After her character got killed off on Desperate Housewives, Nicollette Sheridan sued for wrongful termination and assault, seeking more than $6 million, according to a 2012 Daily Mail article. Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry testified, "The purpose of the character was going to be over," per E! News in March 2012. He said he was looking for an "interesting way to end the character's time on the show in a shocking way for fans." Cherry's legal team argued that her death had been planned for months. In contrast, Sheridan insisted that her former boss promised that her job was safe before the season began.
In March 2012, the Los Angeles Times reported that Lori Kirkland Baker, a former co-executive producer on the show, claimed that Cherry's timeline didn't add up and that the decision to kill Edie wasn't planned as far in advance as he claimed.
During the trial, Sheridan claimed that Cherry was slowly phasing out her character. She said Edie had no lines in the original version of some scripts, which prompted her to complain. When her character did have something to say, it wasn't enough for Sheridan. She alleged that Cherry told the writers not to let her character say any "funny lines," adding that he "didn't give Edie the time and attention she deserved." Conversely, Cherry said, "the primary reason I killed off the character was I thought creatively it was the best thing for my show."
