10 Secret TV Pilot Episodes You Didn't Know Existed

Imagine spending months auditioning during the pilot season for 10 maybe 20 different projects, forgettable dramas, sitcoms etc, and then you make it the second round of auditions for the season's hottest new show. Then you get the third round, the fourth, you start doing chemistry readings and camera tests and you feel like maybe, this year, you actually have a chance of booking a role; on a good show no less!

And finally, you get the call that you've booked the pilot, you're ecstatic and you put everything you have into filming the episode, only to find out that the show has been ordered to series... and you're not a part of it. God, that must suck.

While Desperate Housewives often showcases heartless and cold characters, it was the studio executives that were really the heartless ones here. Because while most reshot pilot episodes feature maybe one casting difference, the Desperate Housewives one featured three.

Two of the male heartthrobs of the show, Rex and John, were portrayed by completely different actors, which must have sucked for the men but at least the characters were only in the main cast for season one.

But by far the most major casting change came with the role of Mary Alice Young, the show's narrator and integral part of the show. Initially, Sheryl Lee played the part, but she didn't please the studio gods and was cut. She must still be rolling in her Mary Alice grave knowing how famous the show became.