Despite reports of behind-the-scenes drama on Desperate Housewives, Jesse Metcalfe was just happy to be part of the neighborhood.
The actor recently recalled his run on the ABC comedy-drama as teen gardener John Rowland, admitting he “was oblivious” to any on-set friction between the main cast of the show, created by Marc Cherry.
“I was just happy to have a job,” he said on a recent panel, according to People. “I went through an entire pilot season, I didn’t book anything, and I tested for Desperate Housewives, which was a recast, right at the end of that pilot season and ended up booking it.”
Metcalfe said he was “very grateful” for his Season 1 series regular role of Gabrielle Solis’ (Eva Longoria) young sidepiece, which he reprised a guest throughout the series.
“I was just kind of riding the wave, you know, because that show really broke me and I had everything coming at me and I was just enjoying it,” he continued.
Jesse Metcalfe and Eva Longoria in ‘Desperate Housewives’
“Matter of fact, there’s a lot of stories about all the drama on that set between some of our lead females,” added Metcalfe. “And I was like, I was oblivious to it, basically, you know, because I was just so thrilled to be on a show and just so in the moment.”
Desperate Housewives starred Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan as five women — mostly friends — living on Wisteria Lane, who begin uncovering dark secrets after their neighbor Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) kills herself.
In addition to reports of friction between the women, Sheridan filed a $20 million lawsuit against ABC and Cherry, alleging that he assaulted her and then fired her from the show when she reported it. After a judge dismissed the battery charge and focused on the alleged wrongful termination, a mistrial was declared and the case was ultimately dismissed.
Following Deadline’s exclusive report, Kerry Washington confirmed in May that her Onyx Collective offshoot Wisteria Lane is in development, “inspired” by Desperate Housewives.
Written by Natalie Chaidez, Wisteria Lane is described as a fun, sexy, darkly comedic soap/mystery in the vein of Desperate Housewives, set among a group of five very different friends and sometimes frenemies who all live on a picture-perfect cul de sac called Wisteria Lane. On the surface, all the Wisteria neighbors are living the dream: beautiful homes, gorgeous families, shiny SUVs in the driveway. But behind those white picket fences and smiling Insta posts are secrets.
