5 Reasons Desperate Housewives Reboot Would Never Work in 2023
The beloved show is long over.
It's been almost 20 years since Desperate Housewives, one of ABC's most iconic shows, premiered. Over its eight-season run, the series garnered worldwide recognition and amassed a loyal fandom that keeps craving for more of their beloved comedy-drama.
Alas, it looks like we'll never see a new episode of Desperate Housewives. Here are five reasons why.
5. Too audacious by today's standards
According to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, the show would not appeal to modern audiences because of how risque it was.
'I don't know if we could do the show today. We'd get canceled,' the actress said. 'It was so groundbreaking, we said and did so many things that were shocking at the time.'
Indeed, you can see the point behind Longoria's words in her own character's story. At the beginning of the show, when Longoria's Gabi was in her thirties, the character had an affair with an underaged gardener. That spicy storyline would certainly look odd in today's era of moral purges and canceling.
4. Delinquent leading actress
Another star of Desperate Housewives, Felicity Huffman made headlines in 2019 when she was arrested and charged with bribing her daughter's college admissions board. The actress was accused of bribing a college official so they would tamper with her daughter's exam results.
Huffman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in state prison. The court's leniency towards the actress provoked a public outcry, so her possible involvement in the Desperate Housewives revival would hardly be welcomed by fans.
3. Behind-the-scenes feuds
Desperate Housewives had lots of off-screen conflicts. The show's lead Teri Hatcher was notoriously ostracized by her co-stars who allegedly envied the actress' previous success.
But the most publicized on-set scandal transpired between the series' creator Marc Cherry and actress Nicollette Sheridan, whose character was killed off on the show. According to Sheridan, this was an act of retaliation on Cherry's part after the actress reported him for hitting her on the head during filming.
2. Incomplete cast
For a proper reboot, Desperate Housewives would need to have all of its original cast members on board. Unfortunately, one of the leading actresses, Kathryn Joosten, passed away shortly after her character, Mrs. McCluskey, died on the show. Perhaps the story could continue canonically without the character, but it would feel incredibly dull and empty.
1. No story left to tell
Most importantly, there can't be any more Desperate Housewives episodes because the creator thinks the story is effectively over.
'I ask Marc Cherry all the time, and he says no. He feels like we've fully explored these characters,' Eva Longoria shared, while assuring fans that she would be keen to reprise the role. 'I'd be the first to sign up!'
Source: YouTube.