The ladies of Wisteria Lane might want to call in the moving vans. ABC and the producers behind long-running Sunday-night soap Desperate Housewives could decide in a few weeks if the show's upcoming eighth season will be its last.

Creator Marc Cherry and executive producer Bob Daily are both signed to remain with the series through the season, as well as a potential ninth season. But rumblings have started that the producers and network may decide to go out with a bang this year rather than stretch things. Nothing's been decided yet, but ABC knows the question will be a key one when the network meets with reporters on August 7 at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. That's why some insiders believe a decision could be made by then.

Others, however, think ABC may wait until September to see how its new shows perform, and if Desperate Housewives sees another ratings drop. "It's all dependent on the ratings," says one insider. "It will be up against some stiff competition."

Not only will Housewives compete against CBS' The Good Wife this fall, it also regularly faces Sunday Night Football on NBC (should the NFL season resume as hoped) and key
programming on cable. Housewives was the 24th most-watched prime-time show among broadcast networks last season, but has lost about half of its audience from Season 1.

But should ABC fail to cultivate a new hit, the network may find it hard to resist squeezing out one more year from Housewives. ABC has an option to bring back stars Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria for the 2012-2013 season. Cherry has toyed with the Housewives' finale date in the past, and originally planned to end the show after its seventh season. Reports an insider, "The thought is out there, but it's still too early to say."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Desperate-Housewives-End-1035166.aspx

It’s a sad day for the smart and sassy suburban women on Wisteria Lane: Sources confirm that ABC will announce on Sunday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that this 2011-2012 season will be the last for long-running Desperate Housewives.

Key castmembers are starting to be told, and we hear that Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Eva Longoria are shocked and saddened since the ABC Studios series created by Marc Cherry was expected to continue until 2013 after the longtime showrunner said that he wanted the show to go for nine seasons.

When this season’s premiere episode is broadcast on Sunday, September 25th, it will be the first without Cherry at the helm. He stepped down at the end of last season as executive producer/showrunner and is expected to be a consultant on Season 8 while focusing on development of other series. Cherry also was slapped by former castmate Nicolette Sheridan with an embarrassing lawsuit which is still winding its way through the Los Angeles courts. Since the provocative and profitable dramedy’s premiere on October 3, 2004, the show has been a hit with viewers and critics alike: a solid Nielsen performer as well as a multiple Emmy and Screen Actors Guild award winner. The series premiere drew 21.6 million viewers and the show’s first season finale attracted over 30 million viewers. Since 2006 and continuing into 2010, it was the most-watched comedy series internationally, with an average viewership of 51.6 million viewers across 68 territories. Moreover, it was the third-highest revenue earning show for 2010, with $2.74 million per half hour.

http://www.tvline.com/

This morning ABC officially announced that this coming season will be the last for veteran Desperate Housewives, which, along with Lost, turned ABC's fortunes around in the fall of 2004. "It is an iconic show, we are so proud of it," ABC entertainment president Paul Lee said. "I just wanted to make sure that the show that put the network on the map had its victory lap and had a chance to build a great final arc." According to the network's press release the upcoming "Season Eight of Desperate Housewives will roll out in a way that is accessible even to viewers who may have lapsed in their viewing, and be all the richer and more rewarding to the series’ loyal fans." Lee was then joined by Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry. "I think the only thing harder than creating a ht show is to know when to end it," he said. "It's something that has weighed on my mind for some time. I'm well aware of people who have overstayed their welcome, and I just didn't want that to happen to us. I wanted to go out while the network still thought it was a viable series and while it still did well in the ratings; I wanted to go out in the classier way possible."

Link: http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/tca-paul-lee-marc-cherry-on-ending-desperate-housewives-next-season/

time sure flies, i remember reading the 2004 Fall preview and reading about the new show called "Desperate Housewives"