‘Desperate Housewives’ to Be Shown in China

The TV show “Desperate Housewives” will be shown in China starting Monday in a departure for a country where the government typically keeps racy and politically sensitive material off the air.

The show, a wry and steamy saga about four suburban women, will be dubbed into Mandarin and shown as three back-to-back episodes a night on state-run CCTV8, Walt Disney Co.’s international distribution arm said.

The dark comedy from Disney’s ABC network will have to compete with pirated DVD versions of the series that have been sold on Chinese street corners for less than $4.