Targeting housewives
Latha Venkatraman
Desperate Housewives set in an American suburb strikes a chord with some sections of
Indian viewers too.
"I am neither desperate nor a housewife," says a young professional when asked if she
watches the weekly show Desperate Housewives on Star World. For many independent,
career-oriented women living in cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata, the name of the show
could be a deterrent... if not its content.
Yet, Desperate Housewives is slowly gaining viewership among the urban upwardly mobile,
who plan their weekends around television shows.
Though the show is set in an American suburb, the ludicrousness and hypocrisies of people's
lives are seemingly universal. There is a certain element of reality in Desperate Housewives and
yet it is distant enough for the viewer to want to dissociate from such drama.
The show's official synopsis says that this hour-long drama takes a dark humorous look at
suburbia where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem.The show has
all the elements of a bestseller — the formula, intrigue, mystery and a whiff of black comedy.
So, you have Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) — the single
mom, Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) and Gabrielle Solis.
And there are some men too in the show — Mike Delfino (James Denton), Rex Van De Kamp
(Steven Culp), Gabrielle's husband Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) and Mary Alice's husband
Paul (Mark Moses).
Though some situations in the show are quite predictable, there is a curiosity to know the turn of
events. Don't we enjoy our dose of voyeurism?
Desperate Housewives could not have come at a better time, says a viewer. "Had this show
come some four years ago it would have bombed," she says. "Sex and the City on
HBO took the lead, but Desperate Housewives is benefiting."
If Kaun Banega Crorepati helped Star Plus to the top slot among general entertainment channels
in India, Desperate Housewives resurrected ABC from a financial mess. The Star group, which
seems to hit right on the target, appears to have got it right again with Desperate Housewives.
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