“Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry is the next guest on “Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart,” which was released on Tuesday.

In an exclusive clip from episode seven of the audio/video podcast series, Cherry talks about his love of the soap opera genre while also explaining how each of his other projects, including “Devious Maids” and “Why Women Kill” came to be, including his earlier work as a half-hour comedy writer on “The Golden Girls,” and the one show he didn’t focus on women characters.

“I have literally only had one show that wasn’t dominated by women, and it was my first job. It was a show called ‘Homeroom’ – ABC ran ten episodes before it was canceled – and it was about a guy teaching inner city school children, which I was perfect for, and the second job was ‘The Golden Girls,’” Cherry shared with “Soapy” hosts Rebecca Budig (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “All My Children”) and Greg Rikaart (“The Young and the Restless,” “Days of our Lives”).

“I was 27 years old, so it was a great job because if you’re on a show like that, and it was predominantly a male writing staff,” continued Cherry. “We had one lady, Gail Parent, who had done tons of stuff in the 70s, and so she was like an old pro, and all you needed to do to do the job was pay attention to what your mother, sister, wife [and] daughter was going through and all the guys would bring in their stories and if it was something about menopause Gail would bring that up.”

Marc Cherry, Rebecca Budig, Greg Rikaart
CBS

“I learned on that show that writing for women is just paying attention and caring about things, and one of the things I’ve done in my career, on the second season of ‘Why Women Kill,’ we focused on a woman – a very meek, mild mannered woman – but she finds out her husband is a serial killer and that really came out of me watching one of the many movies about serial killers [where] the police are trying to catch this guy, and we find out he is married, and my thought is, ‘What is his wife going through?’ Cherry shared, recalling how his then CBS All Access (now Paramount+) original came up with storylines. 

“I think that’s where it starts, whenever I watch senators talking on TV shows. I’m like, ‘What is this like from the woman’s perspective? The wife who stays at home.’ Obviously, we have lady senators, but I’m fascinated by the small details that women pay attention to in life and how huge some of those small details can become, and it was out of that way of thinking that ‘Desperate Housewives’ was born,” Cherry furthered. “The joke was that it was supposed to be a comedy. I was trying to do a follow-up to ‘Sex and the City,’ because it’s like, ‘Okay, you’re spending all your time trying to land a man in Manhattan, what happens after you’ve landed him? You’ll move to the suburbs, but you won’t be as happy as you think you are.’ But I write really long, so I only introduced the characters and I was already to page 15, just introducing the characters, and I got a copy of the ‘Sex and the City’ pilot and it was like 31 pages and I went, ‘Yeah, I’m doing an hour long now. And now it’s a soap opera with comedy.’ That’s how great art is born.”

Check out our exclusive clip from “Soapy” featuring Marc Cherry below.

In addition to the evolution of his TV career, Cherry also notes his passion for ABC’s daytime soap lineup in a separate clip released by CBS, citing Judith Light’s role as Karen Wolek on “One Life to Live,” and the famous courtroom scene as one of his most memorable moments from watching the daypart. 

Check out what Cherry has to say about daytime soaps in the clip below.

You can also watch the full episode below.

Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart, “Soapy” is the new audio and video podcast that dives deep into the legacy, fandom, and enduring appeal of soap operas. Available on Audacy or wherever podcasts are found, full video episodes are released every Tuesday through September 30 on the CBS brand YouTube channel.

“We decided, since we knew each other so well, that we should interview all the people that we know, and people that we don’t know, in this genre,” said Budig in the first-ever episode of “Soapy,” explaining why she and Rikaart decided to do the podcast. Chiming in, Rikaart noted, the podcast was also a way to “celebrate our genre, coming from a place of love and reverence, and respect, for the incredibly challenging, hard and fun work that we get to do in daytime soaps.”

Future episodes will include interviews with Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, “The Bold and the Beautiful”), Eva LaRue (Natalia Ramirez, “General Hospital”), Cameron Mathison (Drew Cain, “General Hospital”), Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree, “Beyond the Gates”), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman, “The Young and the Restless”) and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, “Beyond the Gates”).

Produced by the Paramount Multiplatform Production Group, “Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart” is executive produced by Mike Benson. Andrew Pemberton-Fowler serves as producer.

Note: The post ‘Desperate Housewives’ Creator Marc Cherry Details Evolution Of Writing Career On ‘Soapy Hosted By Rebecca Budig And Greg Rikaart’ (EXCLUSIVE) appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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I wish Marc Cherry would write more shows.  So funny, so entertaining.  "Why Women Kill" should have had more seasons.  "Devious Maids"  and "Desperate Housewives" were great, too.

I second that!

2 hours ago, BrendaB said:

I wish Marc Cherry would write more shows.  So funny, so entertaining.  "Why Women Kill" should have had more seasons.  "Devious Maids"  and "Desperate Housewives" were great, too.

 

2 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

I second that!

I want him to pitch a daytime soap to ABC to replace GMA3.

1 hour ago, Errol said:

 

I want him to pitch a daytime soap to ABC to replace GMA3.

That's a fantastic idea!

19 hours ago, Errol said:

I want him to pitch a daytime soap to ABC to replace GMA3.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I mean, sure, anything to replace GMA3; but, OTOH, I'm not a Marc Cherry fan, so I don't know whether I'd want to watch.

4 minutes ago, Khan said:

I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I mean, sure, anything to replace GMA3; but, OTOH, I'm not a Marc Cherry fan, so I don't know whether I'd want to watch.

Same

2 hours ago, Khan said:

I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I mean, sure, anything to replace GMA3; but, OTOH, I'm not a Marc Cherry fan, so I don't know whether I'd want to watch.

Honestly, I see what you mean. However, if ABC ever wants to get back in the soap game, we need a name writer/producer to get them to bring the message home. CBS gave Michele Val Jean a chance because she had the support of people like Vivica A. Fox, Shemar Moore, and, obviously, Sheila Ducksworth, with her running the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture. 

Eight seasons of Desperate Housewives carries weight at Disney/ABC with it spawning several iterations in other languages. I don't know any current daytime writer who would have the support that Michele had for Beyond the Gates that could get the suits to take another look at soaps. That can/will change, but after watching the Soapy episode with Marc, I think his passion for ABC's soaps could get them to reconsider, particularly with how poorly GMA3 is doing.

I have a love/hate relationship with Marc Cherry’s work over the years. On the one hand I’ve definitely enjoyed and been entertained by his material over the years. On the other hand some of his work has definitely inspired some righteous indignation from myself or left me in the he cold. 
 

DH was definitely a huge success but in its later years I felt it was plagued by backstage drama and creative mistakes, which I always got the impression that Cherry was a like a toxic entitled diva who probably stirred some of that drama up. He seems more humbled now but it didn’t leave a good impression. 

 

I loved Desperate Housewives and Devious Maids but I'm not sure that satirical vibe would work for daytime 5 days a week. I love the idea that we're even talking as if a new soap were a possibility.

Whomever they choose should have a knack for quirky and oddball characters to be a great fill-in for the soaps they lost. ABC soaps were always more out there and progressive, so Marc was an inspired choice IMO. 

On 8/19/2025 at 5:39 PM, Errol said:

 

I want him to pitch a daytime soap to ABC to replace GMA3.

I'd love that.

I viewed Marc Cherry like Ryan Murphy... a one trick pony.   Desperate Housewives was only super strong in the first season before the tone deaf second season.. and even though season 3 was an improvement.. the show never recovered fully from that huge misstep.

Devious Maids was decent, but it seemed more like a Desperate Housewives in maid uniforms then anything different.

 

I'm split on this... I mean... do we really need a cheaper, longer version of Desperate housewives? Maybe some do, but I don't. I also don't know how his technique and style can be transformed successfully into a full-blown 5 episodes a week format. It will feel like overeating with sweets. Marc Cherry should be taken in small, and I mean... small... bites. That's when he is pleasant... So I don't know. Maybe there is a way to do it... My gut tells me - No. 

But I also agree with @Errol that we need a big name like that to kick-start another project. To have more weight going forward.  

 

Edited August 21Aug 21 by Maxim

5 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I viewed Marc Cherry like Ryan Murphy... a one trick pony.   Desperate Housewives was only super strong in the first season before the tone deaf second season.. and even though season 3 was an improvement.. the show never recovered fully from that huge misstep.

Exactly - to this day, I’ve never seen a network show peak that quickly in its first season and then lose all hype in season 2 and never be able to recover from it. It lasted 8 seasons, but stopped scoring major Emmy or award recognition after season 1 and the hype train in the media abruptly stopped. I can also clearly see why as they were never able to match what they captured in that first season from a creative standpoint.