Desperate Housewives of their late friend and neighbor who committed suicide in the pilot episode. The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017 (the storyline includes a five-year passage of time, as well as flashbacks and flashforwards ranging from the 1980s to the 2020s). They work through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes, and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their—on the surface—beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood. The series features an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo,
Desperate Housewives Springer Show". "Reading 'Desperate Housewives': Beyond the White Picket Fence" (), from I.B. Tauris, is an academic look at the show by film studies lecturers Janet McCabe and Kim Akassm. "Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives" (), published by BenBella Books, consists of seventeen essays written from a feminist perspective. In Chalice Press' "Not-So-Desperate: Fantasy, Fact and Faith on Wisteria Lane" (), author Shawnthea Monroe is giving a Christian interpretation of the series. Also, following the "real life desperate housewives" phenomenon, several books have been released dealing with life strategies for contemporary women. In December 2006, it