The first season of ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

'', an American television series created by

Marc Cherry Marc Cherry (born March 23, 1962) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series ''Desperate Housewives'' and Lifetime series ''Devious Maids''. Personal life Early life Marc Cherry was ...

, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2004, concluded May 22, 2005, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of

Mary Alice Young Mary Alice Young (previously Angela Forrest) is a fictional character from the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and is portrayed by Brenda Strong, who ...

, a seemingly perfect housewife who commits suicide, fearing that a dark secret involving her, her husband, and their son would be exposed. At her wake, Mary Alice's four close friends and the main characters,

Susan Mayer Susan Delfino (née Bremmer and formerly Mayer) is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry. She first appe ...

Lynette Scavo Lynette Scavo is a fictional character from the American comedy drama television series ''Desperate Housewives'', which aired on ABC from 2004 to 2012. Developed by series creator Marc Cherry, Lynette was portrayed by Felicity Huffman. Lynette ...

Bree Van de Kamp Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. She was played by actress Marcia Cross, who received multiple awards and nominations for her portrayal, including a ...

and

Gabrielle Solis Gabrielle "Gaby" Solis () is a fictional character portrayed by Eva Longoria on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. Longoria was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for h ...

, are introduced. All of them live in the suburb of Fairview on

Wisteria Lane Wisteria Lane is a fictional street at the center of U.S. television drama series ''Desperate Housewives''. ''Desperate Housewives'' storylines primarily center on the residents of the street. The set for Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal ...

. Narrating the series from beyond the grave, Mary Alice describes how her friends try to discover the reason for her suicide while dealing with the problems of their own personal lives. ''

first season aired in the United States (U.S.) on Sundays at 9:00 pm ET on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

. In addition to the 23 regular episodes, a special, Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry, aired on April 24, 2005. The season garnered an average of 23.7 million viewers in the U.S. per all 23 episodes, ranking as the fourth most-watched television series during the 2004–05 American television season. In the United Kingdom, the season premiered on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

on January 5, 2005, and subsequently aired Wednesdays at 10 pm on the network. It aired in Canada on

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned List of Canadian ...

and in Australia on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. The season was released on DVD as a six-disc box set under the title of ''Desperate Housewives – The Complete First Season'' on September 20, 2005, by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Ph ...

in Region 1, in Region 2 on October 10, 2005, and in Region 4 on November 28, 2005. The season is also available for purchase by registered users on the U.S. iTunes Store.

Production

Marc Cherry wrote the script for the ''Housewives''

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and his agent appealed it to six networks, (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

and Lifetime) only to have all of them turn it down. Later, after his previous agent was arrested for

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

, he hired a team of new agents, who saw the script "as a soap opera with dark comedy in it". After Cherry edited parts of the pilot script and pitched it to

, network executives were impressed, causing ABC to order 13 episodes. Filming for the season started around March 2004 at the

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

backlot

Colonial Street Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television. From 2004 to 2012, it was used in the filming of the ...

. This season was produced by Touchstone Television (now

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

) and Cherry Productions and aired on the ABC network. The executive producers were Cherry, Michael Edelstein, Charles Pratt Jr., and Tom Spezialy with Pratt Jr., Chris Black,

Oliver Goldstick Oliver Goldstick (born January 9, 1961) is an American television screenwriter and producer. Most notably, Goldstick was the creator and executive producer of '' Inconceivable'', a short-lived medical drama. He is credited as executive producer o ...

, Joey Murphy, and John Pardee serving as consulting producers. The staff writers were Cherry, Goldstick, Spezialy, Pardee, Murphy, and Black; producers

Alexandra Cunningham Alexandra Cunningham (born 1972/73) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and television producer. From 1998 through 2000, she attended the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School. Her plays include ''The Th ...

Tracey Stern Tracey Stern is an American television writer and producer. Stern made her television debut writing for the first two seasons of '' ER''. She has also worked as a writer on '' Pacific Blue'', '' Sports Night'', ''Angel'', '' Law & Order: Special ...

, and

Patty Lin Patty Lin is an American author and former television screenwriter and producer. She is a graduate of Cornell University. Career She has written episodes for the television series ''Friends'', ''Freaks and Geeks'', ''Martial Law'', '' Citizen Ba ...

; co-executive producer Kevin Murphy,

Jenna Bans Jenna Bans is an American screenwriter. She is a producer and writer on ''Grey's Anatomy'', and is the creator and the co-producer (along with Shonda Rhimes) of '' Off the Map'', a series which premiered on ABC in January 2011, and was cancelled ...

, David Schulner,

Adam Barr Adam Barr is a television screenwriter and producer best known for his comedy credits including the hit NBC series ''Will & Grace''. In the early nineties he teamed up with best friend Peter Ocko, with whom he wrote 12 episodes of ''Parker Lewis ...

, Katie Ford, and Joshua Senter. Regular directors throughout the season included

Charles McDougall Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director. Biography McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' (which includes the unaired pilot as well). M ...

Arlene Sanford Arlene Sanford is an American film and television director. Sanford has directed for several notable television series and several motion picture and television films which include '' A Very Brady Sequel'' (1996), '' I'll Be Home for Christmas ...

, Larry Shaw,

Jeff Melman Jeffrey L. Melman (born May 18, 1947) is an American television director and producer. Melman has directed for several present-day network television series. More recently Melman has directed episodes of ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' Private Pra ...

Fred Gerber Fred Gerber is an American film and television director and television producer. Gerber has directed several popular television series which include ''The X-Files'', ''Desperate Housewives'' and ''House''. Gerber has also served as a producer o ...

, David Grossman, and

John David Coles John David Coles is an American director and producer. Coles was nominated in 2015 for an Emmy and PGA Award for his work as an executive producer and director on '' House of Cards.' '' He also has directing credits on the Showtime series ''H ...

. Its orchestral score was composed by

Steve Bartek Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer ...

and

Steve Jablonsky Steve Jablonsky (born October 9, 1970) is an American composer for film, television, and video games, best known for his musical scores in the ''Transformers'' film series, ''Desperate Housewives'', and '' The Sims 3''. Some of his frequent col ...

, while the series' theme was composed by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

. Cherry also served as the season's

show runner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

Cast

Regular cast

Starring

Teri Hatcher Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997). She also played Paris Carver in the ''Production ...

Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...

Marcia Cross Marcia Anne Cross (born March 25, 1962) is an American actress. She acted in daytime soap operas such as ''The Edge of Night'', ''Another World (TV series), Another World'', and ''One Life to Live'' before moving to primetime television with a ...

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, and businesswoman. After several guest roles on television, she became recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS day ...

Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born November 21, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived American Broadcasting Company, ABC primetime soap opera ''Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as st ...

Edie Britt Edie Britt is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. Nicollette Sheridan portrayed Edie from her debut in the pilot episode of the series unti ...

Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), '' James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politic ...

Rex Van de Kamp Dr. Rex Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. He is portrayed by Steven Culp, and is the first and late husband of one of the series' protagonists, Bree Van de Kamp (portrayed by Marcia Cross ...

Ricardo Antonio Chavira Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in '' Selena: The Seri ...

Carlos Solis Carlos Solis () is a fictional character portrayed by Ricardo Chavira on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. He is, for most of the series, the husband of Gabrielle Solis, portrayed by Eva Longoria. Past Carlos was born in Gu ...

Mark Moses Mark Moses (born February 24, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Paul Young in the ABC comedy-drama '' Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2011) and as Herman "Duck" Phillips in the AMC period drama '' Mad Men'' (2007–2 ...

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

* Andrea Bowen as Julie Mayer *

Jesse Metcalfe Jesse Eden Metcalfe (born December 9, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for being John Rowland on ''Desperate Housewives''. Metcalfe has also had notable roles on ''Passions'' and played the title role in '' John Tucker Must Die''. He sta ...

as John Rowland *

Cody Kasch Cody Reed Kasch (born August 21, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his role of Zach Young on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Desperate Housewives''. Early life Kasch was born in Santa Monica, California. He is of Scottish descent. He ...

as Zach Young *

Brenda Strong Brenda Lee Strong"Miss Arizona 1980"
''Arizona Republic''. July 13, 1980. ...

James Denton James Denton (born January 20, 1963) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mike Delfino on ABC's comedy drama series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012) and Dr. Sam Radford on Hallmark Channel's fantasy seri ...

Mike Delfino Michael Delfino is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. The character is portrayed by James Denton from the show's inception, until the eighth and final season of the show. Characterization and casting ...

Recurring

* Brent Kinsman as Preston Scavo *

Shane Kinsman Brent Kinsman and Shane Kinsman (born November 13, 1997) are American twin child actors who roles include Kyle and Nigel Baker in the 2003 film ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' and its 2005 sequel '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2''. They also had featured role ...

as Porter Scavo *

Doug Savant Douglas Peter Savant (born June 21, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Matt Fielding in the Fox prime time soap opera '' Melrose Place'' (1992–97), Tom Scavo in ABC comedy-drama '' Desperate Housewives'' (2004–12), and ...

Tom Scavo Thomas Scavo is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'', played by actor Doug Savant. During Season 1, Tom was credited as a recurring role, but became credited as a series regu ...

* Zane Huett as Parker Scavo * Joy Lauren as

Danielle Van de Kamp ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama series that aired on ABC (American Broadcasting Company). It focuses on the residents living on the fictional Wisteria Lane as narrated by their deceased neighbor, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Stro ...

Shawn Pyfrom Shawn Caminiti Pyfrom (born August 16, 1986) is an American actor and singer who has appeared in several television series and films. He is best known for his portrayal of Andrew Van de Kamp on ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' and as Lionel Griff ...

Andrew Van de Kamp Andrew Van de Kamp is a fictional character in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' played by Shawn Pyfrom, and is the son of one of the title characters, Bree Van de Kamp, and her first husband Rex Van de Kamp. As one of the few L ...

Harriet Sansom Harris Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on ''Frasier'' and Felicia Tilman on ''Desperate Housewives''. Harris won a Tony Award in 2002 as a Fe ...

as Felicia Tilman *

Christine Estabrook Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The Crew'', '' Nikki'', '' Desperate Housewives'', and ''American Horror Story''; she had a recurrin ...

as Martha Huber *

Roger Bart Roger Bart (born September 29, 1962) is an American actor. He won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Snoopy in the 1999 revival of '' You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''. Bart received his second Tony Award nomination ...

as George Williams *

Lupe Ontiveros Guadalupe Ontiveros (; September 17, 1942 – July 26, 2012) was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in '' The Goonies'', and Yolanda Saldívar in the film ''Selena''. She acted in numerous films and television shows. Ontive ...

as Juanita "Mama" Solis *

Lucille Soong Lucille Soong (born September 5, 1935) is a Chinese-American actress. In the 1960s she occasionally worked under the stage name Soong Ling. She is best known for her role as Jenny Huang in the television series '' Fresh Off the Boat'' (2015–2 ...

as Yao Lin * Ryan Carnes as Justin *

Marla Sokoloff Marla Sokoloff (pronounced SOCK-oloff) (born December 19, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for playing Gia Mahan on ''Full House'' and '' Fuller House'', Cokie Mason in '' The Babysitters Club'' movie, and Lucy Hatcher on the legal dram ...

as Claire *

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...

as Noah Taylor *

Sam Lloyd Sam Lloyd (November 12, 1963 – April 30, 2020) was an American actor and singer who played lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series '' Scrubs'' and the sitcom '' Cougar Town''. Early life Lloyd was born in Springfield, Vermont, ...

as Dr. Albert Goldfine *

Richard Roundtree Richard Arnold Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film '' Shaft'' and four of its sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Shaft ...

as Mr. Shaw *

Pat Crawford Brown Pat Crawford Brown (June 29, 1929July 2, 2019) was an American actress. Life and career Brown was born in New York City and worked as an English teacher at Carson High School. After retiring from her teaching job, she made her screen debut in 1 ...

as Ida Greenberg *

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She made her Broadway debut in '' 110 in the Shade'' in 1963. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical product ...

as Sophie Bremmer *

Richard Burgi Richard William Burgi (, born July 30, 1958) is an American film and television actor best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellison on '' The Sentinel'' and as Karl Mayer on ''Desperate Housewives''. He also portrayed Paul Hornsby in the ABC da ...

as Karl Mayer *

Jeff Doucette Jeffrey Doucette (born November 25, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, and director. Doucette toured for years with Ernst Emling as the comedy duo Jeff and Ernst. Doucette has appeared in over 90 films and television shows and written two play ...

as Father Crowley

Guest

Terry Bozeman Terry Bozeman (born 1 January 1950) is an American actor. Career He appears as Dr. Lee Craighttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102462/ Retrieved: October 12, 2010. on ''Desperate Housewives''. He played Richard Armus on the thriller '' 24''. He also ...

as Dr. Lee Craig *

Mehcad Brooks Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2005–2006), Jerome in '' The ...

as Matthew Applewhite *

Nick Chinlund Zareh Nicholas Chinlund (born November 18) is an American actor and voice actor in television, film, and video games. Personal life Zareh Nicholas Chinlund was born in New York City on November 18. Career Chinlund performed on ''General Hospit ...

as Detective Sullivan *

Kathryn Joosten Kathryn Joosten (; December 20, 1939 – June 2, 2012) was an American actress. Her best known roles include Delores Landingham on NBC's ''The West Wing'' from 1999 to 2002 and Karen McCluskey on ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' from 2005 to 201 ...

as Karen McCluskey *

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard ( ; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Scree ...

Betty Applewhite Betty Applewhite is a fictional character played by actress Alfre Woodard on the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives''. The character is introduced in the last episodes of the series' first season, and becomes the center of the mystery ...

The first season features a cast of thirteen actors who receive

star billing Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works. Information given in billing usually consists of the companies, actors, direct ...

Brenda Strong Brenda Lee Strong"Miss Arizona 1980"
''Arizona Republic''. July 13, 1980. ...

narrated the series as the deceased

portrayed

, the klutzy, lovable divorced mother in search of love.

played

, a former career woman who is now a full-time mother of four.

acted as

, the uptight, perfectionist homemaker and mother of two teenagers who is struggling to save her marriage.

starred as

, the materialistic ex–

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

who cheats on her husband.

played the neighborhood

slut ''Slut (archaic: slattern)'' is an English-language term for a person, usually a woman, who is sexually promiscuous or considered to have loose sexual morals. It is predominately used as an insult, sexual slur or offensive term of disparageme ...

and Susan's rival,

played

, Bree's emasculated, sexually dissatisfied husband.

starred as Gabrielle's neglectful, high-powered executive husband,

portrayed Mary Alice's mysterious widower,

. Andrea Bowen played Susan's knowledgeable, level-headed daughter, Julie Mayer.

played the Solis' gardener and Gabrielle's

adulterous Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept e ...

lover, John Rowland.

played Mary Alice's and Paul's troubled and mentally unstable son Zach Young, and

portrayed the neighborhood plumber and Susan's love interest,

, who has a secret of his own. Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline.

played

, Lynette's husband who is often away on business; Savant later became a series regular.

appeared as Bree and Rex's rebellious and headstrong son

acted as Karen McCluskey, Lynette's neighbor across the street, and

portrayed the neighborhood

Martha Huber ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama series that aired on ABC (American Broadcasting Company). It focuses on the residents living on the fictional Wisteria Lane as narrated by their deceased neighbor, Mary Alice Young (Brenda S ...

Reception

Viewership and reviews

The pilot episode, which aired on October 3, 2004, garnered 21.6 million viewers, ranking first in its time slot of 9:00 pm

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 U.S. states, states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five ...

(ET) (8:00 pm

Central Time Zone (Americas) The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few Caribbean islands. In parts of that zone (20 states in the US, three provinces or territories in Canada, and s ...

T. It was the most-viewed ABC season premiere since 1996's ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996, to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's off ...

''. After airing three episodes of ''Desperate Housewives'', ABC picked the series up for a full season. Overall, the first season averaged 23.7 million viewers for the 23 episodes aired in the U.S., including the season's largest audience of more than 30 million viewers of the season finale. Of the regular primetime programming that aired during the 2004–2005 American television season, ''Desperate Housewives'' ranked 4th out of 156 programs, according to the Nielsen Ratings system. In terms of a Ratings share, ''Desperate Housewives'' ranked 3rd in the 2004-2005 TV Season, coming behind the two separate airing spots of American Idol. It also ranked as the highest ABC Network Programme. And the highest ranking Drama, Comedy and Dramady Programme. Critical reception was overwhelmingly positive, and ''Housewives'' was considered the breakout hit of the season. Robert Bianco of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' gave the pilot a score of four stars out of four, calling it " freshingly original, bracingly adult and thoroughly delightful", and going on to say that " esperateHousewives is a brightly colored, darkly comic take on suburban life, sort of

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

meets

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

by way of

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

." Tim Goodman of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' thought that ''Desperate Housewives'' was "a brilliantly conceived and relentlessly entertaining new drama". Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' commented that the series had "marvelous tonal elasticity". Peter Schorn of

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

felt that season one was "blessed with an attractive cast (sing the praises of older women!), sharp writing and a funky vibe of its own" and that "''Desperate Housewives'' was able to take some of the oldest formulas in the book and infuse them with their own subversive twists to whip up a frothy confection of sly wit and dark motives." Schorn gave the season a score of 9 out of 10. Some critics were not as enthusiastic, however. On reviewing the DVD release of the season, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

s Dalton Ross gave it a B+ grade, selecting the pilot, "Who's That Woman?", "Guilty", "Children Will Listen" and the season finale "One Wonderful Day" as the season's best episodes, and "Suspicious Minds", "Your Fault" and "Love is in the Air" as the season's worst. Heather Havrilesky of ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

'' felt that after a few episodes, "this dark exploration of the lives of women has not only slid quickly into clichés, but the acting feels forced and overplayed, the stories are wildly unrealistic, the direction is stuck in some awkward nowhereland between campy and leaden, and the voice-over is so grating and so peskily imitative of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' that the whole package is almost unwatchable."

Awards

Season one was nominated for fifteen

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

s, winning six. They were in the categories of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Main Title Theme Music which was awarded Danny Elfman, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Felicity Huffman for her portrayal of Lynette Scavo, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Kathryn Joosten for her portrayal of Mrs. McCluskey, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series which was awarded to Charles McDougall and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series.Emmy Awards official site
Program: "Desperate Housewives", Year Range: From "2004" to "2005" → Search ''emmys.org''. Retrieved on August 18, 2009 Teri Hatcher picked up a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Susan Mayer. The season received four other Golden Globe nominations, winning one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.Golden Globes for Desperate Housewives
''goldenglobes.org''. Retrieved on August 18, 2009 The season also won two

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

; one was awarded to Teri Hatcher in the category Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series and the other was under the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominee Recipient Database
Program: "Desperate Housewives", Year: "2004" → Search ''sagawards.org''. Retrieved on August 18, 2009

Episodes

DVD release

The Complete First Season of Desperate Housewives was released as a 6-disc DVD set for Region 1 on September 20, 2005. This release included all 23 uncut season one episodes with some of them also being extended, audio commentaries by creator Marc Cherry and the housewives, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a special skit for the series featuring

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', broadcast from Chic ...

and so much more bonus features. For

Target stores Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a retail chain, chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a co ...

in the United States, some select sets had a bonus disc attached that included a 23-minute special episode titled "Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry" that recapped the entire season; for Walmart stores, some sets had a bonus disc attached that included a preview of the

programming for the fall of the 2005 television season.

References

External links

*
Desperate Housewives episode list
at ''ABC.com''
Desperate Housewives episode guide
at ''Channel 4.com'' {{featured list 2004 American television seasons 2005 American television seasons