Housewives on TV: You've Come a Long Way, Baby

May 3, 2008 — -- They used to cart their kids off to school, arrange tea roses and greet their husbands with plates of meat loaf and mashed potatoes.

Now, they cart their kids off to the detox center, arrange midday romps with the gardener and greet their husbands with a sheepish grin and an armful of shopping bags.

They are today's TV housewives. And they couldn't be more different from their pop culture predecessors.

"Desperate Housewives" brought the stay-at-home mom and single gal too old for the city back into vogue four years ago. Then came "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in 2006, a reality series following the lavish lifestyles of five grown-up California girls. In March, its East Coast spin off premiered: "The Real Housewives of New York City." Now, Bravo, home of the "Real Housewives" franchise, is developing a show based around a group of women in New Jersey.

Not since the days of June Cleaver and Donna Reed have housewives been such hot characters. In the '80s, the corporate, catty career women of "Dynasty" ruled the airwaves. In the '90s, power shifted to the single, stiletto-heeled vamps of "Sex and the City." Today, it's all about the housewife, or perhaps, the househottie -- the woman who can provide for her family while staying fabulous.

"We're redefining what housewife means. It's an outdated term," said Jen O'Connell, executive producer of "The Real Housewives of New York City." "We're showing that housewives are more than just women who stay at home and make cookies and shuttle the kids to soccer. They're sexy, they're smart, they're often working women."

O'Connell scanned the sea of New York City socialites to select five women for her show to follow. For candidates to make the cut, simply having kids, a harried husband and a penchant for making pot roast wasn't enough.

"Not only did they have to juggle kids, and a husband or a boyfriend, they also had to have careers, charities, other activities outside of just that role of being a mom and a wife. That was a big deal," she said. "They had to be multidimensional women who were hard-charging."