Bob Hunter (Desperate Housewives)
Encyclopedia
Bob Hunter is a fictional character
created by television producer
and screenwriter
Marc Cherry
for the ABC
television series Desperate Housewives
. He is portrayed by Tuc Watkins
and first appeared in the season four episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand
" on October 21, 2007. Within the series, Bob, an attorney
, and his husband, Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm
), are the first gay couple
to live on the fictitious Wisteria Lane
.
, whom critics noted as having a minimal role in season three. In July 2007, two months before the premiere of season four, series creator Marc Cherry announced that a gay couple would be moving to Wisteria Lane around the fifth episode of the new season. Cherry named the characters after ABC journalist Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, and based them on his own experiences and interactions with neighbors as a gay man. Cherry decided not to make the new characters "issue-oriented" and treat them like the heterosexual couples on the series. Actor Tuc Watkins was cast in the recurring role of Bob in August 2007, having previously auditioned for the role of Adam Mayfair for the series only a few weeks earlier. Kevin Rahm
, who was cast as Bob's partner Lee, originally auditioned for Bob. Watkins was promoted from recurring guest star to series regular for the seventh season
.
, Lee McDermott
(Kevin Rahm
) to move to the suburbs in the fourth season. They move onto Wisteria Lane
in Fairview, Eagle State
. Their arrival creates conflict when their neighbors object to them putting a sculpture fountain in their front yard. Neighbor Katherine Mayfair
(Dana Delany
) revives the homeowners' association and campaigns to have the fountain removed. However, Bob and Lee uncover information about a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against Katherine's husband, Adam (Nathan Fillion
), in Chicago, forcing Katherine to retreat from the argument. The fountain is later destroyed in a tornado. Bob and Lee decide to celebrate their relationship with a commitment ceremony. While Bob wants a cherub ice sculpture, Lee insists they have an enchanted castle ice sculpture. The argument causes them to call off the ceremony, but they realize that their love is powerful enough to overcome small squabbles.
In the fifth season
, Bob's neighbors, Tom
(Doug Savant
) and Lynette Scavo
(Felicity Huffman
), hire him to represent their son, Porter (Charlie Carver
), in court after he is accused of burning down the White Horse nightclub. When Porter runs away, Tom and Lynette have his twin brother, Preston (Max Carver
), take his place during the trial. Bob is angry when he learns of their deception, as he is torn between his friendship with the Scavos and his responsibilities as a lawyer. Nevertheless, Bob is able to have the case thrown out due to the lack of sufficient evidence.
In the sixth season
, Bob offers to legally defend Danny Bolen (Beau Mirchoff
), a new neighbor who is accused of attacking Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen
), the daughter of Bob's friend and neighbor, Susan
(Teri Hatcher
). Though Susan feels betrayed, Bob insists that it his moral and ethical obligation to be Danny's lawyer. Nevertheless, Danny has an alibi and is cleared of all charges. Later, Bob and Lee reveal that they are in marriage counseling, during which time they run into several obstacles while trying to adopt a child. Later, neighbor Gabrielle Solis
(Eva Longoria Parker
) offers to be their egg donor
for a surrogacy
. Bob and Lee gratefully accept her offer, but tell her that they do not want her to have an active role in raising the child. This causes Gabrielle to question her commitment and she retracts her offer. Drained from dealing with the difficulty and unhappiness of trying to have a child, Lee leaves Bob.
At the beginning of season seven
, Bob and Lee have yet to reconcile their differences and are still no longer living together. To ease his loneliness, Bob develops a friendship with Gabrielle's husband, Carlos Solis
and eventually mends his relationship with Lee. When Gabrielle learns that her daughter Juanita (Madison De La Garza
) was switched with Grace Sanchez (Cecilia Balagot) at birth eight years ago, she asks Bob to track down Grace's family. Gabrielle uses Bob's services again when Grace's parents face deportation when they are discovered to be living in the country illegally. Paul Young
(Mark Moses
) enlists Lee's help to purchase seven homes on Wisteria Lane so he can gain a majority in the homeowners' association and open a halfway house for ex-convicts on the street. The neighbors greatly oppose Paul's plan and resent Lee for helping him. Paul tells Bob and Lee that he has obtained the majority with the purchase of an eighth house and suggests they move to avoid the wrath of their neighbors. Bob and Lee sell their home to Paul without realizing that Paul had lied and their home will in fact be the eighth home he acquires. The other neighbors are furious to learn that Bob and Lee have sold their home to Paul. A staged protest against the opening of the halfway house escalates into a violent riot in which Bob and Lee are attacked. Later, Bob and Lee announce that they are adopting a young girl named Jenny.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. He is portrayed by Tuc Watkins
Tuc Watkins
Tuc Watkins is an American actor. He is known for his role as David Vickers on One Life to Live and for his role as Bob Hunter on Desperate Housewives .-Personal life:Watkins is of Welsh descent and is the son of Charles Curtis Watkins II, a salesman, and a...
and first appeared in the season four episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand
If There's Anything I Can't Stand
“If There’s Anything I Can’t Stand” is the 74th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fourth episode of the show’s fourth season and first aired on October 21, 2007 and attracted 18.21 million viewers in its original airing...
" on October 21, 2007. Within the series, Bob, an attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
, and his husband, Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm is an American actor known for his role as Kyle McCarty on the CBS series Judging Amy. He portrayed Lee McDermott on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2012.-Early life:Rahm was born in Mineral Wells, Texas...
), are the first gay couple
Same-sex relationship
A same-sex relationship is a relationship between two persons of the same sex and can take many forms, from romantic and sexual, to non-romantic close relationships. The term is mainly associated with gay and lesbian people...
to live on the fictitious Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
.
Development and casting
Prior to the fourth season of Desperate Housewives, the series' sole leading gay character was Andrew Van de KampAndrew Van De Kamp
Andrew Van de Kamp is a fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives played by Shawn Pyfrom, and is the son of Bree Van de Kamp and the late Rex Van de Kamp....
, whom critics noted as having a minimal role in season three. In July 2007, two months before the premiere of season four, series creator Marc Cherry announced that a gay couple would be moving to Wisteria Lane around the fifth episode of the new season. Cherry named the characters after ABC journalist Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, and based them on his own experiences and interactions with neighbors as a gay man. Cherry decided not to make the new characters "issue-oriented" and treat them like the heterosexual couples on the series. Actor Tuc Watkins was cast in the recurring role of Bob in August 2007, having previously auditioned for the role of Adam Mayfair for the series only a few weeks earlier. Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm is an American actor known for his role as Kyle McCarty on the CBS series Judging Amy. He portrayed Lee McDermott on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2012.-Early life:Rahm was born in Mineral Wells, Texas...
, who was cast as Bob's partner Lee, originally auditioned for Bob. Watkins was promoted from recurring guest star to series regular for the seventh season
Desperate Housewives (season 7)
The seventh season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 26, 2010 and concluded on May 15, 2011. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane residents, Susan Delfino, Lynette...
.
Storylines
Tired of life in the city, Bob forces his life partnerLife partner
A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
, Lee McDermott
Lee McDermott
Lee McDermott is a recurring fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Kevin Rahm.-Season Four:Lee first appeared in the fourth season in the episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand." Susan Delfino tries to welcome Lee and his partner, Bob, to Wisteria Lane...
(Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm is an American actor known for his role as Kyle McCarty on the CBS series Judging Amy. He portrayed Lee McDermott on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2012.-Early life:Rahm was born in Mineral Wells, Texas...
) to move to the suburbs in the fourth season. They move onto Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
in Fairview, Eagle State
Fairview (Desperate Housewives)
Fairview is the fictional setting for the American television comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives.-Location:The state in which Fairview resides is ambiguous, however more than likely it is suburban Mississippi...
. Their arrival creates conflict when their neighbors object to them putting a sculpture fountain in their front yard. Neighbor Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
) revives the homeowners' association and campaigns to have the fountain removed. However, Bob and Lee uncover information about a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against Katherine's husband, Adam (Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...
), in Chicago, forcing Katherine to retreat from the argument. The fountain is later destroyed in a tornado. Bob and Lee decide to celebrate their relationship with a commitment ceremony. While Bob wants a cherub ice sculpture, Lee insists they have an enchanted castle ice sculpture. The argument causes them to call off the ceremony, but they realize that their love is powerful enough to overcome small squabbles.
In the fifth season
Desperate Housewives (season 5)
The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008 and concluded on May 17, 2009...
, Bob's neighbors, Tom
Tom Scavo
Thomas "Tom" Scavo is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by actor Doug Savant.Tom originally was a recurring throughout the first season but became a regular in season two. Early storylines often revolve around Tom's working habits and that he is alway...
(Doug Savant
Doug Savant
Douglas Peter "Doug" Savant is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Matt Fielding on Melrose Place and Tom Scavo on the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives.-Career:...
) and Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...
(Felicity Huffman
Felicity Huffman
Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as executive producer Dana Whitaker on the ABC television show Sports Night , which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination, and as hectic supermom Lynette Scavo on the ABC show Desperate...
), hire him to represent their son, Porter (Charlie Carver
Charlie Carver
Charles 'Charlie' Carver is an American actor and twin brother of actor Max Carver. He is best known for his role as Porter Scavo in Desperate Housewives....
), in court after he is accused of burning down the White Horse nightclub. When Porter runs away, Tom and Lynette have his twin brother, Preston (Max Carver
Max Carver
Max Carver is an American actor and twin brother of actor Charlie Carver. He is best known for his role as Preston Scavo in Desperate Housewives.- Filmography :- External links :* http://carvertwins.com...
), take his place during the trial. Bob is angry when he learns of their deception, as he is torn between his friendship with the Scavos and his responsibilities as a lawyer. Nevertheless, Bob is able to have the case thrown out due to the lack of sufficient evidence.
In the sixth season
Desperate Housewives (season 6)
The sixth season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 27, 2009 and concluded on May 16, 2010.The season consisted of 23 episodes. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane...
, Bob offers to legally defend Danny Bolen (Beau Mirchoff
Beau Mirchoff
William Beau Mirchoff is an American actor, best known for starring as Danny Bolen on the sixth season of ABC's Desperate Housewives . He also appeared in films such as Scary Movie 4 and The Grudge 3...
), a new neighbor who is accused of attacking Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen
Andrea Bowen
Andrea Lauren Bowen is an American actress who is best known for playing Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives . She has won two SAG Awards.-Biography:...
), the daughter of Bob's friend and neighbor, Susan
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
(Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
). Though Susan feels betrayed, Bob insists that it his moral and ethical obligation to be Danny's lawyer. Nevertheless, Danny has an alibi and is cleared of all charges. Later, Bob and Lee reveal that they are in marriage counseling, during which time they run into several obstacles while trying to adopt a child. Later, neighbor Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
(Eva Longoria Parker
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
) offers to be their egg donor
Egg donor
Egg donation is the process by which a woman provides one or several eggs for purposes of assisted reproduction or biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, egg donation involves the process of in vitro fertilization as the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory. After the eggs...
for a surrogacy
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
. Bob and Lee gratefully accept her offer, but tell her that they do not want her to have an active role in raising the child. This causes Gabrielle to question her commitment and she retracts her offer. Drained from dealing with the difficulty and unhappiness of trying to have a child, Lee leaves Bob.
At the beginning of season seven
Desperate Housewives (season 7)
The seventh season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 26, 2010 and concluded on May 15, 2011. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane residents, Susan Delfino, Lynette...
, Bob and Lee have yet to reconcile their differences and are still no longer living together. To ease his loneliness, Bob develops a friendship with Gabrielle's husband, Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira.-Early life:Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis...
and eventually mends his relationship with Lee. When Gabrielle learns that her daughter Juanita (Madison De La Garza
Madison De La Garza
Madison Rose De La Garza is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Juanita Solis on Desperate Housewives.-Biography:Madison De La Garza was born to Eddie De La Garza and Dianna Bonheur Hart De La Garza...
) was switched with Grace Sanchez (Cecilia Balagot) at birth eight years ago, she asks Bob to track down Grace's family. Gabrielle uses Bob's services again when Grace's parents face deportation when they are discovered to be living in the country illegally. Paul Young
Paul Young (Desperate Housewives)
Paul Young is a fictional character on ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Mark Moses. He is the widower of Mary Alice Young, the show's narrator, as well as the widower of Beth Young....
(Mark Moses
Mark Moses
Mark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
) enlists Lee's help to purchase seven homes on Wisteria Lane so he can gain a majority in the homeowners' association and open a halfway house for ex-convicts on the street. The neighbors greatly oppose Paul's plan and resent Lee for helping him. Paul tells Bob and Lee that he has obtained the majority with the purchase of an eighth house and suggests they move to avoid the wrath of their neighbors. Bob and Lee sell their home to Paul without realizing that Paul had lied and their home will in fact be the eighth home he acquires. The other neighbors are furious to learn that Bob and Lee have sold their home to Paul. A staged protest against the opening of the halfway house escalates into a violent riot in which Bob and Lee are attacked. Later, Bob and Lee announce that they are adopting a young girl named Jenny.