Marc Cherry is staying true to his longstanding plans for the "Desperate Housewives" finale: He's had the ending in mind for more than seven years, and he's going to follow through on plans to cameo in the episode.
"I'm gonna do a Hitchcock, and the hair and makeup people will go through more hell that day than ever," he joked at the Television Critics Association winter press tour Tuesday, where he and the cast talked about the show's final season.
He also said he didn't have any hopes for a "Desperate Housewives" movie. He said that he thinks he's told all of their stories already and that it got harder and harder not to repeat storylines as the show went on.
"I'm just never sending these gals to Dubai, that's all I'm saying," he said, referring to the second "Sex in the City" movie.
Cherry first said at a TCA panel years ago that he would appear in the last episode of the show he launched in 2004. He said he is also staying true to the ending he's planned all along.
"The last act, which I've had in my head for the last seven-and-a-half years, is definitely going to happen," he said, adding that he wouldn't drop any hints about it: "I've got it in my head, but it is very much a surprise."
Cherry said the show's writers have added to his plans while keeping the core idea. He also said that in the final episode he "hoped to do something... that would pay an homage to some of the characters" who are no longer on the show.
He declined to say whether those characters would include Edie Britt, played by Nicollette Sheridan. The actress sued ABC and Cherry in 2010, claiming Cherry slapped her during a 2008 argument and that she was unfairly ousted from the series after she complained. Her character was killed off.
One of the panel's funniest moments came as Felicity Huffman talked about the ups and downs in the show's relationships. She cited a statistic that 60 percent of first marriages and 80 percent of second marriages end in divorce.
Exclaimed Eva Longoria, who filed for divorce in 2010: "It gets higher?"
