Last week when the reports surfaced of actress Nicolette Sheridan filing a lawsuit against Marc Cherry (creator of the show) and ABC because of treatment she received on the set of Desperate Housewives, I shrugged. It seemed like a bitter axed actress who wanted to get back at her former employer for terminating her from one of the biggest gigs in television. Though when I read that part of her lawsuit pertained to reportedly being slapped by Cherry it raised my eyebrow.

I remember hearing rumors a year or so ago about there being a big blow up on set resulting in him slapping her in the face, but it seemed so ridiculous no one believed it. Of course now it seems there may be some truth to it all this time later. Not only has Nicollette cited it in her lawsuit, but former cast-mate Eva Longoria has confirmed that the incident did in fact happen, though according to her not necessarily maliciously.

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Desperate Housewives‘ writer/producer Alexandra Cunningham just inked a seven figure deal with NBC to develop new original programming.

Newly discovered letters have revealed the man who inspired the film The English Patient was gay in real life, and in fact in love with a Nazi.

Feministing asks ‘Can we stop pretending beautiful women aren’t beautiful’?, in reference to the trend in television where beautiful actresses play “ugly” characters.

Apparently D.C. has an all male production of Grease currently running, production courtesy of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C.

Shana Feste, writer and director of new Susan Sarandon/Pierce Brosnan film The Greatest talks about the challenges of getting a film made as a female director.

Matt Dillon says in Italian Vanity Fair that he’d love to play gay, stating that there’s already too many limits on him, he doesn’t put any on himself.

The New York Times has an interesting map that shows the best places in Manhattan to catch a cab.  It varies depending on time of day.

Donna Langley, actresses Courteney Cox and Zoe Saldana and director of photography Cynthia Pusheck to be honored at Women in Film awards.

69 year old Kathryn Joosten of Desperate Housewives has been diagnosed with lung cancer.  You’ll know her as Mrs. McCluskey, or as Mrs. Landingham from The West Wing.  This is a recurrence of cancer she battled back in 2001.

She tells EW:

“I’ve got a little hang up here,” she said of the battle she faces. “But we’re going to handle it and move forward. I’m doing great.” The 69-year-old, who also played Mrs. Landingham on The West Wing, says her treatment may disrupt shooting on the ABC series.

And People:

The actress broke the news to her Housewives producers Monday morning as she expects her shooting schedule could be interrupted for treatment. “They’re totally supportive,” she says. “I said, ‘If you want to put it in the story line, do it! Tell anybody you want, because the public’s going to know.’ “

Joosten has won two Primetime Emmy awards for her work on Desperate Housewives and is beloved by the devoted fans of the program as the pesky, outspoken but lovable neighbor who feuded with Lynette back in season one.  I know the statistics for lung cancer aren’t very good, but I hope she can pull through.

Here’s one of my favorite scenes with Lynette and Mrs. McCluskey.

A lot of attention is paid to the diversity displayed on the small screen but Entertainment Weekly has an interesting piece discussing the race and gender of the people behind the scenes in the world of television. They mention some of our most successful and celebrated television show creators and producers like J.J. Abrams, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon, Aaron Spelling, David E. Kelley, and the list goes on. Forces to be reckoned with in the television industry who have had a number of successes. But where are the people of color? Where are the women?

Even the shows that are female-centric like The Closer, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, –they’re all created by white men. EW cites Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice as well as Silvio Horta of Ugly Betty as some examples of non-white and non-male entities but Horta’s only success thus far has been Ugly Betty and Rhimes’ Private Practice’s long term success has yet to be seen.

But there are some up and coming women whose careers seem promising.

There are, certainly, a few up and coming female executive producers these days: Rebecca Sinclair (an alum of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls), who turned The CW’s 90210 remake around; Stephanie Savage, who’s given both The O.C. and Gossip Girl bite (even though she takes second billing to the more auteur-ish Josh Schwartz);

The L Word’s Ilene Chaiken; and Weeds’ Jenji Kohan. Tina Fey’s one of the few female voices on the Big Four — and she’s clearly one of the most unique (not to mention critically drooled-over). But none of those ladies has gotten the chance to prove she’s more than a one-hit wonder.

Tyler Perry has had much success with his multi-camera sitcom House of Payne on CBS, and as everyone knows, has had enormous success with his feature films, but again, Payne is his only television success and we still have no examples of television giants like the aforementioned who don’t have white skin or a penis.  A few more examples of creative forces of color:

Larry Wilmore won accolades (and an Emmy) for The Bernie Mac Show, but he’s now taken to more freelance work — appearing on The Daily Show, writing for/appearing on The Office, and authoring books.

And in perhaps the ultimate statement on the fate of female and minority would-be auteurs, Mara Brock Akil — who created the long-running UPN/CW sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game, some of the last vestiges of African-American-targeted programming — has joined the writing staff of ABC’s Cougar Town (created by Scrubs’ Bill Lawrence) to make the jokes on the Courteney Cox vehicle more organically female.

This information is troubling but not shocking, as the most recent report on the demographic breakdown of writers in Hollywood was quite bleak for women. According to the Hollywood Writers Report done by the Writers Guild of America, only 28% of the writers for television were female. Does that really make sense to you when more than 50% of the U.S. population is made up of women?

Transgendered activist Melissa Sue Brown runs for Mayor of Nampa, Idaho, but many people aren’t convinced she has a chance in one of the most conservative communities in the nation.

FOXSexpert Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright debunks 8 sex myths about women, including my favorite “she always needs an emotional connection for sex”.

The infamous pastor Steve Anderson (who admittedly is kind of cute) thinks America is controlled by homosexuals.  He also claims that all homosexuals are pedophiles including Barney Frank.

Desperate Housewives star Dana Delany became co-president of the Creative Coalition.  It’s important to get as many woman as possible in positions dealing with funding for arts and entertainment.

Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz has a guy who’s job is specifically to pull up his pants during his shows.  I’m sure there’s plenty of men (and women) who’d do that job for free.

Dan Savage, whom you might know from his famous blog or from his appearances on Real Time With Bill Maher, is taping his own pilot for HBO called “Savage Love”

During a recent sit down with Donald Trump, late night talk show host David Letterman said “anybody who wants to get married ought to be able to get married.”

Conservative organization Focus on the Family has laid off a number of workers again, after already having done so twice earlier this year.

Gene Simmons thinks Adam Lambert should keep his sexuality to himself. Of course, considering how open he is about being a filthy man-whore, it seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Kyle Maclachlan says now that he has a new baby, he may be quitting Desperate Housewives.  Considering his character hasn’t been interesting since season four, I can’t say I’m torn up about it.

A lesbian couple with foster children was denied family discount to an Idaho pool because they’re not a “real family”. Now the pool is considering doing away with the family discount altogether to keep from getting in trouble.

Is Conan O’Brien losing viewers to David Letterman? It seems he’s not fitting in so well in his new time slot, and Jay Leno’s older viewers care more to switch over to Letterman.

The New York Times profiles the partner of a gay soldier who must keep his face hidden or face his significant other being discharged from the service.  It’s heartbreaking.

Are the leaders of gay rights organizations like HRC responsible for Obama dragging his feet on DADT? The Daily Beast’s Jason Bellini claims they are.

A Sacramento morning talk show lost nearly all of its sponsors last week after two of its three hosts went on the air and bashed transgendered people, including encouraging violence against transgendered children. They took to the airwaves today and apologized.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright says “them Jews” are to blame for Obama not speaking to him since the controversy from the election.  Wow.  Because even more anti-semitism is going to get him to give you a call.

“You can be bi but not gay. Well, you can be gay and funny, like Ellen [DeGeneres] and Rosie [O'Donnell]. It’s really hard to be straight-up gay and serious. We’re still not over that.”

(via Jezebel)

It’s an interesting point, actually, and when I thought about it, it’s something that can be applied to all minorities who were often cast out from the mainstream media. Going as far back as blackface, when actual black performers would take part in the minstrel shows–of course not looking like themselves but dressed up as an exaggerated version of “blackness”. Then look at our most successful black actors. Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, they’re actors that white people feel comfortable enough going to see because they make them laugh. But it’s usually a brand of humor that white audiences would expect of black performers based on common stereotypes.

I’m also reminded of Knocked Up, where, while the female characters are funny, they’re funny because we’re laughing at them, not with them. We’re laughing at them being overly emotional, irrational, killjoy harpies. Whereas when Seth Rogen or Paul Rudd make a joke, we’re laughing with them–we’re rooting for them, we identify with them (or so the filmmakers seem to think).

Gay people are no exception. Pop in Revenge of the Nerds, or My Best Friend’s Wedding, Too Wong Foo and more recently I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, or turn on the TV and see Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Sex and the City, and Desperate Housewives. All shows where they gay men are meant to be light, funny, and of course, fabulous. Oh wait, but there is that guy Andrew on Desperate Housewives that had some dramatic storylines earlier on in the show. Of course, he was a raging sociopath.

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For those of you reeling from the lack of Desperate Housewives on television the past few weeks, a new episode airs two Sundays from now on April 19, and the buzz is it’s a doozy.  One of the main characters from the program since the first episode, Edie Britt, will be leaving Wisteria Lane for good (not counting flashbacks of course).  Nicollette Sheridan has been the only original actress from the show never to receive an Emmy nomination for her work on Desperate Housewives, though she did receive a Golden Globe nomination back in 2005.  Teri Hatcher told People magazine it’s going to be a great episode and a worthy farewell to Edie.

Though she bids farewell, Hatcher promises Sheridan’s final stroll down Wisteria Lane, airing April 19 (when the show returns from hiatus), is full of emotional raw acting as the women look back on Edie’s life. “It was a fabulously written episode,” says Hatcher. “She should get nominated for an Emmy.”

Newbie to Wisteria Lane (and personally, my new favorite Housewife) Dana Delany told E! Online:

“Her final episode is really beautiful, and it involves a lot of flashbacks,” Delany told us last night at the Geffen Playhouse’s annual fundraiser, Backstage at the Geffen. “We did a flashback scene from five years ago.”

As I tend to get overly emotional about the deaths of my favorite television characters (Nate’s funeral on Six Feet Under had me under my covers in my basement sobbing like a baby), I’m afraid to watch on the 19th. But I wouldn’t dare miss it.

Let’s take a moment to remember one of the better Edie Britt moments on Wisteria Lane.