 Cherry offered the role of Bree Van de Kamp, a "perfect homemaker" reminiscent of The Stepford Wives, to Dana Delany three times. Delany rejected the role, as it was too similar to her character on Pasadena, but would later join the series in its fourth season as Katherine Mayfair. Marcia Cross was later cast as Bree. Roma Downey, Jeri Ryan, and Stacey Travis were also considered for the role, while Nicollette Sheridan auditioned for the part and was cast as neighborhood tramp Edie Britt instead. On her audition, Sheridan recalled, "At the end of the reading, the director looked at me and said, 'No, no, I see you as Edie.' I said, 'Oh, I see, I come in a housewife and mother of two and leave the slut.'" The Edie character was originally intended to be a small role, but it was expanded once Sheridan was cast. Felicity Huffman was cast as Lynette Scavo, a frustrated stay-at-home mother of four, after talking about her own experiences as a mother during her audition. Cherry called Huffman's casting "very lucky," commenting that "within fifteen minutes she had the part." Alex Kingston read for the role of Lynette, and has since alleged that she was denied the role for being too heavy. The role of series narrator Mary Alice Young was given to Sheryl Lee. Cross originally auditioned for the role before being cast as Bree instead. Jeanne Tripplehorn and Heather Locklear also auditioned for leading roles.
