'Desperate Housewives': Season 8 Will Be Its Last

ABC"Desperate Housewives" Wisteria Lane is about to lose its residents. Sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that the upcoming eighth season of ABC's primetime soap Desperate Housewives will be its last. While its cancellation was hardly a foregone conclusion, the future of the Marc Cherry-led series, which stars Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and newer entry Vanessa Williams, has been in question in recent months, as cast salaries and other production costs have soared in the face of viewership declines. Though Housewives was once a critical piece of ABC's turn-around, it has seen its ratings slide in recent years. The recently concluded seventh season averaged fewer than 12 million viewers, down from the nearly 24 million who tuned in for Season 1, according to The Nielsen Company. ABC is expected to make a formal announcement at its Sunday session at the summer Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit Desperate Housewives