History Trivia / DesperateHousewives

* MidDevelopmentGenreShift: The series originally started off as a comedy pilot, and was rejected by every network, including Creator/{{Lifetime}} and Creator/{{HBO}}. Creator/{{ABC}} expressed an interest, and it was retooled to its trademark format of a dark comedy and drama.

** Creator/MichelleRodriguez turned down a part in this show, to do ''Series/{{Lost}}''. When Creator/EllenDeGeneres asked her why on her chat show, Rodriguez joked: "Because if you're not a housewife, then what's the point?"

** Creator/AlexKingston auditioned for a part.

* DawsonCasting: John, the gardener in season one who only ''just'' turns 18 that season was played by the 26-year-old Creator/JesseMetcalfe.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The series was meant to be set on the east coast but was obviously filmed on a set, [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Studios Hollywood]]'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Street Colonial Street]] more precisely.

* DawsonCasting: John, the gardener in season one who only ''just'' turns 18 that season was played by the 26-year-old Creator/JesseMetcalfe. Averted in later seasons when [[TimeSkip time skipped]] forward allowing John's age to catch up more with Metcalfe's real age.

* TheOtherMarty: Sheryl Lee portrayed Mary Alice Young in the original pilot for ABC, but she was replaced soon after and the pilot was reshot, when the producers decided she was not right for the part and chose Creator/BrendaStrong instead.

** Creator/JeriRyan was considered for Gabriella.

* TheWikiRule: Wiksteria Lane, the [[http://desperatehousewives.wikia.com/wiki/Desperate_Housewives_Wiki Desperate Housewives Wiki]].

* CreatorBacklash: After Creator/FelicityHuffman was sentenced to only two weeks in jail for her part in the Varsity Blues college admission scandal, Ricardo Antonio Chavira angrily called it the same kind of "white privilege" he saw during the show's entire run, though he didn't go into any specifics.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The UnintentionalPeriodPiece/TurnOfTheMillennium variant:
** The series started in the early 2000s so cellphones look accordingly dated in the early seasons. Averted with the tablets used in season 8 (2011-2012), which look like something one would still use nowadays.
** Tom is proud to have met "[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump The Donald]]" in season 7, back when he wasn't yet campaigning to become POTUS and was not the subject of a continuous flow of controversy.
** A lesser example, but some of the outfits the characters wear (especially in the early seasons) are very of that era, such as Edie's chunky jewellery, Gaby's velour tracksuits, etc.

* PropRecycling: The whole backlot street set built for the series, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Street Colonial Street]], has been reused for plenty of productions, from TV shows to films, with modifications to remove the "essence" of Wisteria Lane.

* BigNameFan: [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah Winfrey]] loved the show so much, she was invited to the set, and had an exclusive show, in which she showcased a fifteen-minute "episode", where Oprah (as a new neighbor) learned all of the secrets of the housewives.

** Tom is proud to have met "[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump The Donald]]" in season 7, back when he wasn't yet campaigning to become POTUS and was not [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment the subject of a continuous flow of controversy]].

** Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus was considered for Susan Mayer. Creator/CourtneyCox was also considered, but 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.

* BigNameFan: [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah Winfrey]] loved the show so much, she was invited to the set, and had an exclusive show, in which she showcased a fifteen minute "episode", where Oprah (as a new neighbor) learned all of the secrets of the housewives.

* CreatorBacklash: After Felicity Huffman was sentenced to only two weeks in jail for her part in the Varsity Blues college admission scandal, Ricardo Antonio Chavira angrily called it the same kind of "white privilege" he saw during the show's entire run, though he didn't go into any specifics.

* DawsonCasting: John, the gardener in season one who only ''just'' turns 18 that season was played by the 26 year old Jesse Metcalfe. Averted in later seasons when [[TimeSkip time skipped]] forward allowing John's age to catch up more with Metcalfe's real age.

** FakeAmerican: Jonathan Cake is an English actor and played American police Detective Chuck Vance.
** Fake Canadian: Gale Harold is American. His character, Jackson Braddock, is revealed to be Canadian.
** FakeRussian: Irina Korsakov (season 6) was played by Helena Mattsson, who is Swedish.
* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/TeriHatcher did not get along well with her co-stars, and it got to the point that [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2141549/Desperate-Housewives-feud-finally-open-Teri-Hatchers-left-off-crews-farewell-gift-cast.html her name was absent on the stars' farewell gift to the crew]]. When Creator/EvaLongoria got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2018, Creator/MarciaCross and Felicity Huffman were there, but not Teri.
** In April 2010, Nicollette Sheridan sued Marc Cherry for twenty million dollars 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.

* StarMakingRole: The series helped raise the profile of several people, including Creator/EvaLongoria, Felicity Huffman and Andrea Bowen.

** Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus was considered for Susan Mayer. Courtney Cox was also considered, but 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.

** Susan was almost written off the show in season 5, due to Teri Hatcher's HostilityOnTheSet with pretty much everyone.
** After Season 5, Marc Cherry briefly considered making a SpinOff series that would star Karen [=McCluskey=] and her sister Roberta.

* CreatorBacklash: After Felicity Huffman was sentenced to only two weeks in jail for her part in the Varsity Blues college admission scandal, Ricardo Antonio Chavira angrily called it the same kind of “white privilege” he saw during the show’s entire run, though he didn’t go into any specifics.

** Jonathan Cake is an English actor and played American police Detective Chuck Vance.