Desperate Housewives

The fictitious, beautiful, and seemingly perfect suburban setting of Wisteria Lane is home to the four women of "Desperate Housewives." As viewers quickly find out, this idyllic suburb is anything but perfect. The four friends come together in the first episode to understand why one of their best friends, Mary Alice Young, suddenly committed suicide. Over the course of the first season, these four women, Susan Meyer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp, and Gabrielle Solis, solve the mystery, dealing with other issues in their lives as they come along. All the seasons of "Desperate Housewives" have followed the same theme of solving a mystery, usually a murder. Mary Alice Young watches her friends' antics from beyond the grave and gives the audience the benefit of her narration. In season eight, the final season of a highly popular series, the four friends have another mystery on their hands: covering up the murder of Gabrielle's stepfather. The first episode of the season was aired in September 2011, and the season concluded in May 2012 with the four ladies leaving Wisteria Lane forever. Though there was initially talk of a ninth season, the producers of the show wanted to end it while it was still popular, not wanting it to "fade away." There were 23 episodes in the season, bringing the series total to 180 episodes. The final episode was watched by more than 11 million viewers in the United States alone. Besides numerous awards and nominations, "Desperate Housewives" also holds the dubious distinction of being the seventh most-pirated show of 2009. If you haven't visited Wisteria Lane and the intriguing world of "Desperate Housewives" yet, individual seasons, as well as a complete collection, are available on Blu-ray and DVD.