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Dave Flebotte, the Emmy-nominated writer and producer who worked on Tulsa King, Desperate Housewives, Boardwalk Empire and The PJs, has died after a long battle with cystic fibrosis. He was 65.

Flebotte died Tuesday in a hospital in Missoula, Montana, his wife, Sandra Lindqvist, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Writing to him was everything,” she said.

Flebotte was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a youngster and was told he wouldn’t live past age 12, his wife said. He had a double lung transplant 28 years ago.

The son of a bookie, Flebotte was born in Hanson, Massachusetts. A teacher at Emerson College persuaded him to pursue a career in writing, and he began in Hollywood in the 1990s, working on TV comedies including Good Advice, The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, Ellen and Suddenly Susan.

From 1999-2000, he wrote a handful of episodes and produced the Eddie Murphy co-created Fox animated show The PJs, which earned him an Emmy nom.

Desperate Housewives premiered in 2004, and a shocking real-life crime that took place three years before served as inspiration for the hit series. Show creator Marc Cherry had a history of writing shows centered around female characters. He got his start on Golden Girls and co-created the short-lived The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, but Desperate Housewives was, and still remains, his biggest success. However, the dark inspiration for the series might explain why Desperate Housewives was passed on by multiple networks before ABC picked it up.

The series ended up running on ABC for eight seasons, but Desperate Housewives never got a season 9 due to Cherry’s decision to end the show on his own terms. He didn’t want the series to go on any longer than it needed to, and was able to wrap up all the housewives’ stories, though not before putting them through a lot of trauma along the way.

Image Source: Getty / Michael Loccisano

Although it's dark and gruesome, it's hard to not become obsessed with HBO's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's mystery thriller Sharp Objects. It flaunts dreamy visual language, chilling nonlinear storytelling, and, of course, an incredibly talented cast. Besides the obvious headliners like Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, you'll even recognize the talented forces behind minor characters, like Adora's chatty friend Annie.

In the fourth episode of the HBO series, Camille meets up with her mother's friends, who engage in wine-fueled gossip about Wind Gap's recent deaths. In the circle of women, pearl-donning Annie is especially enthusiastic about making speculations, demanding that Camille spill tea about the case. In the conversation, we learn that her love for gossip is as strong as her razor-sharp zingers. There's a moment when Jackie accuses Bob Nash of the murder since she's caught him staring at her chest. Annie,...

The fate of Gcb, one of our favorite new shows, will be decided in the next few weeks, and right now, there's a 50/50 chance it'll survive. If it does get canceled, at least it'll instantly become a member of what we'll call the Arrested Development/Freaks & Geeks/Firefly club. Shows that were canceled before their time, and have gained cult status since they left the airwaves.

All of those programs have rabid enthusiastic followers, and in the case of Firefly and Arrested Development, that fan enthusiasm has directly led to big screen resurrections.

We're hoping Gcb gets a renewal, but while we wait, let's take a look at a few other shows throughout the years that were unfairly snuffed out, and picture ... what might have been.

Pushing Daisies

ABC (October 3, 2007 – June 13, 2009)

Featuring a stellar cast, including Lee Pace, the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth, and Anna Friel as Dead Zooey Deschanel, Pushing Daisies...

When Parks and Recreation introduced us to Ron’s ex, Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally), we were scared. Or so we thought. Now that the NBC hitcom’s season finale has suggested that we’re about to meet her predecessor, Tammy 1, we know the true meaning of fear. What we don’t know is who’s gonna play the queen of mean. A few suggestions:

Glenn Close | We can already hear the Fatal Attraction psycho snarling, “I’m not gonna be ignored, Ron!” Hence, my shuddering on this sweaty May day. And wouldn’t you agree, if she’s ever gonna get...