TV

Posted: Sun., Jan. 9, 2005, 5:00am PT

Yanks' 'Wives' tempting Brits

C4 draws in 5 mil viewers with skein's bow

The sexpots of Wisteria Lane are turning heads in Blighty, with ABC's "Desperate Housewives" looking set to repeat its U.S. success on terrestrial web Channel 4.

The much-hyped show reaped a ratings bonanza for C4, which desperately needs a big imported series after the demise of "Friends" and "Sex and the City."

In fact, "Desperate Housewives" bowed with almost 5 million viewers to make it the web's most-popular drama to launch since "ER" made its debut on C4 11 years ago.

Critics mostly loved the show, too, with one describing it as "a mixture of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Knots Landing.' "

If "Desperate Housewives" can sustain this kind of perf in the weeks ahead, rivals webs BSkyB and Five will be kicking themselves that they didn't outbid C4 for the series.

Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

HERE ARE OTHER ARTICLES RECOMMENDED FOR YOU…
    Newstogram
    SharePrint VarietyVariety RSS feedsBookmark

    Get Variety:

    Variety AppsVariety DigitalNewsletters

    Variety Luxury Real Estate