Let's hope she fares better in Fairview than she did in Bon Temps.

After being brutally butchered in True Blood's first season as Sookie and Jason Stackhouse's Granny Adele, veteran actress Lois Smith is headed to Wisteria Lane. Lois, 79, will debut in Desperate Housewives' fifth new episode as Allison Scavo, who moves in to Lynette and Tom's home to help son Tom (Doug Savant) get over a unique case of male postpartum depression.

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"I was really excited to get Lois; I've been a fan of her work for years," says Housewives creator Marc Cherry, singling out her performances in Minority Report and a TV production of Grapes of Wrath. "One of the perks of this job is that I get to work with these wonderful actors from time to time."

Lois joins is an impressive roster of actresses who have breezed through Fairview as moms to the Housewives characters, including Carol Burnett (as Bree's stepmom) and Polly Bergen (as Lynette's boozy mama).

Cherry describes Allison as "a very traditional homemaker whose ideas of what women should be to their husbands really smacks right against Lynette's more modern views of womanhood." So far, Lois is slated for two episodes.

Who was your favorite Desperate Housewives guest parent?