First came Desperate Housewives and now we’ve got Desperate Lillewives.
Marcia Cross has reprised her iconic role as Bree Van de Kamp from the ABC comedy-drama in another surreal Series Mania promo video, two years after she appeared at the popular French co-production and TV content festival. The fest has made it something of a tradition to release a promo featuring major TV stars in silly scenarios over recent years.
The new parody video begins a tracking shot of a neighbourhood that looks identical to the Desperate Housewives area, with a French voiceover saying, “since Bree Van de Kamp had moved to Wisteria Lille, she had secretly developed an addiction to TV series.” The character is then seen with a trademark wine in one hand and a remote control in the other.
“When her husband was at the gym, she enjoyed watching Ted Lasso,” the V.O. continues as the camera pans up to reveal Series Mania founder Laurence Herszberg dressed as Bree. A surreal scene ensues as she meets a “single plumber with a rather troubled past” (played by French-Israeli actor Tomer Sisley) at her front door and lies to her husband (Series Mania’s Frederic Lavigne) about needing salt to clean a wine stain. “I don’t think so. It’s madness out there with Series Mania,” responds Lavigne in character as Orson.
Herszberg’s ‘Bree’ then phones Cross’ original, saying she is in a “very delicate situation.” ‘Original’ Bree responds, saying “One thing I’ve learned over the last eight years living with those is that no holds barred, and pretending that you’re pregnant is never a good idea,” a callback to a classic storyline from the ABC show, which ran between 2005 and 2012. “Good luck, Bree,” she adds before ending the call.
Later, as the credits roll on the short, Cross is seen with her Housewives trademark apron still on, downing her wine before going back to baking.
Deadline checked in with Series Mania, but it appears there will be not repeat of Cross this year at the event, which comprises a festival and industry conference and runs from March 21-28 in Lille. We hear the talent line-up will be unveiled at a press conference next month.
In last year’s promo video, Brian Cox unexpectedly appeared in character as Succession‘s Logan Roy in a Series Mania promo that featured a pastiche of Emily in Paris. The promo is becoming something of an annual tradition, featuring French, U.S. and international stars in funny scenarios based on popular shows.
