For seven seasons Lynette Scavo was almost single-handedly responsible for raising countless kids amidst marital strife, murder and mayhem. Unfortunately for said aforementioned housewife, this season will bring with it its biggest challenge yet: Looming unemployment.
Yes, after months or rumors and speculation the woman of Wisteria Lane will get a much-deserved reprieve from what has to be one of the country’s most ill-fated addresses as President of ABC Entertainment Paul Lee confirmed during this weekend’s executive session at the 2011 Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles that the upcoming eighth season of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES will be its last.
“I did that weird thing when you hear big news where you sort of distance yourself from it. I was with my friend [actress] Sarah Paulson who kept going, ‘How are you feeling, what’s going on, how are you feeling?’,” explained Felicity Huffman during an ABC’s cocktail party. “Then I went home, was really sad and I cried. I cried at the kitchen table with Bill [Husband William H. Macy] and then my daughter came in and asked what’s going on and he said ‘Her job is ending,’ and she went, “Oh Mamma, you’re gonna work again!’ I was like, I wish you were my agent.”
And while there’s no doubt that the talented Huffman — who first arrived on our radar playing producer Dana Whitaker on Aaron Sorkin’s brilliant-but-cancelled SPORTS NIGHT — will have no problem finding her next gig (Said a half-joking Huffman, “There’s that great quote about when you break up with someone that the only way to get over somebody is to get under somebody and I think I still miss SPORTS NIGHT but I’ve had subsequent jobs that thrill me and engage me and I feel enriched by, so I think it takes another job coming along.”), television is a tricky business. Particularly when one just spent the better part of the past decade starring in a show that at the height of its popularity could be found in upwards of 25 million living rooms every Sunday night at 9PM.
“You totally go into acting jail where they [the audience] can’t see you as anything else but Lynette and that’s tough,” admitted Huffman when asked about her level of nervousness with regards to audiences being able to accept her in other roles post-HOUSEWIVES. “All things being equal, I think you should sort of disappear for five years and then come back and sort of recreate yourself.”
Luckily for Huffman, who is currently in the midst of shooting episode three of what has very quickly just become a far more interesting season of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, the actress won’t have much time to contemplate her future career path just yet.
“Tonight I heard that I’m turning into a “cougar” which just makes my skin crawl.. yuk!” laughed Huffman when pressed for details on what fans can expect from the soon-to-be separated Scavos come the start of the season. “I don’t know what they have in store but I think the only thing we haven’t explored is what happens in divorce. What happens to the kids, and you’ve got two homes, custody, watching your husband going out with someone else, I think that is fertile ground and very true.”
Adding, “Now that it’s the eighth year you know they can bust things wide apart.” 
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES returns for its eight and final season this Sunday September 25th on ABC (CTV in Canada). Catch up with past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv