It is the eighth and final season for the popular television show “Desperate Housewives” watched by fans all across the nation, including Kansas and Missouri. For many of the show’s actors and actresses they are looking back on eight great years full of memories as they count down to the final episode.
For one of the main characters, her final episode occurred three seasons ago. In the wrongful termination trial, the producer testified this week that the infamously scandalous character Edie Britt was killed off because the show simply ran out of possible lovers to write into the script. “We had played out as many romantic complications [as possible] with each of the women’s husbands,” the show’s creator told jurors.
The wrongful termination lawsuit was filed by Nicollette Sheridan, the female actress who spent five seasons playing Edie Britt. The actress filed the suit after her character was killed off in what she said was an act of retaliation for complaining about an incident of battery that occurred during a disagreement on set.
It was very shortly after the September 2008 incident in which Sheridan was struck in the face that the discussion about the possible and untimely death of her character began to surface. The creator also testified in court this week that the decision was a long time coming, but that it was kept in the utmost confidence until just after September.
The creator claimed that the actress’s employment was terminated for other reasons. He claimed that she had trouble remembering lines and was rude to the writers when she made insulting comments.
The lawsuit seeks economic damages in the amount of $6 million: An amount Sheridan says she suffered as a result of her unscheduled departure from the show.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “‘Desperate Housewives’ creator says character was killed off for lack of love interests,” Harriet Ryan, March 7, 2012
