Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama series that aired on ABC (American Broadcasting Company). It focuses on the residents living on the fictional Wisteria Lane as narrated by their deceased neighbor, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong). Specifically, the series follows four protagonists and Mary Alice's friends, Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria). Desperate Housewives features an ensemble cast, which also includes the women's husbands, children, love interests, neighbors, and other acquaintances. Main characters The following are characters whose portrayer received "Starring" billing at any point of the series. They are sorted in the order in which they were introduced to the main cast, and not by episode count, screen time, or popularity. Susan Mayer Lynette Scavo Bree Van de Kamp Gabrielle Solis Edie Britt Mike Delfino Rex Van de Kamp Carlos Solis Paul Young Mary Alice Young Julie Mayer John Rowland Zach Young Zachary "Zach" Young (Cody Kasch) is the son (non-legal) of Paul and Mary Alice. Zach's birth parents are Deirdre Taylor and Mike Delfino; however, this, along with his original name of Dana Taylor, is not revealed until "One Wonderful Day". In season one, Zach is depressed by the sudden suicide of Mary Alice, so Paul puts him in a mental institution. During his stay, Julie sneaks in his room to speak with him but is asked to leave by a nurse. Zach later runs away and is found hiding in Julie's room by Susan and Mike who take him home. He and Julie then start dating. Susan speaks to Paul about Julie and Zach's relationship and is irritated when she thinks he is laughing at her but he insists it will not be a problem as he and Zach will soon be moving away. Zach, however, has other ideas and blackmails him to make sure they stay in Wisteria Lane as the police are asking questions about an old toy box that Zach once had as a similar one has been found with the body of a young woman inside. Whilst at the institution, Zach was diagnosed with clinical depression and a borderline personality disorder which makes his behavior unpredictable at best so when Susan asks Zach not to see Julie for a while as she is concerned about how fast the relationship is progressing, Zach loses his temper so Susan promptly forbids him