Skip to main content

Daily to Get "Desperate" After All

It's moments like these when you just have to gloat and say things like, You read it here first at Televisionary! (No, I mustn't gloat, it's not attractive.)

I had reported several weeks ago about Desperate Housewives showrunner Tom Spezialy walking off the set of the ABC drama and the rumors coming to me about nearly all of the show's writing staff receiving their walking papers. I had also reported on a rumored replacement for Spezialy: former Out of Practice and Frasier producer Bob Daily.

In a rather juicy turn (fitting given the soapy series in question), I can now say that the above rumors have been confirmed as fact.

Variety is today reporting that Daily has signed a deal to join Desperate Housewives full-time as a co-executive producer, replacing Spezialy. Additionally, Joe Keenan, Daily's colleague on Out of Practice (he was the co-creator of the now-cancelled sitcom), and former Will & Grace showrunner Jeff Greenstein are in discussions to join the staff as well. Keenan is in talks to join the series as a co-executive producer and, if his deal comes through, could be bumped to full exec producer later in the season. What Greenstein's role on the series would be is unclear, as the writer is actively developing series of his own for next season.

After what many have described as a truly awful season (complete with critical and ratings backlash), you've got to love it when the behind-the-scenes drama at Desperate Housewives becomes more interesting and entertaining than the show itself.

Comments

Anonymous said…
ok, but here is the problem for me. those are all good comedy writers. good choices. But to me, what was really lacking from this season (which I think got MUCH better as the season went on) was the big mystery element.

At first I thought that what was missing was the fact that early on there were no scenes of the four women together. But a couple of weeks ago Q mentioned that what he decided was really missing was the mystery and I thought he was dead on. Last season we had a big thing to cling to.

This season has become too comical, too zany and too many disparate storylines. I think brining on so many comedy writer will unfortunately keep it going down that path.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns