Desperate Housewives
In 2002, a conversation with his mother inspired him to develop a show about the fractured lives of four upper middle class suburban women. After HBO, FOX, CBS, NBC, Showtime, and Lifetime all passed on the show, Cherry got his big break when his agent was arrested and sent to jail for embezzlement. His new agents brought the show to ABC, which decided to pick it up. The series, Desperate Housewives, was an immediate ratings smash and generated enormous national (and subsequently, international) debate. Cherry received several lucrative offers from various parties, but chose to sign a long-term deal with Touchstone, since their network had shown faith in Desperate Housewives when no one else would.
The show was a phenomenon for much of its first season, but was criticized by TV critics who said the second season of Desperate Housewives was not as creative or as good as the first. Viewers seemed to agree, since the ratings dropped as the season progressed. Despite some criticism of the second season, seasons three and four were considered a return to form for the show, and ratings remained strong. Although viewing figures continued to drop as the series progressed, it remained a formidable show, breaking the world record for Most Popular Television Show (Worldwide) in 2007. "Housewives" concluded at the end of its eighth season in 2012.
Cherry has featured several actors on "Housewives" that he has worked with before; Mark Moses, who played Paul Young, and Harriet Sansom Harris, who played Felicia Tilman, were both cast members of The 5 Mrs. Buchanans. In season three, Cherry cast former boss Dixie Carter in the role of Gloria Hodge, Orson's unhinged mother. Actor Alec Mapa, who appeared in Some of My Best Friends, appears on "Housewives" in a recurring role as Gabrielle's stylist.
Cherry appeared in a cameo as one of Susan's moving men on the final episode of Desperate Housewives.
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