marccherry

Here's some casting news that should thrill TV fans: Lily Tomlin has been cast on Desperate Housewives as Mrs. McCluskey's sister. The comic actress, a multiple Emmy award winner (not to mention a couple of Tonys and a Grammy), has been cast in a recurring role, fleshing out Kathryn Joosten's Emmy-nominated role as the nosy neighbor across the street from Lynette who's occasionally babysat for the Scavo kids. At least when they were still kids, cause now the show's jumped ahead five years, remember?

Writer Marc Cherry has got to be licking his chops to write for Tomlin. She's the kind of actress that can bring unique characters immediately to life. As a comic, using her own imagination and the words -- often -- of collaborator Jane Wagner, Lily's been legendary with what she can do.

In her early career, there were Edith Ann, the bratty five-year-old, and Ernestine, the telephone operator (when the phone company still had operators!). On stage in The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, a one-woman show, she brilliantly created numerous characters.

I wanted to wait a bit before I posted about the ABC showrunner panel, because a) I already posted about the "news" from Shonda Rhimes about Katherine Heigl's statements, and b) I wanted to think about why these panels seem to be so much more informative than the individual show panels?

We'll get to that more later. On the panel were Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty), Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost), and Greg Berlanti (seemingly the rest of ABC's schedule). As you'd expect, Rhimes got the Heigl questions, Lindelof and Cuse got the most esoteric questions, and Chery made the most jokes. The funniest line, though, came from Horta.

Haircuts on TV shows are often a very big deal. Remember when Keri Russell had the audacity to cut her long, curl mane on Felicity? Some fans never forgave her or the character!

Well, be prepared for another cut to your psyche, Desperate Housewives' devotees. Eva Longoria Parker has cut her hair for the upcoming sixth season of the show. Unlike Keri, however, Eva's cut was done with the blessing of the producers.

As you can see, it's a very cute 'doo; not too blunt or pixie-ish. It's quite stylish and flattering. The idea is that with the five-year time jump that we saw in the finale last season, Gaby doesn't have the time or inclination to care for her long, flowing locks. (If you've ever had long, full hair like hers, you know what I'm talking about!)

One thing you have to say about the powers that be at Desperate Housewives, they're really great with casting. Great looking guys, beautiful women, quirky character actors; we've seen them all on Wisteria Lane and usually they leave a lasting impression.

The latest name to check in to Desperate Housewives is Neal McDonough. He'll be appearing in the new season and Hollywood Reporter is wondering how he'd do with Nicolette Sheridan's character, Edie Britt. Is that wondering or playing matchmaker? How do we know that Marc Cherry isn't setting him up as a mystery man from Bree's past? Cherry is nothing if not inventive, so good luck trying to anticipate his plotlines!

There's going to be a new lady swinging down Wisteria Lane this spring. Entertainment Tonight reported that Justine Bateman has signed onto Desperate Housewives for a few episodes. The actress, who will forever be remembered for playing Alex P. Keaton -- Michael J. Fox's -- sister Mallory on Family Ties, will be playing "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos."

(S04E02) "We better start coming up with better lies." - Katherine

After a controversial season premiere (in case you haven't heard, ABC had to apologize for a joke Susan made while in Adam's office), Desperate Housewives tries to have the Mayfairs, who moved to Wisteria Lane last week, settle in. In last week's TV Squad DH poll, 68% of the voters said they thought the Mayfairs were a good addition to the show. Based solely on last week's episode, I have to agree. But now that we are getting more backstory about the Mayfairs and seeing them interact more with their neighbors, have we changed our mind?

Yes, you read right. Desperate Housewives' creator Marc Cherry wants to do what other series (see Buffy and Scrubs) did before: a musical episode!

Variety reports that the Cherry is looking to keep ratings up next year and thinks that a musical episode may help create a buzz.

And before you say anything, that's the word used by show creator Marc Cherry, not me.

At a TCA Q and A (check out the reports from Joel and Kevin here), the Desperate Housewives creator says he spends $100,000 a week just getting rid of nipples that show through clothing because "I've got a couple of actresses who refuse to wear bras, and the Standards and Practices go 'Can't see that'...then I'll turn on Friends and it's a Nipplefest."

It's funny because I was just noticing the other day on a Friends repeat that Jennifer Aniston was, um, showing quite a bit. Personally I would have used the word "Nipplepalooza," but that's just me. Now, who are the actresses he's talking about?

[via TV Tattle]