| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Creator: | Marcos Carnevale after Marc Cherry's original series |
| Starring: | Mercedes Morán Araceli González Gabriela Toscano Carola Reyna Romina Gaetani |
| Narrated: | Cecilia Roth |
| Theme Music Composer: | Alberto Slezynger and Vinicio Ludovic |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Company: | Buena Vista International Television Pol-Ka Producciones |
| Network: | Canal 13 Azteca Trece |
| Num Episodes: | 23 |
Amas de casa desesperadas is an Argentine television series, it was originally Canal 13 from 30 August 2006 to 24 January 2007. Set in the fictional Manzanares Street, a suburb surrounding Buenos Aires, the series follows the lives of four housewives and the domestic problems and daily mysteries surrounding their husbands, friends and neighbors, which can be more sinister than they appear. The series' tone combines elements of drama, comedy, mystery, farce, soap opera and satire.
Based on the American television series, Desperate Housewives, it was developed for Argentina by Buena Vista International Television (Disney) and Pol-Ka Producciones. The show's only season was broadcast by Canal 13 in Argentina, and also by other networks in Uruguay and Paraguay.
The show opens with the mysterious suicide of housewife Alicia Oviedo on a beautiful day in the suburbs, on a street called Manzanares. Alicia, who narrates the show from the afterlife, had four friends: Vera Sherer, the seemingly perfect mother of two teenagers struggling to save her marriage; Lía Salgarí, the mother of four whose husband is always away on business; Susana Martini, the divorced mother in search of love, who finds it in the form of her new neighbour Miguel Delfino, who has a secret of his own; and Gabriela Solís, the materialistic ex-runway model who cheats on her husband. While trying to be good wives and mothers, the four friends also try to find out why their friend committed suicide. The discovery of a blackmail note among Alicia's belongings, a therapy session tape in which she admits her real name was Angela, and her widowed husband's strange behaviour really make them wonder about the mystery surrounding their deceased friend.
Buena Vista International, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company (which also owns ABC, the channel on which Desperate Housewives airs in the United States), searched in Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia to find a production company capable of adapting the series for the Spanish-speaking market. Adrian Suar and Fernando Blanco's Pol-Ka Producciones in Argentina was selected. Immediately, the actresses were chosen and the construction of Manzanares Street began on the town of Pilar, Buenos Aires.
This is a list of the major characters of the series, as well as their counterpart in the original, American, series and the actors portraying them.
| Character | Original character | Argentine actor |
|---|---|---|
| Lía Salgari | Mercedes Morán[1] | |
| Gabriela Solís | Araceli González | |
| Susana Martinez | Gabriela Toscano[2] | |
| Vera Sherer | Carola Reyna[3] | |
| Alicia Oviedo | Cecilia Roth | |
| Carla Otegui | Romina Gaetani[4] | |
| Miguel Delfino | Juan Palomino | |
| Pablo Oviedo | Raúl Rizzo | |
| Tomás Salgari | Carlos Santamaría | |
| Carlos Solís | Martín Seefeld | |
| Ricardo Sherer | Jorge Suárez | |
| Julieta Martínez | Eliana González | |
| René Oviedo | Nahuel Pérez Biscayart | |
| Juan Juárez | Rodrigo Guirao | |
| Martín Sherer | Martin Piroyansky | |
| Daniela Sherer | Maida Andrenacci | |
| Esteban Martinez | Raúl Taibo | |
| Jorge Pereira | Jean Pierre Noher | |
| Felisa Gutierrez | Luisina Brando | |
| Marta Hidalgo | Tina Serrano | |
| Elvira Reinoso | Adriana Aizemberg | |
| Julio Mitre | Rodolfo Ranni | |
The set of the street, some of which is made up of real houses, is located on a studio of Pol-ka, in Pilar, Buenos Aires, which was land due to be turned into an upscale gated community. Manzanares was specially built for the production of the three Desperate Housewives versions: the Argentine, Latin (USA), Colombian-Ecuadorian and Brazilian versions.
According to Marcos Carnevale, the writer of the Argentine version, Manzanares was the hardest thing to adapt. The houses had to look “more Latin”, but still remain similar to the original show's street, so the houses were painted in a more Latino style (for example, the Solises’ house is red instead of yellow).
From the outside, Vera's home has a set of windows either side of the front porch. However indoors, windows can only be seen on one side of the front door. This is because the inside of Vera's house is actually shot on a soundstage. Along with the houses of Lía, Marta Hidalgo, Carla and Alicia, is just a façade.
There is a 10th house on the street, that is hidden (next to Elvira Reinoso's house) and can only be seen when the camera pulls away on the ending of the first episode. The “production house” is used by the crew as an office.
At the end of Manzanares, by Carla's house, there is a cul-de-sac. However, cars are seen both entering and leaving the neighborhood from there.
After Carla's house was burned down in the first episode, her new house started being built next to her old. The old house façade was kept, repainted, and the interior was reconstructed and was used on episode 21 as the Obligado's house (Mullins in the original show).