By Mark Allphin
A new series premiering this fall from ABC pushes the limits on what goes on in the minds and lives of otherwise ordinary housewives.
Among the new series'' airing this fall comes a Sunday night drama. 'Desperate Housewives' takes a look into the lives of the family and friends of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), a suburban housewife who previously took her own life. Now, from her elevated viewpoint, she looks into the secret lives of the her family and circle of friends.
'We''ve got comedy. We have drama. We have mystery,' said Marc Cherry, the creator and producer of the series in an interview with TV critics at Knight Ridder Newspapers. 'It''s supposed to be kind of a full meal. Our hope is that it''s never going to be traditional.'
The circle of friends whose secret lives get exposed includes people from all aspects of suburban culture. You have the divorced, searching-for-love single mother, Susan (Teri Hatcher); Lynette (Felicity Huffman), an ex-career woman now frustrated with her boring home life that means watching her four unmanageable kids; Bree (Marcia Cross), the perfect wife with a perfect life that''s about to crumble to pieces; and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria), an ex-model who''s so tired of her extremely wealthy husband she''s sleeping with the 17-year-old gardener.
While the series is primarily about women, the show also features a fair cast of men. There''s the new neighbor, Mike (James Denton), a supposedly widowed plumber who has two of the women playing for his attention; Rex (Steven Culp), who''s just told Bree he wants a divorce; Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), the controlling husband who thinks since he bought his wife some expensive jewelry, she should do what ever he tells her; and then there is the newly-widowed husband of Mary Alice, Paul (Mark Moses), who is acting suspicious.
Marc Cherry, the producer of 'Desperate Houswives,' seems to have a knack for writing about female characters. His experience is in sitcoms; his most well-known work was in 'Golden Girls.'
The new series will play Sunday nights at 9/8c. The series premiere is October 3, at 9/8c on ABC.