The main Desperate Housewives characters range from manipulative spouses to sweet mothers and wives. Here’s all of them ranked from worst to best.
- The characters on Desperate Housewives are what made the show compelling, and a reboot would be loved by fans due to the well-drawn characters.
- Karl Mayer is ranked as one of the worst characters on the show, lacking depth and contributing little to the overall storylines.
- Bree Van de Kamp is the standout character, embodying the desperate housewife archetype and providing entertainment throughout the series.
The primetime soap Desperate Housewives was full of twists and turns that wouldn’t have been nearly as compelling without its cast of characters, and when those Desperate Housewives characters are ranked, it’s not a popularity contest; it’s about which characters are the most interesting to watch. Fans would love to see a reboot given the well-drawn characters on the series. From the Wisteria Lane group who have been friends since they moved to that charming street to their love interests and enemies, everyone has a story, a secret, and their own quirky sense of humor.
Eva Longoria said that while she would be happy to star in a Desperate Housewives reboot but Marc Cherry, the creator and showrunner, isn’t certain there are storylines left. Longoria said, “He feels like he’s fully explored those characters,” Longoria added. “He really was like, kind of a ‘Why now?,’ like ‘Why now, what would they be doing?'” according to E! News. While this is too bad, with Desperate Housewives ranked among the best, juiciest TV dramas, at least fans have eight seasons to rewatch some of the most compelling soapy characters.
Karl Mayer
Susan’s ex-husband, Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi), is one of the least-liked characters because he is a jerk, simply put. While he’s married to Susan, he has an affair with his secretary, which is frustrating since there couldn’t be a bigger cliché than that. He doesn’t care about their relationship or their daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), and he believes that he’s more intelligent than anyone around him. He’s very much a stereotype of a wealthy divorced man, never given much depth or a chance to grow.
Karl is definitely the worst of the main characters on Desperate Housewives. He’s so tough to watch that it would have been enough to simply explain Susan’s personal life and then never actually show him onscreen. Every once in a while, he might contribute to the drama in Susan’s life, but there are so many other compelling storylines in the show that her irritating husband isn’t really needed to move many storylines along.
Carlos Solis
When the Desperate Housewives characters are ranked, Carlos might be a fan favorite for some, but he’s not the most compelling character. Gaby (Eva Longoria) and Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) seem like they have it all… at least on paper. They’re married, wealthy, and live in a mansion on Wisteria Lane. The only problem? Carlos can be pretty mean. He’s traditional and wants a picture-perfect life, and even in the best Desperate Housewives episodes, he’s not always likable.
Carlos is so controlling and conceited that he even messes with Gaby’s birth control so that they can have a baby, which is horrible, especially since she didn’t initially want children. It’s only when Carlos ends up losing his eyesight that he starts being a nicer person and his motivations are more out in the open, but by then, the damage is done.
Mike Delfino
When ranking Desperate Housewives husbands, Mike Delfino (James Denton) is a fan favorite. Susan falls in love with Mike, the kind plumber who moves to Wisteria Lane, quickly. He hides from everyone that he actually made the move in order to play detective and look into the disappearance of Deidre, a woman he was once in a relationship with.
Mike can be a frustrating character for the narrative since he’s often wishy-washy about his feelings for Susan, dragging out the will-they-won’t-they aspect of their relationship. It’s clear to fans that they’re meant to be, but they break up and get back together so many times that it can be tough to watch. Mike isn’t a terrible person at all, but he could put more effort into his romance with Susan. If more had been revealed about his playing detective earlier, he might have been a more interesting character as well.
Tom Scavo
Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) is a sweetheart who definitely deserves a nicer partner than Lynette. He’s an easygoing guy who is a good dad and wants to provide for his family. At times, Tom even seems a bit boring compared to other Desperate Housewives characters and like he doesn’t have much of a personality.
Tom’s role in the series seems to be to prove that Lynette should be more caring and compassionate, so it makes sense that he’s a typical suburban dad. He’s not the most interesting character on the show, but his presence does help to make Lynette more interesting and does help to create conflict in her storylines, moving her part of the plot forward.
Susan Mayer
Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) is a good character, but not the strongest character in Desperate Housewives. She’s sweet, a good friend, a good mom, and also very creative. She has been working as an illustrator for children’s books, which is a fascinating career and sets her apart from the other housewives on Wisteria Lane who don’t work. The show, of course, doesn’t get to delve into her career much since the scandals on Wisteria Lane take the spotlight.
Susan is a good character because she has a sense of humor that never rests, adding much needed levity to the show. She’s kooky and approaches life with laughter, even though she has a lot to be upset about, such as her ex-husband’s infidelity. When Susan loses Mike, it’s one of the most emotional Desperate Housewives deaths, and it gives her a push toward more dramatic storytelling, but she’s still a light in the series.
Edie Britt
Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) is a scheming, manipulative mean girl who never grows up and seems like she’s stuck in high school forever. None of the women on Wisteria Lane like her, but she doesn’t care because she basically only wants to find a wealthy husband… even if it’s one of theirs. Edie sets her sights on Susan’s ex Karl, and because she doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings or thoughts except for her own, many of her actions on the show are in other morally dubious areas.
Edie might not be a good person, but she’s an incredibly entertaining part of Desperate Housewives. Fans were not happy to see her leave the show. Edie was able to shake things up while the other women of Wisteria Lane were tight-knit. She made them doubt one another and brought essential conflict to the series.
Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is kind of like Ali DiLaurentis on Pretty Little Liars: she’s gone before the show begins, but she was the Queen Bee figure who was at the center of the friend group. Without Mary Alice and all of her secrets, there would be no Desperate Housewives story at all. She helps to kickstart a lot of the mysteries in the show, making her one of the best Desperate Housewives characters.
It’s heartbreaking when fans tune into the pilot and learn that Mary Alice passed away. Her friends and family didn’t know that she was struggling. She narrates the show and her death allows her to have knowledge of everything that her closest friends were hiding. Mary Alice is kind and caring and one of the best characters on the show. It wouldn’t be as poignant without her.
Lynette Scavo
Felicity Huffman’s Desperate Housewives character is definitely nicer than Edie, whose schemes get frustrating after a while. Lynette is a wife and mother who is trying her best to juggle her family life with her career. Lynette isn’t always easy to sympathize with, however. She can be cold and selfish and treats her husband Tom like an afterthought most of the time.
Lynette has her moments of humor, but she should care about the people in her life more. The worst thing that she does is sabotage her husband’s chance at getting an amazing promotion by literally ensuring that he won’t get it after all. Lynette, however, is clearly a loyal friend. The amount of stress in her life can sometimes prevent her from acting that way, but she’s always there for the circle of housewives when the latest scandal drops. She somehow manages to stay just on the fringes of most of the scandals in the series, however, which is part of what makes her so interesting.
Gaby Solis
Gaby Solis is one of the best characters on Desperate Housewives. She has the biggest character arc and changes from a spoiled brat who only cares about hair, makeup, and clothing to a caring mother and friend. It even makes sense when Gaby cheats on her husband Carlos with John (Jesse Metcalfe) because she feels trapped in her marriage and like Carlos doesn’t truly understand her.
Gaby spends a lot of the early part of the show hiding her own secrets from everyone while trying to unravel theirs. She loves the Wisteria Lane gossip but is terrified of being the subject of it. It’s also interesting to watch Gaby struggle with whether to become a parent and when she does have children, she loves them so much, and they change her outlook on life. While most dramas tend to suffer when children are added to storylines, Gaby’s children only enrich her stories. She becomes an even more compelling part of Desperate Housewives.
Bree Van de Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross) is the best character in Desperate Housewives as the epitome of a desperate housewife. Even though she’s cold and can be uncaring, her desire to be just like Martha Stewart is always entertaining and is the heartbeat of the series. Bree sums up what happens when someone trades happiness for perfection. It’s clear that she’s miserable and that a manicured lawn and beautiful home and fancy things can’t save her.
Like Gaby, Bree goes through a tremendous amount of growth in the series. She also, however, regresses at multiple points in the show. Each time she does, it’s because something has damaged her perfectly cultivated image. The show wouldn’t be what it is without Bree. Even in the worst Desperate Housewives episodes, Bree is entertaining to watch. Bree makes Desperate Housewives the soapy drama it is.
