That’s A Wrap (Season Finale "One Wonderful Day")

Welcome to Desperately Devoted.

Think of us as your favorite neighbors as we chat about life and relationships all.

While we revisit the iconic show Desperate Housewives together.

I'm Terry Hatcher, I'm Andrea Bowen, and I'm Emerson Tunny. Welcome back to Desperately Devoted, where we are desperately devoted to all things Desperate Housewives, but also just life and friendship and being a human. And we are joined again today by the incredible Michael Edelstein, my friend and executive producer.

From the first two explosive seasons of Desperate Housewives, there was a lot going on, and if you haven't heard our conversation with Michael, you must because he shared so many phenomenal stories from the creation of the show, the behind the scenes of those early days, as only a person who's an executive producer can. But today, today we are walking through the season finale, episode twenty three, which is called One Wonderful Day.

Yes, it aired on May twenty second, two thousand and five.

And I just you know, rewatched it. I rewatched it with my cat on my lap, which is rare for me because she doesn't usually sit on.

My lap and I I loved it.

I think Emerson, you felt like maybe it was anti climactic.

I thought it was a little anti climactic for how many just stellar hits we had throughout the season. I mean, obviously, you know, went on to have another seven seasons, but I wanted a little more.

I don't even know what that means.

A little more cliffhanger.

I think I felt like, I mean, I Rex dying is a huge that's a huge storyline. And you were talking about how incredible Marsha's performances. When she sits at that dining table and finally breaks down, I mean I got chills. Yeah, And you know, and we have Carlos going off to jail, we have Gabby pregnant, we have John telling Carlos in the courtroom that it was him having the affair.

That's very dramatic.

Obviously, the big cliffhanger is Mike coming home having not killed Paul.

And not knowing that Zach has not knowing that.

Zach has a gun to Susan.

So I guess, you know what, it was a very big finale, and there were things that I wanted to tune in to see what happened next. I think the thing that felt a little anti climactic to me was the new family's arrival on the street, which I understand the energy of we're going to have to say that there's gonna be new characters and there's gonna be a new but.

I just sort of felt like, huh, I mean, I hate this.

I get notes that like this that I'm about what I'm saying right now, where someone says, you know, oh, I just I wish that like a little more happened, and then they have no pitch for like what a little more happening means.

And that's and that's me right now. I'm completely acknowledged.

Hey, but before we get to Alfred Woodard and mccod brooks, Yeah, oh, there's a couple of stories, can we One of the things I loved about the episode was that the fabulous and stellar Brenda Strong finally got to have like her day in the sun in a big way where we learn all the backstory of Mary Alice slash Angela and you know, everything that went on with that, and I know that you have some you know, interesting information about how Brenda Strong ended up involved in the show in the first place.

So as you recall we shot a pilot, you know, in March of two thousand and four. Three actors from that pilot were actually replaced, and one of the ones who was replaced was the person who played Mary Elis. People felt like we could do something different, and so we went looking. And normally the way you audition actors is you take them to network and you make them stand there and perform in front of you. And it's totally artificial, because at no point in the TV or film process are you ever standing there performing for peace.

But we make actors do this, or we did make actors do this then, and now we just.

Make them self tape themselves in their own house.

I'm not sure I'm crazy about that, because you get the benefit, but but you also don't have that weirdness of like standing up. And so I realized that in looking at this show, that this character was going to be experienced by her voice, and so the network wanted us to bring actresses in. I said, no, I'm going to put five actors or actresses on tape. We went into a dr and we recorded their voice, and we chas just their voice and played it back to picture.

So we cut it into the pilot so they could actually hear what that person.

Because you already had the picture, because we had the picture.

My name is Mary Alice Young and you may remember. So, so we had that and we had them do that opening bit and with Brenda, she did her take and she came out of the booth and I said, can I give you a note? And she's said sure? And I said can I touch you? And she said sure? And I touched her in her stomach and I said, you're dead. I want you to think of your feet.

I want you to think of your your your body. I want you to be in the ground. Because she was doing it from her head and she went and she talks about this and she's been very lovely about, you know, talking about over the years. And she went back into the ADR booth and that's that person never came out. I mean that was that's who. That's who stayed Mary Allison. So yeah, we finally got to see what an amazing actor or actress. I mean, I don't know, how how do you guys like to be referred to?

Dad?

It doesn't matter. Do you have a preference. I don't, I say actor, but.

I'm certainly not offended when someone refers to me as an actress. I just like, you know, we say male carrier. We we but you know, for a long time it was like male man. But we're making these other changes. I think that just actor is kind of nice.

About my friends, regardless of their gender.

Yeah, that's that's so funny, you know.

I remember Brenda saying, because Brenda spent a lot of time in ADR, like and.

So she was seeing all.

Of our work of course, Whereas like, again, this is another thing, people kind of assume that me and Andrea were there all the time. We didn't see anything that we weren't involved in, Like we weren't there on the days that any of those other character storylines. But Brenda saw all of it in all the time in real time.

And I remember, like she was so kind. I'm sure she did this to all of us. But she would come up and she would just give you compliments about the work that she saw you doing when she was like, you know, she would see you running around and then she would have to do adr over you know, you looking across longingly at Mike across the street or whatever, and she would just make nice comments.

She was anyways, back to the finale.

I was so glad to get to see her act, you know, like to get to see her work. And I don't know, was anybody surprised by the story And.

Well, I also just I'm going to give a shout out. I feel like I represent the the kids of the Lane, and so I want to I want to give a shout out to Cody Cash who in this episode, you know, he played Zach Young, and I had forgotten. Another thing I'd forgotten is just where the crescendo of of that mystery storyline and and and very intense what he ends up having to do and portray.

And the level of craondery in his eyes, the level of damage, the level I mean again, I think the thing that surprised me most about watching the show is, you know, I think over time, for me, the complexity that everybody brought to every scene kind of got replaced in my head but always Desperate Housewives and you just kind of put it back in your head somewhere and it's this bright, shiny show. But but yeah, those scenes and are so crazy, and your character obvious had a lot to do with him.

Yeah.

Yeah, And in the in the finale when Susan has that moment where she stands up and she says she's gonna get a glass of water or something, and he says, like, don't move, like.

Say that and chill ran up my spine.

Do you remember anything about casting Cody, because he'd like that character talk about growth?

I mean, we we auditioned so many people, and what I will say, you know, some there are certain moments where you remember. I don't have a specific moment about him, but you know, I think there's a reason we actually won the sag Award for casting. I mean, it's it's clear that you I don't look at anybody's performance in that final version of the show when we finally locked our cast, where you go, God, we could have done any better. I mean, it's really it's really kind of you know, I felt very proud to be associated with this group of people.

I felt like, I mean, just being how great other people's work is, Like Doug Savant, I mean, honestly, you know, Jamie said it when he was visiting us a few episodes ago. But the fact that he didn't get nominated for an Emmy, like I just his work in the pilot, like I just can't get over how And it's.

Fascinating because the answer he was a.

Good He was here and he was talking about his journey from being a guest star, you know, throughout the and then you think about where his character goes and how it serves Lynette's storyline, but how his character has its own arc and his work. I agree with you in the finale. That scene in the arcade, I mean, he is so good.

It's really when he says.

Go home, Oh my gosh. Yeah, I wrote that line down.

The intensity that he brings to it and the hurt that his wife betrayed him behind his back is all in that line.

It's incredible.

And then is so good back his performance when he says when he is in that place of hurt and anger and like intense, I mean playing air hockey like physical, it's really physicalized.

And then he she comes home and it's all deflated.

It's like he's come to the other side of a feeling, which I think is so rare to watch that arc capint a single episode and says, I don't even want it that much. You know, you're going back to work. You know, this is where I said, I'm revising my answer. It is a good It is a really good finale because it sets up a lot of flips for where we're going to go in the second season.

And one of the things, you know, Mary Alice talks about at the beginning, she talks about that people live these lives of quiet desperation, and it made me think, like, like she comes to that reflection at the finale, like, here's what's wrong with everyone? That everyone is behind closed doors, struggling with things that they don't want to admit. And I feel like people are currently in our in our in our society right now. They they are you know, alone at home watching TV. You know, no one is helping them. Like everything feels like a struggle, and they have these inner feelings that they can't manage or sort of come to grips with. And I mean, I think we're still feeling that now. But do you think that

that was part of why this show was just such a huge hit, that like, on this like cellular level, everybody knew that somehow this was their story.

I think Mark's genius was in creating those those those four main characters, and then plus ed they each brought a different level of vulnerability. I mean, Susan was the was the beautiful girl who couldn't get a guy. And and Marcia's character, Brie was the perfect wife and mother who did everything right and her husband wants a divorce.

Eva you know, thought she wanted money and discovered she needed something, you know, more meaningful than that. And Felicity, you know, was that woman who who gave up her career because she felt it was the right thing to do. And I think those four archetypes were so powerful that somebody could connect. Everybody had a sister, a mother, a brother, I mean or you know brother. Everybody had somebody in their life who could relate to it. And I think it was the universalness. And I think what's fascinating about it is that, you know, men, we don't talk about this, but the male ratings were so high on that show in season one, really, I mean, and every you would sort of say, oh, yeah, I watched it with my girlfriend.

I'm like, sure, you do, you know, And so it really was something that that you know, was consumed by by a big chunk of America on Sunday.

Does that make you feel proud to have been a part of that.

I mean, it's really interesting because television has changed so much. They're very it's I don't know the last time a show came on TV in this country where everybody was watching and talking about it and it filled the morning TV shows and it was so much a part of our life. And I mean obviously this was before Instagram and before Facebook and before iPhones and so the world has changed so much, and so you know, it's it's amazing to be part of something that that that moved culture, and not just in the US, but it moved it around the world. I heard you guys were talking about the David la Chappelle the photo shop with the apples.

So that was for the UK Channel four launch of the show, and so in Britain they they sent over Dave Dave Lush, Dave la Chapelle, Yeah, the amazing photographer who does really outlandish campaigns, and he shot a totally different still campaign and video campaign to launch the show in the UK.

Wow.

Oh wow.

So that's how the apples came into the whole.

That's that's what you guys were searching for and you're in your discussion.

Right, Wow, I mean I remember that shoot. I mean, he's such an amazing photographer. There's some great images from that from.

That makes sense.

It's like how American books have different covers than like the book release covers and like.

That right sometimes ye wow.

Another thing I noticed in the finale that I think is hard to pull off is that they had that full pete of the line, Oh, Mary Alice, what have you done?

Right?

What you do? Yeah? Yeah?

What did you do?

Oh?

I butchered it?

Uh?

Oh oh Mary Alice, what did you do?

Well? Yeah, yeah, I can do it, Mary Alice, what did you do? Ah?

We gotta repeat yea, but I I got chills. I flagged that in the episode because I think that's the kind of thing that put in the wrong hands or the wrong actors or the wrong scene or whatever can feel it just can feel like, oh, I don't know if that worked, but it worked so well here, And I just thought that was cool. And I totally forgot that that happened.

I mean, when you're making a show that's slightly heightened, you can do that stuff, you know, because we never tried to say this is real life. It was like, here's real life. I'm holding up my hands for the people who can't see it home.

Yeah.

And then laying right on top of real life. To me was desperate house. Yeah, so all of these things, like the idea that the four crazy things that happened in the pilot happening together in the space of time, you know, of two days or is ridiculous. But we lived in a world where this act sort of bought you this act, which brought you this act, and so you take the audience into we're going into a heightened world.

And so by the time Susan burns down the house, which is the most insane thing, we start, you know, we start with muffin baskets and we have Susan like burning down the house. And my favorite moment in the pilot, well, I know we want to talk about the finale, but my favorite moment in the pilot is in that narration at the end where Susan sees Mike Delfino and realizes that Mike isn't in the house and wasn't having an affair with Edie and everything is great, and it's like I fell out of my chair because I forgot about that.

And again the finale where Mike Delfino goes into some rock quarry and we're going that, you know, I don't even know. I was funny. I forgot about that.

Yeah, I was so confused. I thought, where did they film that? Because it's so brand and not like any other scenery we've seen.

It is very impact so different than everything, and that storyline, I mean, the finale, if the pilot is human, the finale is drama, just drama after drama after drama after drama. One of those.

Scenes that I love the thematically, like when Bree is before Rex dies, but when he's in the hospital and all the girls come around and they're like trying to say it's gonna be okay, It's gonna be okay, and she just sort of is like, you know what, I need you to stop, like.

Don't don't, don't come for me, because then I'm probably gonna lose.

Because then I'm going to lose it. And it did make me think about it. Do you guys have times in your life where you like, I feel like I work at children's hospital every week and I volunteer there, and that is a scenario.

Where you're faced with a lot of.

Dramatic emotional scenarios but you cannot show any of those feelings, and you kind of keep that all in for like two or three hours, and then I would leave and I would get home and just be like a puddle because you're but do you guys have that where you're sort of well, I definitely murmuring yourself.

I definitely resonated with Breeze character in that moment when she's like, don't give me sympathy, because then I'm gonna break down. I think I can. I mean, two things can be true at once, and they often are. I feel like I am a very emotional person. Like for a long time when I was younger, if I was angry about something, I would start crying and I would get so upset because I'd be like, oh, this is undermining my really legitimate anger because now I just look sad.

But I'm like, I'm an easy cry in a movie, in my life, in any circumstance, happy, sad, angry. So I think I've done a lot of work to try to, especially in you know, professional context or context when I really want to get my point across, not cry and not let my emotion come out through my scorpio water sign eyes. And that said, because I recognize that takes more emotional fortitude for me if I am with someone and I'm upset and they go like, Hey, it's gonna be okay, or oh, you look like you're gonna cry.

You used to say this to me. Sometimes you'd be like, are you gonna cry?

And I would be like, don't ask me that, because now I'm gonna cry.

Yeah, I really I connected to that moment.

You would get really mad at me when I would say you look like you're gonna cry, because.

It would then it would bring it all right. You're like, don't say it out loud, Like.

The best thing you can do is ignore anything I look like I'm about to do, because then hopefully I won't do it.

I love the scenes where we see the women really exists as strong pillars for each other and and you know, clearly more than just neighbors, and we get them sprinkled out, whether that comes in the form of the poker scenes or the scene in the park with Lynette and Susan Debrie or this in the hospital. And I do think it's very relatable for a lot of people in those incredibly tragic moments in life where you are just you're just on the precipice of your life changing forever. You know, and you're just sitting in the hospital waiting room and it doesn't take much to send you just totally down to your knees. And I thought it was a really truthful, honest representation of what that can feel like for people.

But I also think it was a cool moment from a character standpoint, because so much of Breeze's posturing is to appear perfect, and in this case it was really self preservation. It was survival. It wasn't because I needed I'm literally admitting that I will crumble if any more comes out my.

Way, and speaking on Breeze appearing perfect, which I Toldally. I was watching the scene and I thought someone's going to comment on this, like one of the girls is going to say this, one of the girls is going to point this out, And no one did in the writing, and so it made me go, gosh, was this Marcia choice?

Was this a director choice?

Her jacket is inside out the entire scene? Oh wow, You notice it and you can see the tag and you can see the seeming stitching. It's buttoned up the way she always wears her suit jacket, but it's inside out. Wow, And it was such I really did think someone was going to say, oh, your jackets inside out, and then she was going to break down crying, and no one did, and it made me go, I want.

Wonder if this was an act martialing. Yeah, it just felt like such a smart character choice.

So I know that we just touched on the how did Alfrey Wooded and a comics get into this show?

And do you know anything about this?

I do? And it's you know, it'll be slightly controversial, Okay. Mark had developed so Alfrey was a longtime friend of mine. I've known Alfree since I was like twenty one years old on my business. And so when we started to think about bringing in somebody new for series two, I mean I think I'd see, just why don't we try to go after Alfrey, who you know, who is one of the great dramatic actors, yeah, you know, of all time?

And so we she was interested and Mark had developed a really brilliant and controversial story and what ended up happening was the network was uncomfortable with it, and so it had to be pulled apart and everything had to kind of be changed before it went into production. But Mark had had it was a very different storyline initially than what made it.

Take and you think it was a better storyline.

I think the initial storyline was incredibly powerful.

And are you allowed to say it?

I mean, I'm gonna say what I think I know. And and again it's been twenty years, but.

My guess I think we can all admit, well, we're not in season two yet, and we'll get there. And I don't remember all of it, but I do remember the overarching thing of like, what the hell is going on with the storyline.

What's happening?

It still didn't feel totally appropriate.

Yeah, well I don't even know what it is.

Yeah, yeah, start exactly that.

But yeah, well I think the storyline that was pitched was much darker than the storyline that actually made it to air, and the storyline I believe, And again, memory sometimes does strange things, so yeah, and we may get pushed back from people. So my recollection is that the original storyline was that her son had gotten a woman pregnant.

The woman wanted to have an abortion, and because she was a fundamentalist Alfred's character, yes, and we're very religious, she wanted the girl to carry the baby to term, and so that was what was supposed to be locked up in the basement, okay, and it just freaked out.

That's a very Handmaid's tail.

It completely freaked out the network to do an abortion storyline for the whole season because again, network Television, it's a different time.

God and I became friends and we're still friends, which I think people would find surprising. It like an odd just because he's so cool and the age difference and he was like a Calvin Klein underwear model, and I think people wait, like, yeah, we were, we're close, we're close friends, and I feel like I recall him telling me, you're ago like that. The story didn't pan out like that.

He didn't get the opportunity to do the sort of acting he thought he was going to do when he got involved. And I wonder if Alfred feels that way too.

You know, you know, I'll let Alfred. She's herself, I mean, she's you know, she's a consummate pro. But to have her on because yeah, she's a great talker.

I love her story, and I think, you know, whether or not she feels that way, I certainly, as someone who appreciates her work and her depth as an actress, feel like she didn't get to fully show that off in the storyline, and I imagine I don't even know.

If she knows what the original storyline was supposed to be.

Well, speaking of mysteries that come to light, the one big one that gets wrapped up, and I know we already kind of talked about Mary Alice's character and Brenda really having her day in front of the camera. I was curious because, of course, it's a great reveal that Paul has seemed so suspicious this whole time, and it's actually mary Alice who old this woman who was Zac's formerly Dana, which, by the way, does.

Anyone know a man named Dane Aana Carvey?

Oh?

There you go, yeah.

I and put in her place, and I asked your nice.

Well, so we find out that mary Alice was the one who actually killed this woman, and that Paul was kind of like the dutiful husband helping just member the body and put it in the toy chest. At what point, I'm curious, Michael, at what point did the writers figure out that that was going to be where that story was going.

So I believe that was there from the beginning, that that mystery about what happened, who the baby was, and Mike Delfino and you guys they knew that.

Yeah, you can some semblance when the whole thing starts.

I believe so. And you had mentioned like Mike being number five on the call sheet. The reason Mike was important to the show, aside from being Susan's you know, romantic interest, was also because he's so deeply ingrained in that mystery. So when you look at when you look back at at the last episode, you understand from the beginning how important Mike's role was. So when you know when he pulls out that gun in the pilot, you know it's much more than I'm just Susan's boyfriend. You know, he's there searching for his child, right but he doesn't even know he has.

That is his child.

I mean, that's a big thing that we feel there is the question now coming into oh my god, it was his kid.

I do think it's an interesting arc for Mark Moses who played Paul, because he's set up to be this suspicious, maybe evil character that we're all, you know, scared of, and then you come to learn that he's really was really trying to protect his wife. He still has those moments though, where he's pretty awful.

To exactly that like his go to frustration is huge anger.

Yeah, any drugs his son multiple times throughout this season, and he killed Martha yeah, and he killed Missus Hooper, so he's not Scott free. But it is interesting, you know that those scenes out there and wherever they shot that, between Jamie and Mark, there's a lot of vulnerability on Mark's part that I thought was really great work.

You know what this is making me realize, and I just this is a very macro life note. This is less to do with the finale, but it has to do with my initial experience of the finale, because we've watched all of these episodes of the first season and it's been my first time watching them, and it's been such a treat. And I do think maybe it's because I was like, oh, disappointed that now we have to Thank god there's many more seasons, but oh, this is this chapter is coming to an end. I did feel like it was a little anti climactic, And now sitting and really talking through the care and the scenes and re remembering them, I have completely changed my tune and I think this is an incredible finale and it's making

me think how often in life in general, you sometimes need to sit with what your initial assumption or initial read on something is going to be before you let that bake in and go out and say that is your judgment. And I'm really glad that I've had this opportunity to remember to do that in more avenues.

Yeah, I think it's really good. I mean we talk about sometimes like trying to learn how to not react to things, you know, like to sit with it, like to let yourself sort of calm down before you just have that, you know, adrenaline driven reaction to everything. But I don't know if you feel this way, Michael. I mean, I know we both had in different ways complicated journeys on this show. Obviously, and maybe it's not obvious, but I mean, primarily.

We both lead with gratitude.

There's just no way to have been involved in this show and the way we were.

I'm gonna cry too, and.

You know what, you can cry at something, but I wasn't gonna bring it up because I didn't want to make it.

But you know, to not lead with gratitude.

But that said, it was a complicated thing, was a complicated family, and one of the greatest gifts about stepping away from it for all this time and getting to rewatch it is. And I'm going off of kind of what you're saying, but you did it much faster. Just watching the finale coming in here saying it was it was Antacom Africa and then ten minutes later going nope, I was wrong. Well so it's taken me twelve fifteen years.

But anyway, like to.

Just all I see is the pleasant It's all I see.

I just see how good everybody was.

And I see the good intentions behind everybody, and I see and I know, I guess, I know, And for as much as I don't remember, I know that every crew, cast, writers, you know, showed up every day and tried to make it the best that they could.

And it wasn't because we.

Wanted to be famous or we wanted to be rich. It was because we wanted to produce a good product. And I know that is what was behind everybody going to this every day. And it's just like it's a beautiful gift to kind of look back at it with just these non exhausted, you know, happy eyes.

Do you feel that way?

You know? It's an interesting thing because I hadn't revisited the show since I left the show, and I'm incredibly proud of what we built. It does look a little dated to me, which is interesting. Yeah, But on the other hand, you know, a lot of those choices were intentional, and we were making a show for two thousand and four.

We weren't making a show for twenty twenty five. With that said, I think the writing, you know, really holds up in season one. I try to approach the shows as, you know, a gift, but you know, like many gifts in life, they they they come with with challenges and lessons and I mean, you, I'll never forget. So I was in France selling the show internationally when it premiered.

I picked up the phone and we got the ratings and they were huge, and I called all of the cast and when I somehow got to you because we didn't can I don't know if I couldn't get you on the phone or whatever, but I'd called a few people and everybody's excited and ecstatic, and I got to you, and you and I and I'll never forget this. I know exactly where I was standing. We were both like, isn't this great? And You're like yeah, And we both had the sense of what was coming, that it was going to be amazing and explosive, but I think we already knew that it was going to be a challenge, and there was some heaviness, and you were the only other one. It's like, it's one of those moments where I just I feel I felt so profoundly connected to

you because nobody else, everybody is ecstatic. And I think because you'd been on hits before and you'd been down the road of fame before that you knew that. Listen, it's an amazing gift, but it is not without its challenges riding that wave. And the more famous you are, the more people want to get pulled in different directions and you get asked to do things. I mean, the cast was asked to do stuff constantly, like even when they weren't working, and it was just it took over your lives. And I mean, you know, the thing that I'm most gratified about, you know, quite frankly, Emerson, Like when I met you, you were you know, seven years old, and your mom was a single parent at the time, just trying to figure out how to give you a

normal life when her life was anything button normal. And the thing that like touched me so much when we had dinner, was you turned out to be this amazing, grounded person. To see your relationship with your mom is incredible. And then Andrea, I mean the fact that you you two like feel like you're related, and the love you guys have for each other and the respect you have for each other. I mean, listening to the podcast, it's it's been incredibly lovely to know. If you ask me, what I'm kind of most touch with is that there were these moments and these bonds that were built and to be a part of you know, that is an incredibly gratifying thing. So it's it's very very touching to be here today.

I'm so glad that thank you for being here with us today. It's touching for us too. And I don't know, I don't know the dynamics of everyone else's relationship and how long you know they've stayed in touch or connected, and I sort of, I mean, I hope that rippled through for other cast.

On the shows.

You know, look at us like that's pretty incredib And I said to Terry and Emerson that in a way, you know, it's really fun to sit here week after week and get to be entertained by the show and get to explore all of the amazing, greater themes that come from it and have these really just enriching conversations weekly.

But it's also sort of therapeutic to be able to reflect on what was a really unique experience for everyone involved. It kind of feels like a dysfunctional you know, family getting to sit down and explore it all. And I just think it's an amazing opportunity from that standpoint.

I think, like I said, I think, you know, in that first season and if people want to go back control the internet and see what was written, there was a lot of drama, and I think at the end of the day, it could have should have would have been handled differently. I think, you know, all of our main cast was put under enormous pressure that they wouldn't be put under today. And people, you know, we've had a meet too, We've had so many different things where we've had you know, reckonings about how actors are treated and you guys have intimacy coordinators and and I mean, some of that I think is for the good. Some of it is not in terms of spontaneity, but at least people are protected in a way that they were

never protected before. And what I will say is that, in retrospect, if I'd had more power, I wish I would have done a better job of protecting everybody. And I think, I think you know, it was just a very, very challenging time and everybody was working sixteen hours a day doing the best they could do with whatever they had in their toolbox. And some people had more in their toolboxes to cope with challenges than others. And you know, I learned a lot from you. I'm looking at Terry soberbody can hear. I mean you you taught me. You taught me how to, you know, work with an actor, because you were so prepared, you were so focused. Every choice you made wasn't out of caprice. It was made because I have a vision for this character in my head,

and I need what I need to deliver that character. And you'd also been through the network run around before, so you knew what that was like, and you knew how they love to put you on a pedestal. And then, because you're a woman, say well, wait a second, she looked a little tired in this episode, and what's going on here? And nobody would talk this way about women anymore.

But in twenty just as we talked about, oh, we have to blur out nipples, it was like, oh, is she looking tired? Or is this and by the way, not necessarily speaking about you, but speaking about her.

But is that stuff? That is? That is stuff? Besides the nipples? What else did they say?

I mean, it was not about that, It was about they just everything was scrutinized, that everybody did everything right.

And in a different way than if it was a show about four or five men.

Well, yeah, you no question. But I also think you know, what I used to tell people is, you know, when you go to work, do you go to work with your five best friends every day?

Like?

What world do you expect? These are people who are professionals who are paid to do a job. They're not paid to be best friends. They're there to work. And so I don't know about you, but I didn't go to work with my four best friends every day, that's for sure, And certainly you know on this show. So I think it's remarkable that it stands the test of time.

And I think it stands the test of time because the cast quite frankly took the scripts and made them real.

One thing that you were saying right before we started recording that I wanted to ask you, how did the enormity of Desperate Housewives' success change your life after the first season.

I mean, I'm sure I was going to it's so funny you said that. I mean, we all had crazy stories of this. I mean, the craziest story that ever happened to me, Terry knows. I was working with Elton John on a project as we were shooting Desperate Housewives, and I got called to go to Vegas for a meeting and and so I drive to Burbank Airport and it's a torrential thunderstorm. It is so bad. And I was supposed to meet with Elton in the morning and it's four o'clock in the afternoon. No planes are flying.

And so I'm at Southwest Airlines. I you know, I was, you know, a kid on a budget and went and I made the decision, like, you know what, I'm just going to drive four hours or five hours in the rain, and I have to be there for this meeting. So so I go to Southwest Airlines and try to get my bag and they're saying, I'm sorry, we can't get your bags. I mean they're on the plane. We can't get your bags. And there is a gay guy. In full disclosure, I'm a gay man, so this is not said with anything other than love. There's a gay guy like eyeing me in the back and and he comes up to the country. The guy walks away, and I'm clearly first. He goes, he goes, you're the Desperate Housewife's guy, And I said, excuse me. He goes, yeah, I saw

you on Oprah. I'll go get your bag.

Oh god, oh my god.

Because of Desperate Housewives, I got to meet Winfrey, who's still a friend, and that was an amazing experience. Because of Desperate Housewife, it opened all sorts of doors to me in international television. And then I got to go off and build a studio. So you know, overall, you know, well, it's never fun to leave something that's successful. It was an amazing life changing experience. But how like, what about quirky stories for all of you?

Oh getting your bags back there?

I know I still had some airport perks myself. I would say from being on the show, I've my bags have been overweight before. And then the person will be like it's okay, you know, which is huge. That is honestly, like what, I don't think there are better perks in life than airport perks. Traveling is so stressful and hectic and so uncomfortable that when someone offers you a little kindness it feels really you.

Actually just had that last year at the Heathrow Airport.

My mom and I were together and.

It was a really long line and we were like running a little late for our flight, and the woman who was checking back recognized.

You know, the check in ticket lady.

Yes, yes, she was giving us the tickets, recognized you and ushered us right up to the front. And that was really no, that is I mean I had I had the biggest ABC Desperate Housewives uh perk as a child growing up, and this is going to make me sound so spoiled, and I really was.

It's going to make me sound spoiled and bugie.

But I got to go to Disneyland with a guide that let us cut the lines for my entire adolescence from.

The time I was seven until I was sixteen.

Because ABC and Disney but also Desperate Housewives was such a huge hit that my mom could not stand in a line could not walk five feet down the street in Disneyland without hundreds of people coming up and asking for photos. I mean, I think this is the way I'm sure like the Kardashians feel todayday right, And so I did. I grew up going through the exits of the rides at Disneyland and that was thank you.

But now we stand in the car's ride for like line for an hour like everybody else.

Yeah, the days of that are long over for me, but they really hit at the crucial critical time of when you were a kid and you want to go to Disneyland.

So yeah, well this finale has left us with some pretty decent cliffhangers. We don't know if Zach is going to kill Mike because they're in the house. We don't know if Bree is going to find out the truth about George, who was probably murdering Racks all along. We don't know what it's going to be like when Lynette goes back to work. We don't know if Gabby is going to have the baby. And we don't really know, although Michael did give us a little bit of a hint what's up with the new neighbors. I'm so glad you were here with us, Michael, to wrap this whole thing up. I feel like you and I both get to like tie the bow, pass it on and walk away in peace.

I feel good about it.

I hope you do too.

It's an amazing gift to be here with the three of you. And like I said earlier, it's magical to see that, you know, everybody got a happy end and that's you know, you don't always know that when you're in the middle of something, but you know, twenty years on and it's nice to see, you know, a friend across the you know, across the room, and have such love and yeah, it's it's it's profound.

It is profound.

And I think to end on that sort of inspiring sort of idea that you know, time heals all that all things pass, and that you really can like see the good and things if you look at it the right way, and you know, just offer that out to you listeners, and because we are desperately devoted to you,

That’s A Wrap (Season Finale "One Wonderful Day")

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