The third season of the American dramedy-mystery television series Desperate Housewives commenced airing on ABC in the United States on September 24, 2006, and concluded on May 20, 2007.

The season continues the story of the Wisteria Lane residents, describing their lives in the suburban neighborhood, while dealing with the arrival of the mysterious Orson Hodge.

The season follows the lives and events of Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van De Kamp, Gabrielle Solis and Edie Britt.

Alexandra Cunningham, Jenna Bans, Kevin Etten, Josh Senter, and Dahvi Waller returned to the writing staff and were joined by Susan Nirah Jaffee, Brian A. Alexander, Christian McLaughlin, Valerie Ahern, and Jeff Greenstein.

[8] The cast also expressed disappointment in the second season; James Denton considered leaving the show and Marcia Cross confessed "I've been at Marc's door plenty of times with script complaints, going 'You've got to be kidding.

The series is narrated by Brenda Strong, who portrays the deceased Mary Alice Young, as she observes from beyond the grave, the lives of the Wisteria Lane residents and her former best friends.

Ricardo Antonio Chavira played Carlos Solis, a rich businessman and Gabrielle's husband, whose affair with his daughter's surrogate mother eventually led to divorce.

Deceased since the first-season finale, Rex Van de Kamp, portrayed by Steven Culp, provided his voice for sixteenth episode, taking over the narration.

Mark Moses returned to the series as Paul Young, this time a fellow prisoner of Mike Delfino's, who is trying to win his friendship in order to determine him to get money from his son, Zach.

Gwendoline Yeo acted as Xiao-Mei, the surrogate mother of Gabrielle and Carlos' child, but is never seen or heard of after it is revealed that the baby she was carrying wasn't the Solises'.

Part of the main mystery arc, was Gloria Hodge, played by Dixie Carter, Orson's mother with an inexplicable repugnance towards her son.

Unlike the second season's opener, which started that illadvised business in the basement and kept the women largely separated, this year's kickoff script, by series creator Marc Cherry and Jeff Greenstein, does everything right.

David Kronke of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote that the show "returns to its wicked wit, dialing back but certainly not eradicating the melodrama.

"[19] He complimented the four main actresses for their comedic relief and concluded: "Rarely does a show unjump the shark this well; it's back in fine form, calibrating its humor and its menace just right.

[20] Additionally, she opined that Laurie Metcalf "did a brilliant job of playing the classic television nosy neighbor," but expressed her confusion over the Orson storyline.

He also complimented Teri Hatcher's acting, commenting that she "was awesome in the poignant scene where she asks the comatose Mike permission to go on the "almost date" with Ian.

"[21] Anderson identified the Scavo storyline as "the weakest link" in the episode and hoped that the Nora and Kayla characters would not remain on the show for too long.

[21] TV Guide writer Matt Roush shared similar sentiments regarding the Scavo storyline, stating that while the premiere overall was good, "Lynette is trapped in a story line so desperately unamusing, one that makes her and everyone around her act so idiotic, that you have to pray that we'll soon see the last of the obnoxious Nora, mother of Tom's surprise daughter.

"[22] In a separate review, Roush unfavorably compared the Orson character to Bree's former love interest, George Williams (Roger Bart), while also admitting to being "a bit weary" of the Gabrielle storyline.

[23] USA Today's Robert Bianco acknowledged that "Listen to the Rain on the Roof" managed to avoid repeating many of the second season's mistakes noting that the four main characters spend more time together and the annual mystery "is hot-wired into the housewives themselves.

"[24] Bianco remarked that Cross successfully maintained her position as the series' most prominent lead and was pleased with Susan's storyline, calling it "a conflict that gives Teri Hatcher a genuinely funny, rather than forced, sight gag.

Nevertheless, Creer complimented the main actresses, concluding, "I'll be tuning in next week -- for all of its camp and unoriginality, the show does continue to have that certain something, those little twists of genius that make it worth watching.

"[25] Andy Dehnart of MSNBC was slightly more positive in his review, acknowledging that while "most of the housewives are stuck in their second-season ruts," the show's overall quality has improved, citing the Orson storyline as a welcomed change from the slow-moving Applewhite mystery arc.

The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 2007, sees Felicity Huffman receiving a nomination for her portrayal of Lynette Scavo in "Bang", in the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series category.

Receiving nominations in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series were Dixie Carter, for her portrayal of Gloria Hodge in "Children and Art", and Laurie Metcalf for her performance in "Listen to the Rain on the Roof", playing Carolyn Bigsby".

The 2006 Young Artist Awards sees both Joy Lauren and Rachel G. Fox for their portrayals of Danielle Van de Kamp and Kayla Huntington Scavo, respectively.

In spite of numerous fan complaints regarding the previous season, the American Broadcasting Company decided to keep Desperate Housewives in its original Sunday night timeslot.

The show maintained its position as a top ten series and became the tenth most-watched program for the 2006-07 American television season,[27] with an average of 17.5 million viewers per episode.