It feels like it's finally Dana Delany's time. The actress had several near brushes with TV superstardom after her Emmy-winning run as Nurse Colleen McMurphy on "China Beach" ended.
Mike White, who wrote the hit "School of Rock," cast her as the uptight matriarch on Fox's critically beloved but short-lived dysfunctional family drama "Pasadena"; Darren Star originally asked her to star in "Sex and the City"; and Marc Cherry first offered her the role of Bree on "Desperate Housewives."

Fortunately for Delany, Cherry came back around and she stepped into Katherine Mayfair's well-kept shoes two seasons ago.

Q: Marc Cherry said that originally Mike was going to marry Katherine in the season opener. Obviously, that did not happen. How did he let you down?

A: It wasn't until a week before we started shooting. He called me at home and said, "I should probably tell you that Susan is marrying Mike." So I said, "Oooh, OK." Then he said that Katherine would have a nervous breakdown, and I said, "Oh, OK! Much better!" Because happiness is great in life, but it's kind of boring dramatically.