‘Desperate Housewives’ creator admits he’s envious of ‘Real Housewives franchise’

Wisteria Lane is no stranger to envy.

Marc Cherry, the creator of “Desperate Housewives,” says he’s jealous of the “Real Housewives” reality TV franchise that began after his primetime soap became a hit.

“I envy the fact that they’ve kept that franchise going,” Cherry told People in a new interview published on Wednesday.

“I certainly envy the good folks who produce that show because it’s a train that keeps on chugging. So good for them.”

Cherry doesn’t begrudge the franchise’s success, though.

“They didn’t crib my name, to be fair to them,” he said. “They just used the word. Our show came out, and they capitalized on that. And you know what? That’s the capitalistic system.”

“Desperate Housewives” ran on ABC from 2004 until 2012. In 2006, Bravo launched the first of what would become many “Real Housewives” series, “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” set in Orange County, Calif.

Over the years, many — including actor Tommy Tune — have confused the two shows when speaking with Cherry.

“Tommy got confused and said, ‘Oh, so do you produce all the various cities?’ And I looked at him — I had no idea what he was talking about,” Cherry recalled. “And then I realized, ‘Oh, you think I created the real-life Housewives franchise?’”

According to Cherry, the “Real Housewives” franchise became more well-known than the show that at least partially inspired it because “it continues to be out there” and new shows are constantly being churned out.

Creating the pilot for “Desperate Housewives” took the writer 16 months. After the show debuted, he had about 8 days to finish each new episode.

“It’s kind of like you’ve taken a couple swimming lessons, and then they just throw you in the biggest pool ever,” he explained.

As for the show’s ending, Cherry said he has no regrets. Though he could have kept the show going, he stated that he felt the time had come “to pull the plug” on it in 2012.

Cherry is less sure about whether rebooting the series would be a good idea.

“The trick for me artistically is — is there still stuff that needs to be said?” he told People. “You know, they always want to move on to the new and the fresh. But if you do a reboot, you have to have a really good artistic reason to do it.”

He continued, “If I ever dipped my toe in those waters again, I would want to make sure I had a really good reason.”