AceShowbiz -

It's official, "Desperate Housewives" is going to end its run next year with the eighth season. As it was expected, the cancellation was confirmed at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills on Sunday, August 7 by ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee.

"It's an iconic show and we're extremely proud of it," Lee told reporters. "I wanted to make sure that this show that put this network on the map, certainly the new brand of this network for the last six or seven years, had its victory lap and had its chance to really set out every episode and build an arc for its 22 episodes so that we could say goodbye."

Meanwhile, creator Marc Cherry said that he wants the show to end "when the network still saw us as a viable show and a force to contend with." He added when joining Lee on stage of the TCA, "I've been in this business for 23 years, and I'm very aware of people overstaying their welcome. I just didn't want that to happen to 'Desperate Housewives'. I wanted to go out in the classiest way possible."

Recalling how the stars reacted when they were told about the show's end, Cherry shared, "It was bittersweet and lovely because the women knew that it was a possibility, but they didn't know. So there was a little touch of shock but not completely." He "got really emotional with Eva (Longoria) because I love Eva more than life itself."

Spilling the beans on what is pitched for the final season, Cherry revealed that "the mystery of what's going on harkens back to the first season." He went on gushing, "Something I'm very excited about is we're going back to the roots of Mary Alice. That was one of the things that feels right."

"I have an idea for the last episode in which I want to pay homage to everyone who's been there before and been on the show," Cherry added, teasing that Nicollette Sheridan's character, Edie, may return.