You're Gonna Love Tomorrow
Encyclopedia
“You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow” is the fifth season
premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives
, and the 88th episode overall. It originally aired on September 28, 2008 in the United States on ABC
(American Broadcasting Company). The episode was written by series creator Marc Cherry
and directed by Larry Shaw
. "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow", as well as all subsequent episodes, takes place five years after the events of the fourth season finale
following Cherry's decision to revamp the series with a time jump.
In the episode, Edie
(Nicollette Sheridan
) returns to Wisteria Lane
after a five-year absence with her new husband, Dave (Neal McDonough
). While Susan (Teri Hatcher
) hesitates to make a romantic commitment to Jackson (Gale Harold
), Lynette
(Felicity Huffman
) struggles with her defiant teenage children and her husband's midlife crisis. Gabrielle
(Eva Longoria
) deals with her daughters' weight problems and Bree
(Marcia Cross
) faces the ramifications of her success.
"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" received mostly positive reviews from television critics, most of whom agreed that the time jump refreshed the show. According to Nielsen ratings
, the episode drew over 18 million viewers, making it the most-watched show of the night and the second most-watched program of the week across all networks.
focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane
. In recent episodes, Susan (Teri Hatcher
) and Mike Delfino
(James Denton
) celebrate the birth of their son. Bree Hodge
(Marcia Cross
) chooses to raise her grandson while her daughter, Danielle (Joy Lauren
), attends college. She also issues an ultimatum, telling her husband, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan
), that she will leave him if he does not turn himself into the police after committing a hit-and-run
. Gabrielle Solis
(Eva Longoria
) struggles with Carlos'
(Ricardo Antonio Chavira
) permanent blindness. Also, Edie Britt
(Nicollette Sheridan
) leaves Wisteria Lane after the other residents shun her for her malice.
(Dana Delany
), resents how Bree's success has changed her and intentionally sabotages Bree's television interview, further straining their friendship. A flashback reveals that Danielle married a lawyer and coldly took her son away from Bree. Meanwhile, Lynette is frustrated with Tom's
(Doug Savant
) relaxed approach to parenting their rebellious teenage sons, Porter and Preston (Charlie Carver
and Max Carver
, respectively). She encourages him to employ more disciplinary actions.
During the time jump, Susan and Mike were involved in a car crash that killed a mother and her child. As a result, the couple divorced and now share custody of their son, M.J. (Mason Vale Cotton). Susan engages in a sexual relationship with her house painter, Jackson Braddock (Gale Harold
), but keeps their romance a secret from her friends and family. Jackson seeks a more substantial relationship, but Susan is weary of such a commitment following her divorce. Elsewhere, Gabrielle has been raising two overweight daughters, Juanita (Madison De La Garza
) and Celia (Daniella Baltodano), and has also lost her own figure as well. Gabrielle tricks Juanita into exercising by driving away and making Juanita chase after her car.
After five years of absence, Edie returns to Wisteria Lane with her mysterious husband, Dave (Neal McDonough
), who seems to have a calming affect on his ill-tempered wife. Later, Dave receives a phone call from Dr. Samuel Heller (Stephen Spinella), who reminds him that monthly check-ins are a condition of his release. After the conversation, Dr. Heller reviews a taped therapy session in which Dave threatens to get revenge on the man who destroyed his life.
and directed by Larry Shaw
. Filming for the episode was scheduled to begin on July 7, 2008. The episode is the first to fully employ the five-year jump, which was introduced in the final two minutes of the fourth season finale
. While developing the fifth season, Cherry began brainstorming ways to revamp the series. He stated: "The soap tends to build up, and I wanted to get back to where we were that very first season, where it's just the problems of some ordinary women and they were small and relatable." Cherry credits the producers of Lost
for the idea of the time jump. The writers hoped the time jump would also help them avoid repeating mistakes they made during the show's poorly-received second season, during which they relied heavily on storylines from the previous season. Cherry said that the time jump would be permanent, with executive producer Bob Daily
clarifying that some brief flashback scenes would be used to enhance the storytelling and provide context for current plot lines. Cherry had originally wanted to do a ten-year jump, mostly to age the young characters into their teenage years in order to open up more storyline possibilities.
The writers ensured that although they were changing the storyline circumstances, the characters remained the same with minimal changes to their personalities. According to series writer Matt Berry, the time jump allowed the writers to work with the characters "without most of the baggage they’d accumulated in the earlier years, and put them into starting places so we could move them forward and build in new story arcs." For this reason, the writers treated the season premiere as a pilot, in which, according to Daily, they "could give the women a new drive." Daily identified the Susan character as having undergone the greatest change, stating that she has given up on looking for a "fairy-tale romance" and is emotionally distant in her new relationship. He also stated that the character of Gabrielle has dealt with the biggest change in terms of her circumstances, as she continues to deal with her husband's blindness and their financial problems. Actress Eva Longoria had to gain weight and wear additional body padding for her character's new storyline. Dana Delany stated that her character, Katherine, who was portrayed as an antiheroine in the previous season, is more relaxed following the time jump. However, Delany clarified that while Katherine is now friends with the other characters, she and Bree would become frenemies as a result of their business partnership. Nicollette Sheridan, commented that Edie, who played an integral role in the season's mystery story arch, is "a lot more conscientious about things [this season], without losing her comedic edge."
Several casting changes were made as a result of the five-year jump. Neal McDonough's involvement was announced in July 2008. McDonough did not audition for the role of Dave Williams, but was offered it after meeting with Cherry. Gale Harold continued appearing as Jackson, Susan's new love interest, after appearing briefly in the flashforward segment at the end of the fourth season. The roles of the Scavo children were recast in order to reflect their new ages following the time jump. Charlie and Max Carver replaced Brent and Shane Kinsman
as Preston and Porter, respectively. The Kinsman twins appeared in a flashback in this episode. Joshua Logan Moore
was cast as Parker, a role previously played by Zane Huett
, and Kendall Applegate joined the cast as Penny, who had previously been portrayed by several toddler actresses. Despite their casting announcements alongside the Carver twins, Moore and Applegate did not appear in "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow". The flashforward segment at the end of the fourth season also introduced Kaila Say and Daniella Baltodano as Gabrielle's daughters, Juanita and Celia, respectively. Only Baltodano continued portraying her role for the fifth season; Say was replaced by Madison De La Garza during the summer hiatus.
Andrea Bowen
, who starred as Susan's daughter, Julie, departed from the cast, as her character left for college at the end of the fourth season. Teri Hatcher expressed disappointment in the producers' decision, but Cherry stated that Bowen would return in the future. Joy Lauren
, who portrayed Bree's daughter, Danielle, and Lyndsy Fonseca
, who played Katherine's daughter, Dylan, also left the main cast, although the former appeared in the season premiere as a guest star. Because the fourth season ended leaving Mike's whereabouts unknown, James Denton's return to the series was questioned during hiatus. Denton stated in May 2008 that producers would not make a decision on his character until mid-June and that he was preparing to find work in case his contract was terminated. It was later confirmed that he would return to the series.
The Wisteria Lane set, which is located on the Colonial Street
backlot set
at Universal Studios
, underwent changes for the time jump. Production designer P. Erik Carlson explained, "[former production designer Thomas A. Walsh] had already created a fairly Utopian world, and we wanted to exaggerate and enhance it a little bit more, mostly through the use of color. We didn’t want it to feel ridiculously futuristic or viewers would be jarred by the contrast." Bree's garage was remodeled into a testing kitchen as result of the character's catering business. Additionally, all houses were repainted with bolder colors, with the exception of Gabrielle's home, in order to reflect the Solis' financial situation.
, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" was watched by 18.684 million viewers and held an 11.4 rating/17 share on its original American broadcast on September 28, 2008. The episode was watched in 13.105 million total households. It was number one in its timeslot, beating Sunday Night Football
on NBC, Cold Case on CBS
, and Family Guy
and American Dad on Fox
. The episode was the most-watched program of the night in both total viewers and the young adult demographic. It was the second-most watched program of the week across all networks by viewers 18 to 49 years old, behind Grey's Anatomy
, and the second-most watched program in total viewership, behind Dancing with the Stars. The episode also performed better than any original broadcast of the series since January 2008. It outperformed the fourth season finale by two million total viewers and showed a 17 percent increase in viewers 18 to 49 years old. At the time, the episode was the least-watched season premiere of the series, falling half a million viewers from the fourth season premiere, "Now You Know
", a year earlier. However, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" outperformed "Now You Know" in the demographic of women between 18 and 34 years of age with a 8.3 rating/20 share in that demographic. In the United Kingdom, the episode premiered on Channel 4
on October 22, 2008. It was watched by 2.39 million viewers, becoming the sixth most-watched program of the week on the channel.
The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Tanner Stransky
of Entertainment Weekly
called the five-year jump "a stroke of genius, effectively increasing our insight into these ladies' world by twofold." He called the Gabrielle storyline a true depiction of motherhood and applauded the scene in which Carlos and Gabrielle discuss her low self-esteem. He complimented the Bree storyline, particularly the argument scene between Bree and Katherine. He enjoyed the Dave storyline, but expressed disappointment that Edie's reappearance was the only scene that involved all of the leading women. Additionally, Stransky was not intrigued by Lynette's storyline and deemed it "more of the same" for the character. He criticized Susan's storyline, calling it annoying. He also dismissed the writers' ploy to give viewers the impression that Mike had died for almost the entire episode. TV Guide
Matt Roush gave the episode an 'A', stating, "Moving the story ahead five years didn't so much reinvent the show as it recharged and refreshed the scintillating mix of domestic comedy and sudsy intrigue that we've always enjoyed." He highlighted the comedic Gabrielle storyline while approving the additions of McDonough and Harold to the cast.
In his review of the first two episodes of the season, Brian Lowry of Variety
said that while "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" is satisfactory and establishes the five-year jump effectively, the second episode is better, calling it "a knock-out." Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker commended the time jump as a reflection of both the characters' and series' ambitions, rating the episode a 'B+'. Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe
gave the episode a mixed review. She said that the time leap proved to be successful, as the show had been "flailing" for several seasons and concluded that, "so far, at least, this season promises to be less about plot than personality. That doesn't mean the show is perfect - it never was - but it's better, and that's a big relief." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rob Owen was positive in his review, noting that the writers handled the five-year leap well, especially in regards to Lynette's storyline. He complimented the episode's comedy and expressed his hope that the time jump would allow the writers to focus on humor rather than overly-dramatic storylines.
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...
premiere episode of the American comedy-drama 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...
, and the 88th episode overall. It originally aired on September 28, 2008 in the United States on 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...
(American Broadcasting Company). The episode was written by series creator Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
and directed by Larry Shaw
Larry Shaw (director)
Larry Shaw is an American film and television director.He is currently a regular director on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives, where he also serves as a co-executive producer for the show...
. "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow", as well as all subsequent episodes, takes place five years after the events of the fourth season finale
Free (Desperate Housewives)
"Free" is the 87th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventeenth episode of the show's fourth season, and the second half of the two-hour season finale. It is also the last episode to take place in "present time" following the five year jump at the end of this...
following Cherry's decision to revamp the series with a time jump.
In the episode, Edie
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
) returns to 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...
after a five-year absence with her new husband, Dave (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
). While Susan (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...
) hesitates to make a romantic commitment to Jackson (Gale Harold
Gale Harold
Gale Morgan Harold III is an American actor widely known for his roles on Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives and Hellcats.-Early life:...
), Lynette
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...
) struggles with her defiant teenage children and her husband's midlife crisis. Gabrielle
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
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
) deals with her daughters' weight problems and Bree
Bree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...
(Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
) faces the ramifications of her success.
"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" received mostly positive reviews from television critics, most of whom agreed that the time jump refreshed the show. According to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, the episode drew over 18 million viewers, making it the most-watched show of the night and the second most-watched program of the week across all networks.
Background
Desperate HousewivesDesperate 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...
focuses on the lives of several residents living on 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 recent episodes, Susan (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...
) and Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
(James Denton
James Denton
James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
) celebrate the birth of their son. Bree Hodge
Bree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...
(Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
) chooses to raise her grandson while her daughter, Danielle (Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren is an American actress who is best known for playing Danielle Van de Kamp, on the hit ABC Comedy-drama Desperate Housewives....
), attends college. She also issues an ultimatum, telling her husband, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
), that she will leave him if he does not turn himself into the police after committing a hit-and-run
Hit and run (vehicular)
Hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic accident , and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards...
. 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
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
) struggles with Carlos'
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...
(Ricardo Antonio Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Carlos Solis on Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
) permanent blindness. Also, Edie Britt
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
) leaves Wisteria Lane after the other residents shun her for her malice.
Episode
"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" takes place five years after the aforementioned events. Important plot information that takes place during the time jump is revealed in flashbacks. Orson has completed his prison sentence and the success of Bree's catering company has provided her the opportunity to write her own cookbook. Her business partner, Katherine MayfairKatherine 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...
), resents how Bree's success has changed her and intentionally sabotages Bree's television interview, further straining their friendship. A flashback reveals that Danielle married a lawyer and coldly took her son away from Bree. Meanwhile, Lynette is frustrated with Tom's
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:...
) relaxed approach to parenting their rebellious teenage sons, Porter and Preston (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....
and 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...
, respectively). She encourages him to employ more disciplinary actions.
During the time jump, Susan and Mike were involved in a car crash that killed a mother and her child. As a result, the couple divorced and now share custody of their son, M.J. (Mason Vale Cotton). Susan engages in a sexual relationship with her house painter, Jackson Braddock (Gale Harold
Gale Harold
Gale Morgan Harold III is an American actor widely known for his roles on Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives and Hellcats.-Early life:...
), but keeps their romance a secret from her friends and family. Jackson seeks a more substantial relationship, but Susan is weary of such a commitment following her divorce. Elsewhere, Gabrielle has been raising two overweight daughters, 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...
) and Celia (Daniella Baltodano), and has also lost her own figure as well. Gabrielle tricks Juanita into exercising by driving away and making Juanita chase after her car.
After five years of absence, Edie returns to Wisteria Lane with her mysterious husband, Dave (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
), who seems to have a calming affect on his ill-tempered wife. Later, Dave receives a phone call from Dr. Samuel Heller (Stephen Spinella), who reminds him that monthly check-ins are a condition of his release. After the conversation, Dr. Heller reviews a taped therapy session in which Dave threatens to get revenge on the man who destroyed his life.
Production
"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" was written by series creator and executive producer Marc CherryMarc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
and directed by Larry Shaw
Larry Shaw (director)
Larry Shaw is an American film and television director.He is currently a regular director on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives, where he also serves as a co-executive producer for the show...
. Filming for the episode was scheduled to begin on July 7, 2008. The episode is the first to fully employ the five-year jump, which was introduced in the final two minutes of the fourth season finale
Free (Desperate Housewives)
"Free" is the 87th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventeenth episode of the show's fourth season, and the second half of the two-hour season finale. It is also the last episode to take place in "present time" following the five year jump at the end of this...
. While developing the fifth season, Cherry began brainstorming ways to revamp the series. He stated: "The soap tends to build up, and I wanted to get back to where we were that very first season, where it's just the problems of some ordinary women and they were small and relatable." Cherry credits the producers of Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
for the idea of the time jump. The writers hoped the time jump would also help them avoid repeating mistakes they made during the show's poorly-received second season, during which they relied heavily on storylines from the previous season. Cherry said that the time jump would be permanent, with executive producer Bob Daily
Bob Daily
Bob Daily is an American television producer and screenwriter. Currently he serves as executive producer of Desperate Housewives, and second-in-command to showrunner Marc Cherry....
clarifying that some brief flashback scenes would be used to enhance the storytelling and provide context for current plot lines. Cherry had originally wanted to do a ten-year jump, mostly to age the young characters into their teenage years in order to open up more storyline possibilities.
The writers ensured that although they were changing the storyline circumstances, the characters remained the same with minimal changes to their personalities. According to series writer Matt Berry, the time jump allowed the writers to work with the characters "without most of the baggage they’d accumulated in the earlier years, and put them into starting places so we could move them forward and build in new story arcs." For this reason, the writers treated the season premiere as a pilot, in which, according to Daily, they "could give the women a new drive." Daily identified the Susan character as having undergone the greatest change, stating that she has given up on looking for a "fairy-tale romance" and is emotionally distant in her new relationship. He also stated that the character of Gabrielle has dealt with the biggest change in terms of her circumstances, as she continues to deal with her husband's blindness and their financial problems. Actress Eva Longoria had to gain weight and wear additional body padding for her character's new storyline. Dana Delany stated that her character, Katherine, who was portrayed as an antiheroine in the previous season, is more relaxed following the time jump. However, Delany clarified that while Katherine is now friends with the other characters, she and Bree would become frenemies as a result of their business partnership. Nicollette Sheridan, commented that Edie, who played an integral role in the season's mystery story arch, is "a lot more conscientious about things [this season], without losing her comedic edge."
Shane Kinsman
Shane Kinsman is an American child actor who typically plays a rambunctious twin alongside his identical twin brother Brent. He played Kyle Baker in the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and its 2005 sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2...
as Preston and Porter, respectively. The Kinsman twins appeared in a flashback in this episode. Joshua Logan Moore
Joshua Logan Moore
Joshua Logan Moore is an American actor best known for playing Parker Scavo in the popular American series Desperate Housewives.Parker Scavo is the youngest son of Lynette and Tom Scavo. He has two brothers, Preston and Porter, who are twins. and two sisters, Penny, and Paige...
was cast as Parker, a role previously played by Zane Huett
Zane Huett
Zane Alexander Huett is an American child actor.Zane is most famous for his featured role on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives playing the role of Parker Scavo, the younger son of Lynette and Tom Scavo. He plays the youngest Scavo boy, yet is older by six months than the actors Brent...
, and Kendall Applegate joined the cast as Penny, who had previously been portrayed by several toddler actresses. Despite their casting announcements alongside the Carver twins, Moore and Applegate did not appear in "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow". The flashforward segment at the end of the fourth season also introduced Kaila Say and Daniella Baltodano as Gabrielle's daughters, Juanita and Celia, respectively. Only Baltodano continued portraying her role for the fifth season; Say was replaced by Madison De La Garza during the summer hiatus.
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:...
, who starred as Susan's daughter, Julie, departed from the cast, as her character left for college at the end of the fourth season. Teri Hatcher expressed disappointment in the producers' decision, but Cherry stated that Bowen would return in the future. Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren is an American actress who is best known for playing Danielle Van de Kamp, on the hit ABC Comedy-drama Desperate Housewives....
, who portrayed Bree's daughter, Danielle, and Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca is an American actress known for playing Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and The Restless, Dylan Mayfair on the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and Ted Mosby's daughter on How I Met Your Mother. She also played Katie Deauxma in the 2010 superhero film...
, who played Katherine's daughter, Dylan, also left the main cast, although the former appeared in the season premiere as a guest star. Because the fourth season ended leaving Mike's whereabouts unknown, James Denton's return to the series was questioned during hiatus. Denton stated in May 2008 that producers would not make a decision on his character until mid-June and that he was preparing to find work in case his contract was terminated. It was later confirmed that he would return to the series.
The Wisteria Lane set, which is located on the Colonial Street
Colonial Street
Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at Universal Studios Hollywood. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television...
backlot set
Backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, underwent changes for the time jump. Production designer P. Erik Carlson explained, "[former production designer Thomas A. Walsh] had already created a fairly Utopian world, and we wanted to exaggerate and enhance it a little bit more, mostly through the use of color. We didn’t want it to feel ridiculously futuristic or viewers would be jarred by the contrast." Bree's garage was remodeled into a testing kitchen as result of the character's catering business. Additionally, all houses were repainted with bolder colors, with the exception of Gabrielle's home, in order to reflect the Solis' financial situation.
Reception
According to Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" was watched by 18.684 million viewers and held an 11.4 rating/17 share on its original American broadcast on September 28, 2008. The episode was watched in 13.105 million total households. It was number one in its timeslot, beating Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
on NBC, Cold Case on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
and American Dad on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. The episode was the most-watched program of the night in both total viewers and the young adult demographic. It was the second-most watched program of the week across all networks by viewers 18 to 49 years old, behind Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, and the second-most watched program in total viewership, behind Dancing with the Stars. The episode also performed better than any original broadcast of the series since January 2008. It outperformed the fourth season finale by two million total viewers and showed a 17 percent increase in viewers 18 to 49 years old. At the time, the episode was the least-watched season premiere of the series, falling half a million viewers from the fourth season premiere, "Now You Know
Now You Know (Desperate Housewives)
"Now You Know" is the fourth season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 71st episode overall. The episode premiered on ABC on September 30, 2007...
", a year earlier. However, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" outperformed "Now You Know" in the demographic of women between 18 and 34 years of age with a 8.3 rating/20 share in that demographic. In the United Kingdom, the episode premiered on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on October 22, 2008. It was watched by 2.39 million viewers, becoming the sixth most-watched program of the week on the channel.
The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky is a journalist and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. In 2005, he moved to New York City and took a job as an editorial assistant at Direct TV. He later received an offer from the New York Post to write about weddings and relationships...
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the five-year jump "a stroke of genius, effectively increasing our insight into these ladies' world by twofold." He called the Gabrielle storyline a true depiction of motherhood and applauded the scene in which Carlos and Gabrielle discuss her low self-esteem. He complimented the Bree storyline, particularly the argument scene between Bree and Katherine. He enjoyed the Dave storyline, but expressed disappointment that Edie's reappearance was the only scene that involved all of the leading women. Additionally, Stransky was not intrigued by Lynette's storyline and deemed it "more of the same" for the character. He criticized Susan's storyline, calling it annoying. He also dismissed the writers' ploy to give viewers the impression that Mike had died for almost the entire episode. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
Matt Roush gave the episode an 'A', stating, "Moving the story ahead five years didn't so much reinvent the show as it recharged and refreshed the scintillating mix of domestic comedy and sudsy intrigue that we've always enjoyed." He highlighted the comedic Gabrielle storyline while approving the additions of McDonough and Harold to the cast.
In his review of the first two episodes of the season, Brian Lowry of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said that while "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" is satisfactory and establishes the five-year jump effectively, the second episode is better, calling it "a knock-out." Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker commended the time jump as a reflection of both the characters' and series' ambitions, rating the episode a 'B+'. Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
gave the episode a mixed review. She said that the time leap proved to be successful, as the show had been "flailing" for several seasons and concluded that, "so far, at least, this season promises to be less about plot than personality. That doesn't mean the show is perfect - it never was - but it's better, and that's a big relief." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
Rob Owen was positive in his review, noting that the writers handled the five-year leap well, especially in regards to Lynette's storyline. He complimented the episode's comedy and expressed his hope that the time jump would allow the writers to focus on humor rather than overly-dramatic storylines.
External links
- "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" at ABC.comAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe 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...