Teri Hatcher passes on Real Housewives: ‘All I Do Is Clean Cat Litter’

Teri Hatcher said she was approached to join a Real Housewives franchise but declined, describing herself as boring because her days mostly involve cleaning cat litter and caring for her parents. The offer reportedly came from a producer who asked to feel the temperature about her interest, an approach she recalled during an appearance on Today With Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones. Hatcher emphasized that she did not think the life would be filmable, noting that her responsibilities at home would not translate well to a reality series.

With Desperate Housewives continuing to influence pop culture, Hatcher is promoting her Desperate Housewives rewatch podcast, Desperately Devoted, which she hosts with her daughter Emerson Tenney and Andrea Bowen, who played Julie Mayer on the series. She highlighted the show’s lasting impact on television and joked about the series’ creator, Marc Cherry, suggesting he knows the franchise’s influence. The path Desperate Housewives helped carve out for later reality-competition formats remains a touchstone in conversations about TV history.

Desperate Housewives aired on ABC from 2004 to 2012 and remains a defining chapter in 2000s television culture. Hatcher described Desperately Devoted as a way to revisit the series with multiple generations’ perspectives: she says the show is best understood when three generations of women approach it from different points of view. She noted that she often praises Marcia Cross, recounting that Cross’s performance stood out even years after the show’s original run. The podcast aims to unpack subtleties that viewers may have missed while the show was airing and to reflect on the ensemble’s dynamics in retrospect.

Hatcher also made clear there are no plans for a reboot. She underscored that the legacy of Desperate Housewives remains tied to its original run, while still celebrating the show’s enduring appeal for fans who continue to revisit it through streaming and retrospective commentary. The interview highlights how a single hit from the mid-2000s continues to shape conversations about television, cross-generational nostalgia, and the ongoing interest in behind-the-scenes perspectives from actors who lived the experience on screen.

Throughout the conversation, Hatcher reinforced the idea that Desperate Housewives helped redefine broadcast performance and storytelling, while acknowledging that the resurgence of interest in the series — including her podcast and related discussions — reflects a broader cultural reevaluation of early-2000s TV milestones. She closed by reiterating her appreciation for the cast and the work that brought the show to life, including praise for Cross and the other co-stars who contributed to the show’s lasting legacy.