15 Shows To Watch If You Miss Desperate Housewives

Some shows are hard to define. In a way, Desperate Housewives has it all: adultery, blackmail, shocking deaths, and plot twists, and every kind of dysfunctional relationship imaginable. Fans of it loved the gorgeous style of the series and the main characters, as well as the shocking secrets in this perfect suburban world.

The series is available to stream, but fans may choose to forgo another rewatch in favor of checking out one of the following series. These shows offer enough romance, scandal, and drama- from new hits to older favorites- to entertain even the most devout fans of Desperate Housewives.

Updated on November 16, 2021, by Danielle Bruncati: Desperate Housewives has been off the air for nearly a decade and yet fans of the series are still searching for the next perfect binge. While there might not be a perfect follow-up to the success of it, are a handful of shows similar to Desperate Housewives that have come close to nailing the high-stakes mystery and drama fans loved so much. From streaming platform originals to traditional broadcast shows, women characters have started to lean into their convincing side more and more. 

Big Little Lies (2017-2019) – Available On HBO Max

With an A-list cast that includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and even Meryl Streep it’s no wonder Big Little Lies has become one of HBO’s biggest shows, raking in the award nominations and wins.

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, the series follows a group of moms who get entangled in a murder investigation. Just like Desperate Housewives, Big Little Lies is full of sex, drama, and murder, with great leading ladies at the center.

Bridgerton (2020-Present) – Available On Netflix

Netflix’s Bridgerton is a hit period piece, that employs the female gaze and tells a love story from a young woman’s point of view. Those who enjoy the abundance of female protagonists in Desperate Housewives is will likely love Bridgerton (which is returning for an anitcipated season 2).

This series offers up a ton of drama in the form of developing romances and hidden family secrets in upper-class Regency-era English families, and has a similarly gorgeous style, too.

Dead To Me (2019-Present) – Available On Netflix

Another Netflix series, Dead To Me centers on two strangers who meet in a grief support group and quickly bond over the dramatics of their peers and their shared loss. However, the show quickly takes a turn when it’s revealed that Judy isn’t mourning the loss of her boyfriend and instead is the hit-and-run driver who killed Jen’s husband.

Though dramatic with tons of plot twists, the show is also downright hilarious as these two less-than-perfect women bond and seek revenge making it perfect for fans of Desperate Housewives. 

Devious Maids (2013-2016) – Available On Hulu

Despite airing in the year immediately after Desperate Housewives and following a similar tone, Devious Maids never picked up quite like Desperate Housewives.

 Set in luxurious Beverly Hills, the series centered on the housekeepers of wealthy families who bond over their struggles, dreams for a better life, and dramatic and juicy secrets their rich employers are keeping. With sex, murder, and lies a core aspect of the plot, Devious Maids is the perfect show to binge.

Good Girls (2018-2021) – Available On Netflix & Hulu

Fans of NBC’s Good Girls were heartbroken when the series was canceled on some major cliffhangers and yet the show is still a great option for fans of Devious Maids. 

After finding themselves financially unstable, two sisters and their best friend decide to rob a local grocery store to get the cash they need to get ahead. It’s an easy job until they discover that the money they stole belonged to a gang whom they now must work for to pay off their debts. There are so many twists and turns in this female-led series that it’ll remind you of Desperate Housewives.

Gossip Girl (2007-2012) – Available On HBO Max

Like Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl features women at the center of all sorts of scandals. Like the housewives, the main characters of Gossip Girl know how to get messy.

Things these “best friends” have done to each other include stealing phones, cheating, sleeping with each other’s significant other(s), blackmail, and bullying, just to name a few. Also, Gabrielle would definitely approve of the fashion. With six seasons streaming on HBO Max, and a reboot available as well, check out Gossip Girl.

Grey’s Anatomy (2005-Present) – Available On Netflix & Hulu

Like Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy is a product of the 2000s. As such, it has a distinctive vibe that will feel familiar to Housewives fans. However, where Housewives ended its run soon after the turn of the decade, Grey’s kept on.

The latter is still going and hasn’t yet shown any signs of slowing down. For fans looking for something to occupy them for the long run, it’s a smart idea to consider investing time in Grey’s Anatomy, one of the most popular medical dramas of all time.

Killing Eve (2018-Present) – Available On Hulu

Killing Eve, starring Sandra Oh (who also starred as Christina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy), shares something of the general tone and black comedy of Desperate Housewives. Like Housewives, Killing Eve involves a a lot of murder and danger, but does so with a wry sense of humor about it all.

Killing Eve offers two interesting, multi-faceted female protagonists. Oh’s Eve becomes obsessed with tracking down assassin Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer, and the two develop feelings that complicate their dynamic along the way.

One Tree Hill (2003-2012) – Available On Hulu

If the family dynamics and drama are the appeals of Desperate Housewives, check out One Tree Hill. This series follows two teenage half-brothers and the people in their lives. Nathan and Lucas hate each other, but share a father, and said father causes all kinds of trouble for basically everyone in their small town.

A lot of the plot deals with the boys and their mothers, telling stories about these dynamics from the sons’ point of view, something of a reversal of how these dynamics are explored on Housewives (think Bree and Andrew).

Ozark (2017-Present) – Available On Netflix

Adultery is a common theme in both Desperate Housewives and the Netflix original drama series Ozark. As Housewives fans know, two out of the four main housewives were unfaithful to their husbands at one point or another, and everyone but Lynette knew what it was like to be cheated on. The family drama in Ozark begins when Marty finds proof that his wife has been having an affair.

They have to stay together for the sake of their family’s safety, so they eventually work things out, but there’s a good deal of drama in the meantime. The series centers on the trouble they get into when Marty takes a job laundering money for a drug cartel, and his wife and kids get involved.

Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) – Available On HBO Max

The memorable Pretty Little Liars may be one of the only series in existence that can boast more instances of blackmail than Desperate Housewives, which, fans will know, is really saying something.

Just as the plot of Housewives kicks off with Mary Alice’s suicide after she finds out she’s being blackmailed, PLL‘s story kicks off with an anonymous text from “A,” who apparently knows all of the friends’ secrets in the wake of the supposed death of their friend Alison. Another way that the girls of PLL are like the housewives is their penchant for failed romances.

Scream Queens (2015-2016) – Available On Hulu

Fans who love the murder mystery element of Desperate Housewives will probably like Scream Queens. This show, which only ran for two seasons, is all about a series of murders that the main characters try to both avoid and solve.

Season 1 takes place at a college campus, as a sorority house with a dark history is plagued by grisly murders. Season 2 has the characters working in a learning hospital, where yet another murderer is on the loose.

The Americans (2013-2018) – Available On Amazon Prime

FX’s The Americans focuses a lot on the marriage between Philip and Elizabeth, the two main characters. It’s also a full-on, high-brow espionage drama about the Cold War with 6 incredible seasons, but Desperate Housewives fans will likely enjoy the relationship drama, danger, and intrigue.

Another thing The Americans has in common with Desperate Housewives is the setting: both series take place largely in the suburbs despite nothing mundane happening.

Weeds (2005-2012) – Available On Hulu

After finding herself widowed and in an unexpected amount of debt, Nancy Botwin turns her backyard into a marijuana-growing plant to support her family. As the business grows, Nancy pulls more people into her scheme while trying to keep her backyard business a secret from her uptight suburban town.

Just like Desperate Housewives, Weeds centers its drama on a less than perfect female lead who isn’t afraid to make mistakes for the sake of drama and plot twists.

You (2018-Present) – Available On Netflix

There’s no shortage of stalking on Desperate Housewives, nor is there on the Netflix original series You, starring Penn Badgley, who also starred as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl.

You centers on serial stalker and murder Joe, who sees himself as the romantic hero in his twisted story. He preys on women obsessively, and when he feels they inevitably let him down in some way, he kills them. There’s a whole lot of murder and romance in this surprisingly fun series.

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