‘Why Women Kill’ Actor Leo Howard Talks New Show From ‘Desperate Housewives’ Creator: ‘Tension Never Stops Building’ (Exclusive)

You may not have heard about Why Women Kill yet, but it should be your next television obsession. The CBS All Access series from Desperate Housewives creator March Cherry is the perfect example of a true dramedy, combining hilarious one-liners with dark subject matters of relationships spanning the 1960’s, 1980’s and 2019.

The series stars Lucy Liu (Elementary), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon A Time) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Veronica Mars) as women in from the three decades who are connected by living in the same Los Angeles mansion and experiencing infidelity in their marriages. With Marc Cherry’s signature storytelling voice and stellar performances from everyone in the cast, the series is one of the streaming services’ strongest series to date.

Actor Leo Howard, who plays Simone Grove’s (Liu) 18-year-old lover Tommy Harte, opened up to PopCulture.com about the new series and why it keeps viewers on the edge of their seat in every scene.

Howard’s Tommy was introduced in the first episode as Simone’s best friend’s son, who begins a sordid affair with her after she discovers her husband Karl (Jack Davenport) has had his own set of affairs with men.

“I kind of got a feeling that Tommy started out as a [supporting] character sort-of in the beginning of the show,” Howard told PopCulture.com in a phone interview August 29. “I think they liked the dynamic between Tommy and Simone so much that it’s barged its way throughout the season. And it ends up being a catalyst of what turns the story sort-of sour in the 80s.”

He added: “Because in the title it’s kind of expected that the show takes a dark turn at some point. So I think it’s fun for audiences to watch it to figure out when that’s going to happen.”

The show already has four episodes available for streaming, and it already effectively elevates the tension more and more with every scene. The pacing works to keep viewers guessing about when the show will be touched by murder, and it will happen at some point, Howard teased.

“That’s what I love about the show, the tension never stops building,” Howard said. “You kind of start at a one, and each episode starts to build and build [on that]. And I mean it’s fun as the audience because you’re expecting something to happen, women are going to kill.

“But the fun of it is who’s going to do the killing? And you have expectations in the beginning. I know I did, reading [the script] initially,” he added. “I thought I knew who would do the killing. And it ends up being a fun little twist on all three storylines.”

Why Women Kill premieres new episodes Thursdays on CBS All Access.