Susan Mayer
Susan Mayer
Main page

Susan Mayer

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Susan Mayer

Susan Delfino (née Bremmer and formerly Mayer) is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry. She first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004, and appeared in every episode until the series finale on May 13, 2012. Susan resides on the fictional Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State, the primary setting of the show. One of four lead characters, Susan is characterized as being a "notoriously clumsy" romantic with a "magnetic charm." Her storylines tend to focus on her romantic relationships, most notably with Mike Delfino (James Denton), whom she marries twice in the series.

Cherry created Susan as a girl next door archetype and intended for the character to provide an emotional anchor for the series. When developing the character, Cherry drew upon his personal experiences as well as those of single women in his life. The role was written for Mary-Louise Parker, who turned it down; as a result, Hatcher was cast in early 2004. Hatcher's portrayal of the character is both comedic and vulnerable. During the series' debut season, both the character and Hatcher's performance received positive critical reception; however, as the series progressed, the character was received less favorably by critics and fans. Hatcher has received both a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the series.

While developing the series, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry envisioned Susan as a girl next door and chose her to convey this image. In the original pilot, the character's surname was spelled "Meyer" but had to be changed to "Mayer" for clearance purposes. Cherry commented, "I knew Susan was going to be my anchor character, and I didn't really know my take on her at first. And then it occurred to me that one of these women should be divorced ... I thought there was something so real about a woman saying, 'I don't have much time left,' and when this available hunky guy moves onto the street, something in her saying 'Let me at him'". The character is a compendium of single mothers in Cherry's life "desperate to land a man". He also drew upon his own personal experiences while creating the character.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus expressed interest in the role, but ABC executives felt she was not right for the part. Actors considered for the role include Courteney Cox, Calista Flockhart, Heather Locklear, Mary-Louise Parker, and Sela Ward. Cherry wrote the part with Parker in mind, but she rejected the offer, later explaining "it just didn’t feel like I was gonna [sic] serve it as well as someone else might". Teri Hatcher auditioned for the role in January 2004 and impressed Cherry immediately. After a second audition, Hatcher read for the role in front of network executives. Cherry praised her performance, saying "it was the best audition I've ever seen in network". Hatcher later commented, "I don't think they were hot to hire me for Susan ... I was maybe on a B-list, certainly not an A-list". Despite her reservations, Hatcher was the third reported cast member to have been cast in the series on February 18, 2004.

 ...[I]t was common knowledge on Wisteria Lane [that] where Susan Mayer went, bad luck was sure to follow. Her misfortunes ranged from the commonplace, to the unusual, to the truly bizarre.

Susan is primarily characterized as the girl next door. Teri Hatcher stated "I’m not exactly her, but I get her. I get her insecurities, her flaws." She called the character "a great representation of what [everyone] deals with daily. Our responsibilities can be overwhelming and things often don't go as you planned, so you have to roll with it. Susan celebrates rolling with it". She is a hopeless romantic and often expresses her feelings more openly and vulnerably than the other characters in the series. The series begins a year after Susan's first divorce, when she is still emotionally raw. Throughout the series, several other characters have confronted Susan about her inability to live happily and without drama. Susan has a close relationship with her daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), who often acts as the parent figure in the relationship.

Susan's accident-proneness is commonly used throughout the series to provide comic relief. Her susceptibility to bad luck and embarrassing situations have created some of the series' most memorable moments, including accidentally burning down Edie's house and being locked out of her own house completely naked. Susan's poor cooking skills have also become a running gag in the series.

Susan Bremmer was born on November 29, 1966 and was raised by single mother Sophie Bremmer (Lesley Ann Warren), who told her that her father was a member of the United States Merchant Marine who had died in the Battle of Hanoi during the Vietnam War. She was a cheerleader in high school and graduated as valedictorian of her class. She graduated from community college with an art degree. Eventually, Susan began writing and illustrating children's books, the first of which was Ants in My Picnic Basket.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.