Shanghai Daily News

"desperate Housewives," a hit American TV series, will likely make its Chinese mainland debut this year.

According to the Overseas Center of China Central Television, negotiations are ongoing with the series' presenter - American Broadcasting Corp - to discuss details of introducing all the 23 episodes in its first season. If all goes well, Chinese audiences will be able to watch a Chinese dubbed version by the end of this year.

"The show is planned to air on drama channel CCTV-8's 'Overseas Theater,' two episodes a day," said an official with the Overseas Center who declined to be named.

He revealed that the center usually focuses on quality and popularity in selecting overseas TV serials. CCTV-8 has already brought out a number of series soon after their premieres abroad, including another American classic drama - "Band of Brothers" and Russia's "Bednaya Nastya."

But unlike the wartime saga or the costume drama, "Desperate Housewives" is a dark satire about life in US suburbia and revolves around the domestic lives of a group of women, often with hilarious overtones.

The popular show has won 15 nominations for this year's 57th Emmy Awards, including Best Comedy Series and Best Leading Actress in a comedy series. The show has averaged nearly 24 million viewers every week in the United States.

"Though there are cultural differences between China and the US, I think the drama will attract a large number of young people who are more open to Western lifestyles," said Huang Ting, a 20-something drama fan from Shanghai who has seen some special features of the series on the Internet.