According to Deadline, reimagining of ABC’s smash hit series Desperate Housewives is on the way from Onyx Collective. Kerry Washington (Django, Scandal) and Natalie Chaidez (The Flight Attendant, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) are at the helm of this new series set on the titular Wisteria Lane.
The original Desperate Housewives ran for eight seasons and starred Teri Hatcher (Tomorrow Never Dies, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures), Eva Longoria (Harsh Times, The Sentinel), Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, Sports Night), Marcia Cross (Everwood, Quantico), and Nicollette Sheridan (Knots Landing, Spy Hard) as five friends living on Wisteria Lane whose lives are turned upside down after a neighbor dies by suicide, according to Deadline. The series was a cultural force that introduced a new genre that infused comedy, drama, mystery, and soap opera stylings into an addictive, must-watch phenomenon.
Original series creator Marc Cherry (Devious Maids, The Golden Girls) was not involved in pitching the reimagining to Onyx and Hulu Originals but may still participate in the project on some level. It is unknown whether or not Washington will actually appear in the new series or remain solely in a producer role, according to Deadline.
Fans of the original show have long speculated on a follow-up to Desperate Housewives, and news of Wisteria Lane’s pick-up is the first major development to actually come to fruition. While the follow-up will remain in the original’s iconic locale, according to Deadline, there are apparently no plans to feature any characters from the original series.
Conveniently, Wisteria Lane itself is a real street built on the Universal backlot that still exists mostly unchanged today, and is a popular destination for tourists. Cherry said of the street, “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,” according to Deadline, so it’s fitting that the upcoming offshoot will heavily utilize the picturesque cul-de-sac.