See Also: 'Goodbye For Now' Episode Guide

24-year old actor Mehcad Brooks yesterday signed a deal to join the main cast of Desperate Housewives, playing the son of new Housewife Alfre Woodard.

"He's totally excited," a representative for Brooks told Get Desperate! "It's a great opportunity to be on a hit show, to be opposite Alfre. He's going to do 2 episodes [this season] introducing them."

Brooks will be making his first appearance in "Goodbye For Now," the penultimate episode of DH's first season. Brooks' representative said that he and Woodard will be part of the cliffhanger at the end of this season, and will be upgraded to main cast members next year. The actor is scheduled to start work on the show either this week or the next.

Mehcad Brooks, pictured above, was born on the 25th of October, 1980, in Austin, Texas. After attending the University of Southern California's prestigious School of Cinema-Television, he appeared in some independent films and television series, before catching his big break by being hired for a four-episode stint on Boston Public. On that show, Brooks played Russell Clark, a talented basketball player who became the target of college recruiters. Most recently, Brooks appeared in an episode of CBS's Cold Case, and in the made-for-television Disney film Tiger Cruise.

Although no official details have yet been released on Brooks' role, he will likely be playing Josh Applewhite, whom ABC casting notices described as a "very attractive 22 year old strait-laced African-American man." His mother, Betty (played by Woodard), is a deeply religious woman who's made Josh quite repressed, although there's a sexuality waiting to emerge. Get Desperate! sources recently revealed that the reason the Applewhites move into Wisteria Lane is because of some trouble Josh ran into with a girl, leading his mother to grow so protective she's hardly letting him out of the house.

"Goodbye For Now," the episode introducing Brooks, is currently expected to air on Sunday the 15th of May, 2005.

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