Teri Hatcher Reveals Why She Turned Down Real Housewives: 'All I Do Is Clean Cat Litter'

Teri Hatcher revealed that she was approached to join a Real Housewives franchise but declined, saying she was just too boring and that her days largely consisted of cleaning cat litter boxes and taking care of her parents. The remarks came during an appearance on Today With Jenna & Friends, where Hatcher was promoting other projects and reflecting on the lasting influence of Desperate Housewives.

Hatcher did not specify which Bravo city was courting her. "One of the producers – not Andy [Cohen] – zoomed in to talk to me about [joining], to kind of feel the temperature," she told hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones. "And I said, ‘You know what? You guys, I’m just too boring. Like all I do is clean cat litter boxes and I take care of my parents.'" She added, "I take care of my parents and I clean cat litter boxes! It’s just not filmable." The exchange underscored how the real‑world demands of life can clash with the scripted allure of a reality series.

The interview also touched on Desperate Housewives’ enduring legacy. Hatcher quipped about the show’s creator, Marc Cherry, joking that he might be "owed money for all of this" given how the series helped shape modern television. Yet she stressed that the show’s influence extends beyond her own cast and crew, saying, "No, I don’t think any of it would have existed without this show. Isn’t that wild?" She later dismissed the notion of a reboot, indicating there was no current plan to revive the series.

Alongside her memories of the ABC drama, Hatcher discussed her new Desperate Housewives rewatch podcast, Desperately Devoted, which she hosts with her daughter Emerson Tenney and former on-screen daughter Andrea Bowen. She described the project as three generations of women offering different perspectives on the series, and she noted that she frequently praises her former costar Marcia Cross for her exceptional work. The podcast invites fans to revisit the storyline, performances, and subtleties that may have escaped notice during the original run, with Hatcher emphasizing how much there was to discover in retrospect.

The conversation arrives as Cultured TV nostalgia continues to influence current reality programming. Desperate Housewives ran on ABC from 2004 to 2012, defining a period when serialized, character-driven storytelling for suburban life helped propel a wave of late-era television dramas. Meanwhile, the Real Housewives franchise has grown into a defining pillar of modern reality television, exploring the lives of affluent women across multiple U.S. cities and beyond. Hatcher’s remarks highlight how cross-pollination between scripted drama and reality formats has shaped audiences’ expectations of what a television star can or cannot do in front of the camera. Even as she keeps options open for future projects, her candid reflection on a potential Housewives stint serves as a reminder of the personal realities behind the glamour of studio and stage.