"Desperate Housewives" ended its fifth year on a high note as the season-long mystery was solved and all seemed as well as it ever can be for the women of Wisteria Lane. In the two-hour finale, there was a wedding, an affair, a pregnancy and an adoption. But can all this drama get the show back into the Emmy race for best comedy series?

"Desperate Housewives" has contended only once for TV's top prize. That was back in 2005 for its first smash-hit season. The ratings winner lost to the last year of "Everybody Loves Raymond." For Seasons 2 and 3, the show did make the top 10 as determined by a popular vote of academy members. However, it failed to impress the judging panels enough to earn a place in the final list of nominees. And last year, "Desperate Housewives" didn't even make the top 10 despite continued good ratings.

This year, the Emmy Awards nominating process has been revised to eliminate the juried runoff. Now the contenders will be determined solely by popular ballot. "Desperate Housewives" ranks No. 9 for the seasons with an average audience of 14.5 million. The only other comedy in the top 20 is "Two and a Half Men," which sits in 11th place with 9.8 million viewers.

Ironically, that mancentric sitcom seems to have taken the place of these wily women in the lineup of Emmy-nominated comedy series. The traditional three-camera sitcom has landed a nod in each of the last three years, while the single-camera hour-long dramedy has been snubbed.

After being written off by many TV critics, "Desperate Housewives" took a big risk this season and shifted the story ahead five years. This fast forward offered a chance for a much-needed reboot. However, while the show has sizzled in some episodes this season — most notably in the demise of Edie — the finale got mixed reviews.