When Desperate Housewives first aired in October 2004 on the ABC television network, the controversial pilot episode attracted the interest of over twenty-five million viewers . On an average, seemingly quiet suburban street called Wisteria Lane, four women – Lynette Scavo, Gabrielle Solis, Bree Van de Kamp and Susan Mayer – were instantly connected by the suicide of Mary-Alice Young, a neighbor and member of a poker club. While the reason for Mary-Alice's death remained unknown for several seasons, the series began to unfold a juicy plot full of stereotypical suburban drama; Intertwined with love triangles and tragic adventures, more unusual and mysterious events began to occur. Although Desperate Housewives attempts to depict gender equality and society's ever-changing perception of gender through the use of jobs, relationships, and melodramatic events, this façade does not really hide the traditional roles of each gender and how these roles complicate people's daily lives. families of Wisteria Lane. When thinking traditionally, certain careers that women typically choose come to mind. Oddly enough, the careers of the women of Wisteria Lane are in exactly these jobs. Susan Mayer, a young mother of a school-aged boy, is employed sporadically as an art teacher. When she is kicked out of a conservative private school for being too outspoken, her family loses their home and Susan begins producing soft-core porn to supplement her husband's income. Bree, a divorced and fiercely independent redhead, owns her own catering business. Don't be fooled by this apparent breakdown of traditional gender roles; the writers attempt to give her more employment equality by making her a powerful owner, but the fact that she owns a food business, which is the...... middle of paper ... ...the luxurious scandal of a middle-class life, but once all the drama is stripped away, the author of the series perfectly shows that suburbia has its advantages and its consequences. Despite 25 million weekly viewers, the show's producers decided to end what had become an American pastime over the previous seven seasons. The story of the four main women – Lynette, Gabrielle, Bree and Susan – may be coming to an end, but the character roles created by the actresses will continue to represent gender roles for decades to come. Works Cited Hill, Lisa. “Gender and gender: situating desperate housewives.” » Journal of Popular Cinema and Television 38.4 (2010): 164-72. Print. McCabe, Janet and Akass, Kim, eds. Reading “Desperate Housewives”: Beyond the White Picket Fence. London: IB Tauris, 2006. Print.