Marc Cherry

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" strolls through the cul-de-sac of his imaginings, those hopeless, adverse days of unemployment, betrayal and near-bankruptcy behind him. In one month, ABC viewers will get to sample Marc Cherry's luscious, ultra-suburban Wisteria Lane, a perfect street in a perfect neighborhood where its inhabitants are everything but.

Was it a conspiracy that went all the way to the top of ABC? Or was it the case of an exaggerating actress out for revenge? Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit against the creator of "Desperate Housewives" and a studio wound toward a conclusion Wednesday as jurors heard closing arguments offering vastly different interpretations of the case. As the tall, blond actress and Marc Cherry, the balding, bespectacled writer who invented the world of Wisteria Lane, looked on from opposite sides of the courtroom, their attorneys debated for hours over what led to the 2008 death of Sheridan's character.

The air of desperation that saturates Wisteria Lane has permeated the real world this television season as fans have been wondering if the series that launched as an instant phenomenon last year was starting to lose its mojo. Critics have piped in that the second season of "Desperate Housewives" seems a little stale and have conjectured that it could be because creator Marc Cherry hasn't written any scripts himself. Fans on the Internet have flat-out complained that they are bored.

"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry testified Wednesday that he killed off Wisteria Lane seductress Edie Britt in the fifth season because there were simply no more male characters for her to bed. "We had played out as many romantic complications with each of the women's husbands" as possible, Cherry told a Los Angeles jury in a wrongful-termination suit brought by Nicollette Sheridan, the actress who played Edie. The character had dalliances with the spouses or former spouses of three of the main housewives — played by Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross — and the husband of the fourth — played by Felicity Huffman — "would never cheat," Cherry said.

A former cast member of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" is suing the show's creator and producer, Marc Cherry, alleging he physically assaulted her, then killed off her character in the series in retaliation after she reported the assault to the network. Nicollette Sheridan, who played Edie Britt until her character was written off the series in early 2009, alleged in the suit filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Cherry was dismissive and demeaning to her during filming.

"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry testified Wednesday that he killed off Wisteria Lane seductress Edie Britt in the fifth season because there were simply no more male characters for her to bed. "We had played out as many romantic complications with each of the women's husbands" as possible, Cherry told a Los Angeles jury in a wrongful-termination suit brought by Nicollette Sheridan, the actress who played Edie. The character had dalliances with the spouses or former spouses of three of the main housewives — played by Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross — and the husband of the fourth — played by Felicity Huffman — "would never cheat," Cherry said.

ABC's new comedy series "Desperate Housewives," which premieres Sunday, starts off with a bang -- a self-inflicted gunshot that snuffs out the life of Mary Alice Young (played by Brenda Strong), a perfectly groomed suburban housewife whose seemingly ideal life turns out to have been a masterfully applied gloss over painful and embarrassing secrets.

Marc CHERRY, the creator of "Desperate Housewives," was doing the first cut of the two-hour May 18 season finale on Monday. "They always start out dreadfully and I hate everything. A couple days later I start to like them," he said. -- The first half of the upcoming season finale is directed by Bethany Rooney, who has directed episodes of nearly every show on TV -- including "Melrose Place" and "90210." Does it help to have a lady director for a lady show? Um.

Soap legend Susan Lucci is finding life after Erica Kane. She appears on Lifetime's "Army Wives" on Sunday night in a three-episode character story - one of the first since her 41-year run on "All My Children" ended last fall - with fellow "Children" alum Kim Delaney. Also a beauty entrepreneur, Lucci, 65, co-stars in "Devious Maids," Marc Cherry's prime-time soap pilot for ABC, and hosts Investigation Discovery's new show "Deadly Affairs," scheduled for a fall debut. How did your arc come about on "Army Wives"?

Was it a conspiracy that went all the way to the top of ABC? Or was it the case of an exaggerating actress out for revenge? Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit against the creator of "Desperate Housewives" and a studio wound toward a conclusion Wednesday as jurors heard closing arguments offering vastly different interpretations of the case. As the tall, blond actress and Marc Cherry, the balding, bespectacled writer who invented the world of Wisteria Lane, looked on from opposite sides of the courtroom, their attorneys debated for hours over what led to the 2008 death of Sheridan's character.

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" testified Monday that his decision to kill off the character Edie Britt was made months before the actress who portrayed her accused him of battery. Marc Cherry told jurors in a wrongful-termination suit brought by actress Nicollette Sheridan that he plotted the promiscuous Wisteria Lane real estate agent's demise to "shake things up" creatively on the ABC show and not as retribution. But, in a daylong turn on the witness stand, Cherry acknowledged that eliminating Edie had the added benefit of ridding the show's budget of Sheridan's $4-million salary and him of what he described as a disruptive and unprofessional presence on the set. "It wasn't the primary reason for my decision, but it was something I was aware of," Cherry said under questioning by an attorney for Sheridan.

It started as normal Hollywood friction - an actress who wanted better lines and a writer annoyed by her suggestions. But the squabble on the "Desperate Housewives" set four years ago took an unusually nasty turn that led Thursday to a windowless downtown courtroom. There actress Nicollette Sheridan told a jury that series creator Marc Cherry slapped her on the head during a rehearsal after she repeatedly questioned him about deleting what she considered to be a particularly funny line for her character.

Marc CHERRY, the creator of "Desperate Housewives," was doing the first cut of the two-hour May 18 season finale on Monday. "They always start out dreadfully and I hate everything. A couple days later I start to like them," he said. -- The first half of the upcoming season finale is directed by Bethany Rooney, who has directed episodes of nearly every show on TV -- including "Melrose Place" and "90210." Does it help to have a lady director for a lady show? Um.

The air of desperation that saturates Wisteria Lane has permeated the real world this television season as fans have been wondering if the series that launched as an instant phenomenon last year was starting to lose its mojo. Critics have piped in that the second season of "Desperate Housewives" seems a little stale and have conjectured that it could be because creator Marc Cherry hasn't written any scripts himself. Fans on the Internet have flat-out complained that they are bored.

ABC's new comedy series "Desperate Housewives," which premieres Sunday, starts off with a bang -- a self-inflicted gunshot that snuffs out the life of Mary Alice Young (played by Brenda Strong), a perfectly groomed suburban housewife whose seemingly ideal life turns out to have been a masterfully applied gloss over painful and embarrassing secrets.

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" strolls through the cul-de-sac of his imaginings, those hopeless, adverse days of unemployment, betrayal and near-bankruptcy behind him. In one month, ABC viewers will get to sample Marc Cherry's luscious, ultra-suburban Wisteria Lane, a perfect street in a perfect neighborhood where its inhabitants are everything but.

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" testified Monday that his decision to kill off the character Edie Britt was made months before the actress who portrayed her accused him of battery. Marc Cherry told jurors in a wrongful-termination suit brought by actress Nicollette Sheridan that he plotted the promiscuous Wisteria Lane real estate agent's demise to "shake things up" creatively on the ABC show and not as retribution. But, in a daylong turn on the witness stand, Cherry acknowledged that eliminating Edie had the added benefit of ridding the show's budget of Sheridan's $4-million salary and him of what he described as a disruptive and unprofessional presence on the set. "It wasn't the primary reason for my decision, but it was something I was aware of," Cherry said under questioning by an attorney for Sheridan.