THE “Desperate House wives” spinoff starring Lily Tomlin and Kathryn Joosten may be the hottest show that ABC won’t announce at its upfront presentation this week.
News of the proposed series prompted a terrific response from the public that has overwhelmed the actresses. Sources report that Joosten received so many supportive emails at her personal Web site that the site was shut down.
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“Desperate” co-star Neal McDonough, in an appearance on “The View” last Thursday, asked the studio audience if they would be interested in seeing the spinoff. When they all raised their hands, it was clear to producers of the project that it had a built-in audience, which may put the series on the fast-track.
“Housewives” creator Marc Cherry is expected to move forward with the project in June after he meets with his staff writers and squares away the sixth season of his Sunday night hit.
In the spinoff, which is not yet titled, Tomlin and Joosten are expected to reprise their roles as Roberta and Karen McCluskey. But they won’t be living on Wisteria Lane. They will play modern-day Snoop Sisters who investigate lightweight crimes in a place that has the same unreal suburban feel of the Cherry series.
“Cherry loves the idea of a mystery series,” said a source close to the project.
There are no plans yet to have any of the other characters from “Desperate Housewives” drop in on an episode of the spinoff, but the cross-pollination between ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” drew such strong ratings this spring, that it seems like a programming no-brainer.