot but at the last minute Brenda Strong was cast in the
role and Mary Alice's scenes had to be re-shot.
10. A fan of Desperate Housewives loved the dress Gabrielle
wore in the pilot so much that she wrote to the producers asking
name of the designer so he could maybe design her a prom dress. The
producers instead sent her the actual gown and she wore it to her
prom.
11. Susan Walters, Sharon Lawrence, Laura Leighton, Roma Downey and
Jeri Ryan all auditioned for the part of Bree.
12. The house that Marcia Cross (Bree Van De Kamp) lives in was
previously used in the NBC drama Providence.
13. Each hour-long episode is filmed in eight days, typically three
on location, and five on the Universal Studios lot.
14. Michelle Rodriguez turned down a part in Desperate Housewives
to do Lost. When Ellen DeGeneres asked her why on her chat show,
Rodriguez joked: "Because if you're not a housewife, then what's
the point?"
15. Eva Longoria Parker and Jesse Metcalfe are only three
years apart in age - Longoria being the older one. However, in the
first season, Eva's character Gaby was accused of having an affair
with a minor.
16. Tom and Lynette's children are all named with letter P; Porter,
Parker, Preston, and Penny Scavo.
17. In April 2010, Nicollette Sheridan sued series creator Marc
Cherry for $20 million on charges of assault and battery, gender
violence, wrongful termination, and "intentional infliction of
emotional distress". She said that Cherry created a hostile working
environment and behaved unprofessionally towards her on and
off-set.
