Nellie Andreeva

It was a mob scene at ABC’s TCA party tonight where reporters swarmed several Desperate Housewives stars who made their first public appearance following ABC’s official announcement this morning that the upcoming eighth season of the veteran dramedy will be its last. Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, James Denton and Brenda Strong were on hand to patiently answer questions about the Marc Cherry-created series coming to an end and reflect on the past seven years. “I think Marc is right; this is the time; this is the moment,” said Cross who got the news from her manager, calling it “bittersweet.” Her wish for the final season is to have all of Brie’s former flames return for a visit. “I want to see my fellows again’ I had the best male co-stars; I want to see them back,” she said. Huffman was in high spirits, almost giddy when she talked about Desperate Housewives but admitted that that was not her original reaction when she found out about the end of the show in an email she received from Cross. “I wasn’t exactly shocked but you always hope for the best, so I was really sad,” she said. She said she understands Cherry’s desire to wrap up the series by revisiting the Mary Alice mystery that started it all but was also warned of the dangers of going back to a storyline that has already been resolved once. “It will have to be a new well, you can’t go back to the same well twice,” she said, later adding, “You don’t want to jump the shark in your final season.” Denton said that he had a feeling the end was coming and that he feels “grateful to have been there from the beginning.” Strong, who narrates Mary Alice whose murder opened the series but has rarely been seen on the show, expects to be on  more often this season. “Marc has always said that he intended for Mary Alice to have a bigger presence in the final season,” Strong said.

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