Шұғыл үй шаруалары: Жаңа маусымның бастауы

"Next" is the second season premiere episode of the American comedy drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 24th episode overall. It was originally broadcast in the United States on September 25, 2005, on ABC. It was written by Jenna Bans and Kevin Murphy and was directed by Larry Shaw. In the episode, Susan (Teri Hatcher) recovers from having been held hostage while Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) attempts to salvage her marriage to her incarcerated husband, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira). Meanwhile, Bree (Marcia Cross) deals with her mother in law following her husband's death and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) goes back to work. The episode also introduces the mystery storyline revolving around Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard) and her family. According to Nielsen ratings, "Next" was watched by 28.4 million viewers, making it the most watched season premiere on ABC in nine years. The episode also ranks as the second most watched in series history, behind the first season finale in May 2005. The episode received general positive reviews, with Cross earning universal praise for her performance. Critics enjoyed Woodard's acting as well as her character's storyline.

Desperate Housewives focuses on the residents living in the suburban neighborhood of Wisteria Lane. In previous episodes, Mike Delfino (James Denton) learns that he is the biological father of Zach Young (Cody Kasch), whose adopted parents, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) and Paul (Mark Moses), killed Mike's previous girlfriend and Zach's biological mother years earlier. Mike kidnapped Paul and left him stranded in the desert while Zach holds Mike's current girlfriend, Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) hostage as part of his plan to kill Mike. Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) quit his job and decided to become a stay at home father, forcing his wife, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) to reenter the work force. Cherry cited the Lynette storyline as an example of this strategy: "Lynette will have a job next season (returning to her advertising roots), so I want to address how difficult it is to go to work all day and then come home and be expected to also take care of your house." The episode also introduced Joely Fisher as Lynette's new boss, Nina Fletcher. Fisher describes her character as "nasty," elaborating: "Lynette suddenly has to come up against this tiger lady who never stops reminding Lynette that she's childless by choice. Even though Nina is not a housewife, she is desperate in her own way." Due to the death of his character, Steven Culp did not return to the series for the second season. For the open casket scene in "Next", producers created a life mask of the actor. Savant was promoted to series regular after appearing as a recurring guest star throughout the first season. The episode is the first to feature Alfre Woodard and Mehcad Brooks as series regulars after they were introduced in the final two episodes of the first season. Woodard played Betty Applewhite, a "deeply religious, overbearing single mother" while Mehcad portrayed her son, Matthew. In regards to the characters and their mystery storyline, Cherry stated: "They come on the street; they seem like nice people—but they've got a secret. And it's pretty gothic. It's real and human and awful all at the same time." The final scene in which Betty and Matthew bring food to the prisoner in their basement was originally intended for the first season finale but saved for "Next" instead. While the Applewhites are regarded as the first major black characters on the series, Cherry stated that the role of Betty was originally offered to two white film actresses, both of whom turned it down due to financial and time commitment issues. Woodard had never seen the show before accepting the role. Desperate Housewives producers sent her fifteen episodes of the show, which she divided amongst various family members. After they compared storylines, Woodard recalled that she became "instantly hooked" on the series. Both Brooks and his brother, Billy, auditioned for the role of Matthew. The final decision came down to both brothers as well as two other actors. According to Cherry, Brooks was cast because he exuded a "dangerous" element, as well as "a combination of this wholesome, sweet quality and a dark, brooding quality."

According to Nielsen ratings, "Next" was watched by 28.4 million viewers. It held a 12.1 rating/26 share on its original broadcast, indicating a 36 percent increase since the series premiere one year earlier and helping ABC earn its largest Sunday night audience in 10 years. Additionally, it was ABC's most watched season premiere in nine years. It was the most watched program among viewers 18 to 49 years of age. He identified the Bree storyline as "the real water cooler sequence" and complimented Marcia Cross' performance. He praised the scene in which Bree changes the tie on Rex's corpse and called Cross' performance throughout the episode "pitch perfect." The Futon Critic selected "Next" as the 42nd best television episode of 2005, writing, "Say what you will about the show's rocky sophomore season but one can't deny how strongly it started," and citing the tie changing scene as the episode's most memorable moment. In 2005, Bans and Murphy were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy writing, but lost to Jenji Kohan, who penned the pilot episode of the Showtime series Weeds.