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Season 1 – Desperate Housewives

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Desperate Housewives Oct 2004 Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
81% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Behind the facade of a postcard-perfect subdivision live four women whose lives are anything but idyllic. Klutzy Susan is divorced and the mother of teenage Julie. Lynette is married to Tom and the frazzled mother of four rambunctious children. Bree is the neighborhood's Martha Stewart, whose perfection masks major dysfunction. Ex-model Gabrielle, married to handsome and successful Carlos, wants to have her cake and eat it too. Looking down on it all is Mary Alice, who took her own life but comments on the lives of her former neighbors.
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Desperate Housewives — Season 1

Desperate Housewives — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Desperate Housewives' first season offers a refreshingly self-aware approach to the soap opera genre, making the most of its suburban setting with sardonic writing and seductive mysteries.

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Critics Reviews

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Belinda Acosta Austin Chronicle 01/17/2020
Borrowing from Twin Peaks, with a nod to Leave It to Beaver on acid, Desperate Housewives is one of the most original dramedies to premiere this fall. Go to Full Review Tom Shales Washington Post 01/14/2020
In visual style, witty language, borderline surrealism and overall mad attitude, Desperate Housewives stands on a mountaintop all its own, the best new drama of the season and perhaps the best new comedy, too. Go to Full Review Andrea Peyser New York Post 01/14/2020
This show does not pretend to resolve any great, cultural questions. It works, quite simply, because it's fun. Go to Full Review Jerry Graham Santa Cruz Sentinel 06/29/2023
Desperate Housewives appears to have found a formula that appeals to a variety of tastes. You can watch it as satire or as a serial drama that keeps you wondering what will happen next. Go to Full Review M.S. Mason Christian Science Monitor 01/17/2020
Sharp writing, terrific performances by Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher, and a darkly comic take on suburbia make this a riveting dramedy series for mature audiences. Go to Full Review Wm. Steven Humphrey The Stranger (Seattle, WA) 01/17/2020
Desperate Housewives is occasionally funny -- but not half as clever as it thinks. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gk R @gkryuh Apr 14 Just iconic and super fun. I bit misogynistic tho…. See more Brian D @Brianwd2 Sep 12 72%. 9/3/25. Lot of storylines that are slow to develop. They plant the seeds and ignore them for a little while or slowly progress them. This season is about Gabby's affair with the gardener and slowly finding out why Mary Alice killed herself. The stuff with Linette's kids gets very annoying. Solid, but wasn't as good as I thought. See more Sylvia S. @qxt_circle Aug 15 Glamorizes trauma, with too many narcissistic characters. See more f T. @dma4321 Aug 14 Perfect tv show, recommended! See more Chase R. @chsrhm Aug 6 The early 2000s were truly a wild time. See more Ryan . @RT98844779 05/18/2025 This show takes regular home styles and turns them on their head. It is really shown that they all have flaws in their life, hiding them from each other. And that they all are, indeed, Desperate Housewives. See more Read all reviews
Desperate Housewives — Season 1

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Teri Hatcher

Susan Mayer

Felicity Huffman

Lynette Scavo

Marcia Cross

Bree Hodge

Eva Longoria

Gabrielle Solis

James Denton

Mike Delfino

Doug Savant

Tom Scavo

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Oct 3, 2004 Pilot Suburban housewife Mary Alice Young takes her own life and finds that, for her, the afterlife consists of watching and commenting on the lives of her friends and family. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 10, 2004 Ah, but Underneath Gabrielle goes to great lengths to hide her affair; Lynette tries tough love to discipline the twins; Bree and Rex try marriage counseling. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 17, 2004 Pretty Little Picture Despite their chaotic personal lives, the women decide to follow through with the big dinner party the late Mary Alice had planned to host. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 24, 2004 Who's That Woman? Mrs. Huber learns that Susan had something to do with Edie's house fire and tries to blackmail her. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 31, 2004 Come In, Stranger A break-in on Wisteria Lane leaves everyone feeling vulnerable, especially Susan, who reluctantly accepts a date with a persistent policeman. Details Episode 6 Aired Nov 7, 2004 Running to Stand Still At the twins' school, Lynette battles with another mother (Sharon Lawrence), who is trying to produce a politically correct version of "Little Red Riding Hood." Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 21, 2004 Anything You Can Do Susan is miffed when Mike's sexy houseguest (Heather Stephens) forces him to postpone their first official date; Lynette grows more dependent on the twins' medication; Gabrielle becomes jealous of the other woman in John's life. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 28, 2004 Guilty The residents of Wisteria Lane take stock of their lives after tragedy; Susan grows suspicious of Mike's reasons for moving to the neighborhood; Lynette reaches the breaking point in her addition to the twins' medication. Details Episode 9 Aired Dec 12, 2004 Suspicious Minds Gabrielle decides to organize a glamorous fashion show for charity; Susan learns Gabrielle's shocking secret; Lynette uses her business acumen to poach a nanny; Bree decides to deal with Andrew's out-of-control behavior herself. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 19, 2004 Come Back to Me Maisy Gibbons' (Sharon Lawrence) secret life intersects with Bree's; Gabrielle's predicament worsens; Susan plans to take her relationship with Mike to the next level; Lynette is suspicious of her new nanny (Marla Sokoloff). Details Episode 11 Aired Jan 9, 2005 Move On Edie organizes a neighborhood search for Mrs. Huber, just as her sister arrives on Wisteria Lane; Bree agrees to a separation and asks an attractive pharmacist (Roger Bart) on a date. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 16, 2005 Every Day a Little Death The truth has unexpected consequences for Susan when the residents of Wisteria Lane learn the fate of Martha Huber; Bree feels that her new beau, George (Roger Bart), is getting a little too close for comfort. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 23, 2005 Your Fault When Lynette's father-in-law (guest star Ryan O'Neal) visits, she unwittingly learns a family secret. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 13, 2005 Love Is in the Air Susan looks forward to a romantic date with Mike until she learns a surprising fact about her favorite plumber; Lynette's cranky old neighbor (Kathryn Joosten) accuses the Scavo twins of thievery. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 20, 2005 Impossible Mike Delfino is questioned in Mrs. Huber's murder; John's friend Justin (Ryan Carnes) tries to blackmail Gabrielle with his knowledge of the affair; Tom wants a big promotion, but Lynette fears she would be left alone with the kids even more. Details Episode 16 Aired Mar 27, 2005 The Ladies Who Lunch Maisy Gibbons' (Sharon Lawrence) series of unfortunate events shocks the residents of Wisteria Lane and has unexpected consequences for Bree. Details Episode 17 Aired Apr 3, 2005 There Won't Be Trumpets Mama Solis' (Lupe Ontiveros) condition changes; Lynette befriends a deaf woman, Alisa, whose children also attend Barcliff. Details Episode 18 Aired Apr 10, 2005 Children Will Listen Susan's mother (Lesley Ann Warren) pays an unexpected visit to Wisteria Lane after she and her boyfriend (Bob Newhart) call it quits; Lynette and Bree experience a chill in their relationship when Bree baby-sits Lynette's children. Details Episode 19 Aired Apr 17, 2005 Live Alone and Like It Lynette learns that no good deed goes unpunished when she befriends mean Mrs. McClusky; Susan's mother (Lesley Ann Warren) decides to try to jump-start her and her daughter's love lives. Details Episode 20 Aired May 1, 2005 Fear No More Gabrielle plans a big party for Carlos, who is about to head off to jail; Rex is unhappy when George Williams (Roger Bart) resurfaces in Bree's life. Details Episode 21 Aired May 8, 2005 Sunday in the Park With George George William continues to find a way into Bree's life; Lynette tries to spice things up when she fears Tom is losing interest. Details Episode 22 Aired May 15, 2005 Goodbye for Now Susan makes a decision about Mike Delfino; Lynette tries to make sure that Annabel does not come between her and Tom; Bree comes to a realization about George the pharmacist (Roger Bart). Details Episode 23 Aired May 22, 2005 One Wonderful Day When past actions come back to haunt the men and women of Wisteria Lane, no one is immune; a new neighbor arrives. Details

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Desperate Housewives — Season 1

Desperate Housewives View more photos

Season Info

Director
Larry Shaw, Arlene Sanford, Fred Gerber, David Grossman, John David Coles, Jeff Melman
Executive Producer
Charles Pratt Jr., Marc Cherry, Tom Spezialy, Michael Edelstein
Screenwriter
Marc Cherry, Tom Spezialy, Alexandra Cunningham, John Pardee, Kevin Murphy, Kevin Etten, David Schulner, Jenna Bans, Joey Murphy, Patty Lin
Network
ABC
Rating
TV-PG (D|L|S)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date
Oct 3, 2004