ABC's Sunday smash "Desperate Housewives" has emerged as one of the TV season's bona fide phenomena, a bracingly original water-cooler show that has been embraced by critics and viewers across the country.

All the ensuing hoopla is great fun, says "Desperate" cast member James Denton, but it pales next to something else every actor craves -- job security.

"To tell the truth, it's more relief than anything else," says the 42-year-old actor, who plays hunky Wisteria Lane plumber Mike Delfino on the tongue-in-cheek soap. "I've been on so many shows that were always 'on the bubble,' where you're constantly looking over your shoulder, waiting for the suits to arrive on the set and pull the plug.

"'Desperate Housewives' is a whole different paranoia for the actors: Everybody is scared they're going to get killed off, which is kind of different. Otherwise, it's just nice to go to work knowing that the network is behind us 200 percent."

So far, only one prominent character -- Martha Huber, the neighborhood busybody played by Christine Estabrook -- has actually met her maker on the show. This is not counting Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), whose startling suicide launched the show with such a literal bang last fall.

While there's a distinct undercurrent of menace and possible violence to the series, however, Denton is optimistic that Mike is going to be around for a while. For one thing, his romance with neighbor Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) is a front-burner story line. For another -- well, series creator Marc Cherry finally told him what's in store for Mike.

"For a long time, Marc resisted telling us what was going to be happening with our characters, partly because he didn't want us to feel awkward in interviews where we couldn't reveal certain things," Denton says. "But a couple of situations have come up in Mike's story where I needed to know some things that haven't been revealed to the audience or the other characters, so Marc finally just sat down and told me everything."

Denton doesn't want to spoil any surprises, but he's willing to clarify some important plot points. For example, Mike really is a plumber, although viewers will soon discover that he does have a somewhat darker side in upcoming episodes.

"When they aired the pilot, which ended showing Mike with a gun and having a questionable phone call, a lot of viewers understandably jumped to the conclusion that he was a cop or an FBI man or something," Denton says. "That's what I love about Marc Cherry's sense of humor. Nope, Mike's just a plumber with a gun."

He also has some surprises due to unfold any week now, the actor adds.

"There are a couple of huge bombs to be dropped about Mike and the big story line about Mary Alice's suicide, although I'm not going to say they're connected," Denton says. "I was happy to hear that, because any time you have an audience going along for the ride with you, you want them to be satisfied, so you don't want the payoff to be: 'I was in the shower all year.' No, this payoff is very smart, and I think everyone will be well-satisfied."

He's also grateful to add some new layers to his character, who has been Susan's knight in shining armor in many respects. That may win him sighs from female viewers, but bland niceness doesn't give an actor a lot to sink his teeth into.

"It's actually kind of interesting, this delicate balance we have to maintain, because you want Mike to be edgy enough to be interesting, but he also has to be a good enough person that the audience wants him and Susan to end up together."

Don't look for their romance to get smoother anytime soon.

"We had thought the triangle, which includes Nicolette Sheridan's Edie, had pretty much played itself out, but that hasn't proven to be the case, which is great because Nicolette is so much fun to work with," Denton says. "That leaves us free to play with the TV convention of bringing Mike and Susan together, then breaking us up, then bringing us back together."

Denton's amorous exploits with television's housewives aren't limited to his ABC gig, either. On Friday, Feb. 4, he guest stars on The WB sitcom "Reba," playing a marriage counselor who gets the title character (Reba McEntire) and her nemesis, Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman), in a romantic lather.

He agreed to the gig largely because "Reba" executive producer Kevin Abbott hired Denton for one of his first major Hollywood gigs: a busted 1998 sitcom pilot.

"When Kevin asked me if I would be interested, I jumped at it, because I love him and I'm a big fan of Reba's, being a Nashville kid," says Denton, a native of the Tennessee capital. "I had an episode off [on 'Housewives'], so the timing, everything, was right.

"We had a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing it," he adds. "Reba is just very good, naturally. But then, all those actors are just fantastic. It's a real shame that show doesn't get more promotion, because those actors are doing some really good work. I had a great time with them."

Otherwise, Denton is enjoying the fact that the large cast on "Housewives" means that even a major player like him gets ample time off to spend with wife Erin and their son, Sheppard, who turns 2 in March, the same month they await the birth of a daughter.

"And that will be it for us," he says. "We're really fortunate in that we were hoping to have one of each, and our family will be complete in March. With 10 series regulars and so many story lines, this show is just a perfect scenario when raising kids."