"Desperate Housewives" Not So Desperate Anymore

�DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES� NOT DESPERATE ANYMORE

JULY 23, 2005, LOS ANGELES -- The nation's TV critics bestowed their praise on ABC, awarding the network four awards including the top three awards Program of the Year, Outstanding New Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama.

In a ceremony introduced by Craig Ferguson, host of CBS�s �The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson� at The Beverly Hilton, ABC was the top trophy earner with four, while Fox came away with two. BBC America, Comedy Central, PBS and The N received one award each.

ABC�s newcomers �Lost� and �Desperate Housewives� came away victorious with �Lost� winning two awards (Outstanding New Program and Outstanding Achievement in Drama) and �Desperate Housewives� awarded Program of The Year. The Fox comedy �Arrested Development� came away with a repeat win for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. In the individual achievement categories, Hugh Laurie (�House�) won for drama and Jon Stewart (�The Daily Show with Jon Stewart�) won for comedy. This is the second time Stewart has been honored in this category, with a previous win in 2003.

�Frontline� received its seventh honor in the category of Outstanding Achievement in News & Information.

ABC�s �Nightline� received the Heritage Award, which recognizes a long-standing program that has had a lasting cultural or social impact. Bob Newhart received TCA�s 2005 award for Career Achievement.

Other winners included �The Office Special� (Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Mini-series and Specials,) and �Degrassi: The Next Generation� (Outstanding Achievement in Children�s Programming).

Among those on hand to accept were Will Arnett (�Arrested Development�), Lucy Davis (�The Office�), Tony Hale (�Arrested Development�), Felicity Huffman (�Desperate Housewives�), Yunjin Kim (�Lost�), Hugh Laurie (�House�), Dominic Monaghan (�Lost�), Bob Newhart and Doug Savant (�Desperate Housewives�).

2005 TCA Award recipients are as follows:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: �Desperate Housewives� (ABC)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: �Lost� (ABC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: �Lost� (ABC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: �Arrested Development� (Fox)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: �Frontline� (PBS)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING: �Degrassi: The Next Generation� (The N)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINI-SERIES & SPECIALS: �The Office Special� (BBC America)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Jon Stewart, �The Daily Show with Jon Stewart� (Comedy Central)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Hugh Laurie, �House� (Fox)

HERITAGE AWARD: �Nightline� (ABC)

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Bob Newhart

The 21st annual TCA Awards were held at The Beverly Hilton. Founded in 1978, the Television Critics Association is composed of more than 200 reporters and columnists in print media from the United States and Canada.