Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)

Wisteria Lane seems like the idyllic street to live on with its beautiful houses, well-manicured lawns and eternal sunshine.  But beneath the surface is an endless parade of mysteries, secrets and lies.  The intrigue kicks off with the suicide of Mary Alice Young after she receives a threatening note.  Her friends Susan Mayer, Bree Van de Camp, Lynette Scavo and Gabrielle Solis deal with the aftermath as well as their own issues of divorce, infidelity and motherhood.  Subsequent seasons typically involved a new neighbor moving onto the lane and the mystery surrounding them.  

Desperate Housewives was a smash hit upon its debut as viewers and critics were in unison.  Created by Marc Cherry, who was a writer and producer on The Golden Girls (1985-1992) and later created The 5 Mrs. Buchanans (1994-1995), the series was pop culture phenomenon and was nominated for several awards.  Unfortunately the show peaked early and none of the seasons seemed to live up to the first one.  There were some highlights however, like the tornado episode and Carolyn Bigsby's supermarket shootout.  

Location: Wisteria Lane
Address: Universal Studios - Colonial Street, Universal City, CA

Universal Studios Hollywood's Colonial Street backlot is one of the busiest in the entertainment industry.  Portraying Anywhere, USA, it is constantly being used for movies, television series and commercials.  Unfortunately for filming location enthusiasts, it is often off limits on the backlot tour because of its high demand.  During my last five trips to Universal, I was unable to see the houses, spotting the dreaded orange cone coming up the hill from Amity Island.  Fortunately, my desperation subsided over the summer and was finally able to take a ride down the street.  These aren't exactly matched up since they were taken from the tram...

The Young House

1999

2024

This was also The Cleaver House from Leave It Beaver (1997).

Susan Mayer's House

The Van De Kamp House

The Solis House

The Scavo House

Edie Britt's House

This was later Renee Perry's House...

Mike Delfino's House

This was also Katherine Mayfair's House...

Mrs. Huber's House

Karen McClusky's House

Betty Applewhite's House

This was later Bob Hunter & Lee McDermott's House...

Location: John Rowland's House
Address: Universal Studios - Elm Street, Universal City, CA

One house that is not on Colonial Street is where a gardener who tends to all the bushes resides.  The studio tour trams are too big to go down Elm Street, another residential backlot street, so this area is not generally seen by the public...

Locations Visited: January 1999, June 2024

Locations Master List