Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalfe has claimed he was fired from the show after being a series regular.
Fans of the hit ABC drama will remember Metcalfe as John Rowland — the attractive gardener whose secret relationship with Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) drives a major part of the first season in 2004.
Across those early episodes, John is frequently shown shirtless and working around the Solis home while he and Gabrielle try to keep their affair under wraps, constantly scrambling to avoid being caught by her husband Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira). Much of the season’s tension comes from their near-misses, last-second hideouts, and hastily invented excuses.
The role quickly turned Metcalfe into a teen-TV sensation, landing him three Teen Choice Award nominations in 2005 — including TV actor, TV breakout performance and choice hottie — and he took home the breakout star prize.
Now 47, Metcalfe said he was originally brought on as a full series regular, but that status later changed. Even so, he continued to appear on Wisteria Lane as a guest star at different points throughout the show’s run.
According to Metcalfe, series creator Marc Cherry felt John’s arc had run its course after the first season, leading to the actor being let go from the main cast.
“I was fired from Desperate Housewives,” he told Amanda Hirsch on her podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat.
“After the first season they didn’t really know where else to take my storyline,” he said.
“Our creator, Marc Cherry, was like, ‘This isn’t Desperate House Gardners, this is Desperate Housewives, so unfortunately you’re not going to be a series regular moving forward on the show,” Metcalfe recalled.
Metcalfe added that, at the time, the news didn’t feel like a major setback because other opportunities were already opening up for him — including a studio lead role.
“At that time I had been offered [the lead role in] John Tucker Must Die from 20th Century Fox, so I was like, hey, cool, no big deal. I’m going to be a movie star.
“I was just kind of riding the wave, you know, because that show really broke and I had everything coming at me and I was just enjoying it,” he continued.
As the series approaches its 20th anniversary, Longoria has also addressed the ongoing calls for a revival, suggesting the show’s most provocative elements would face a very different reception today due to changing cultural standards.
Still, when asked whether she’d return to Wisteria Lane, Longoria made it clear she’d be ready to jump back in.
When asked about a possible return to Wisteria Lane, Longoria said she’d be ‘the first to sign up’.
“I miss Gabby so much. I miss being Gabby Solis,” she told Access Hollywood.
One plot point that continues to surprise viewers is that, in season one, Gabby and John’s affair begins while he’s still in high school — a storyline that would likely spark even more debate today.
“I don’t know if we could do the show today, I think we’d get cancelled,” she told ET Online.
“I mean, not cancelled on TV but like cancelled in culture because it was so groundbreaking. We said and did so many things that were shocking at the time.”