Marc Cherry comments on the possibility of a reboot.
Marc Cherry wrote:People have approached me about rebooting Desperate Housewives, but it's kind of like my feeling toward The Golden Girls. The Golden Girls was a terrific idea, but the magic of that show was the cast. We had the perfect group of women. With Desperate Housewives, I lucked out with that original cast and I had something to say with that show. If I was to do a reboot of it, I would have to come up with a brand-new idea of what fueled it. I know the formula, and it certainly would be great to try with more time and money.
Marc Cherry wrote:The truth of the matter is that I have a couple of ideas to do it. I would probably want to do the idea maybe in an earlier decade because the character I miss writing the most is actually Wisteria Lane. That was the most fun playground anyone in the history of television has ever had, because we owned the whole street. I know that street like the back of my hand. When someone shoots a commercial on that street, I know it instantly, because I know all those houses, I know the geography. It was such a fun place to write for. And there's times when I go, 'You know what? I wonder if I could write Wisteria Lane in like, 1966.' If you do a reboot, you have to have a really good artistic reason to do it. And at some point, I'll sit down with someone and go, 'Okay, let's talk about if there's a good enough "why" to do it.'
If I'm being honest, I wouldn't want a reboot. I would like a revival with the original actors back, even if it was only for one-off season of 10 episodes, closer to a miniseries, for example. The only way I could see a reboot working is if Marc Cherry wasn't attached in more than a copyright sense (ie, that he would get paid for the use of the show's brand / title). In the latter half of the series, you could tell he was sort of over it and the writing suffered to a degree. It was still a good show, but the actors were doing the heavy lifting in those last couple of seasons.
Listening to most often lately:
Taylor Swift ~ ~ "The Fate of Ophelia"
Taylor Swift ~ "Eldest Daughter"
Taylor Swift ~ "CANCELLED!"
One of the most famous streets in TV history is ready to welcome new residents. Wisteria Lane, a reimagining of the hit ABC mystery dramedy series Desperate Housewives, has been set up for development at Onyx Collective. It comes from Kerry Washington‘s Simpson Street and 20th Television where the company is based.
Written by Natalie Chaidez (The Flight Attendant), Wisteria Lane is described as a fun, sexy, darkly comedic soap/mystery in the vein of Desperate Housewives, set among a group of five very different friends and sometimes frenemies who all live on a picture-perfect cul de sac called “Wisteria Lane.” On the surface, all the Wisteria neighbors are living the dream: beautiful homes, gorgeous families, shiny SUVs in the driveway. But behind those white-picket fences and smiling Insta posts are secrets.
Chaidez executive produces Wisteria Lane alongside Washington and Pilar Savone via their Simpson Street as well as Stacey Sher (Into the Badlands) through her Shiny Penny. It is unclear whether Washington could potentially appear on the show. 20th TV, which recently absorbed Desperate Housewives studio ABC Studios’ successor ABC Signature, is producing. Desperate Housewives creator/executive producer Marc Cherry was not part of the pitch but is aware of the project and could be involved in it in some capacity, sources said.
While Wisteria Lane is expected to keep its fictional street locale, it has not been determined whether the potential series will film in Los Angeles where the original series’ outdoor set is. There are no current plans for characters from the original series to appear on Wisteria Lane.
Not sure what to think. Don't like that Cherry isn't involved. I know he seemed a little tired of writing in the later years of Desperate Housewives and most everything he's been a part of hasn't been good (Devious Maids was....woof), but I would've wanted him in some advisory capacity with a little bit of power to at least say no if he really didn't like something or other. On the other hand, Flight Attendant's first season was very good from what I remember, they could do a good job with this.
But most of all, Cherry is absolutely right that the cast and its chemistry was what made Desperate Housewives almost as much as the writing, so... Who they cast is crucial for something like this. I can't really see Kerry Washington in a dramedy, but maybe she'll surprise me.
Listening to most often lately:
Taylor Swift ~ ~ "The Fate of Ophelia"
Taylor Swift ~ "Eldest Daughter"
Taylor Swift ~ "CANCELLED!"
