See Also: Brenda Strong (Mary Alice Young) People Guide

ABC is planning to turn the Desperate Housewives season finale into a two-hour television event by preceding it with an introductory guide to the story that will feel almost like an actual episode of the show.

Trade paper Variety reported yesterday that ABC has ordered one-hour specials for both of its two big hits this season, Desperate Housewives and Lost. The DH special will be hosted by Brenda Strong as her character Mary Alice Young, and will focus primarily on the four main housewives; Susan, Lynette, Bree and Gabrielle.

"There can be a reluctance on the part of the audience to invest in these kinds of shows," ABC executive Lance Taylor told Variety. "What we're trying to do is keep those tent doors open and invite as many people in as possible to enjoy the last part of the season."

The DH special will be produced by Lynne Lussier Productions, a small production company that has previously worked on some Disney specials for ABC. It will likely air at 8:00pm on Sunday the 22nd of May, an hour before the Desperate Housewives season finale is expected to air. "We want to do everything we can to make sure these series finish the season in the biggest way possible," ABC's head of marketing Mike Benson said.

In addition to airing on ABC, the introductory guide will likely be included on a future Desperate Housewives DVD release. The special was not mention in Buena Vista's announcement of the first-season box set, but as these sets haven't entered production yet, it's possible the special will still be included on this release. Alternatively, the studio may be planning to hold over the special for the second-season DVD set, in order to bring people up to speed who buy the sophomore set without having seen the first season.

More information on this, as well as on the Lost special that ABC will be airing on the 27th of April, can be found in the full Variety report.

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