Alyssa Milano has been in fairly racy series in her television career, such as the bed-hopping-crazy “Melrose Place,” but she needed persuading to star in a drama called “Mistresses.” By its very title, not to mention its ongoing focus on infidelity, the ABC primetime soap seemed to the veteran actress to be a potential lightning rod.

Milano, who eventually signed on as one of the four leading ladies, said she could just imagine the angry tweets when word leaked about a U.S. version of the hit BBC series.

“I thought people would say, ‘How can you be involved in a show that glamorizes cheating?’” Milano said recently from her L.A.-area home. “So one of the first things I needed to know was that the show had more depth than that.”

Instead of being a series about stereotypical home wreckers and stalkers, “Mistresses” deals with the fallout of adulterous spouses, said Milano, whose married character isn’t technically a mistress but does stray with a handsome colleague. “She messes up, she crosses the line, and it doesn’t just affect her marriage, it affects her whole family, her workplace, her friendships,” Milano said. “She’s a genuinely good person who does a bad thing. I think people will be able to relate to that.”

Of the series’ other stars — Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan — only Kim’s character, a therapist, slept with a married man. The aftermath of that relationship, as viewers learn in the first episode, is messy, complicated and possibly career-ending for her.

The British show on which “Mistresses” — which premieres June 3 — is based ran for three successful seasons. Some critics called the original “popcorn television” for its lightweight, addictive quality, though it veered into darker territory as it unfolded.

The Americanized version borrows freely from the source material but adds its own tweaks and twists aimed at hooking in devotees as well as the uninitiated, its producers said. But even those producers, who were ardent fans of the original, said they weren’t on board initially to remake the show with the same name.

“I said, ‘Absolutely not,’” said K.J. Steinberg, executive producer. “I know there’s something extraordinarily provocative about the title, but it’s a big hurdle to get over.”

Rina Mimoun, an executive producer who noted that she was a women’s studies major in college, said she understood that there was equity, and sex appeal, in the brand.

But she and Steinberg wanted to make sure they could center the story on the four characters’ strong bonds rather than their indiscretions and romances. “It would be easy to go for the salacious and the shock value,” Mimoun said. “But we looked for a very grounded way to tell stories about female friendships.”

In one example early in the series, Aytes’ character, a widowed mom, is shocked and angry when she finds out Milano’s character had sex with a co-worker. The affair is unforgivable to her because she just learned that her late husband had a secret life, a mistress and an out-of-wedlock child.

“These women are each others’ moral compasses,” Milano said. “The characters are very honest with each other. They’re judgmental like the audience at home will be.”

The show, for all its steaminess and skin, does include some laughs, though it won’t veer into wacky “Desperate Housewives” territory, Steinberg said. It was important to hire writers with comedy experience, she said, so the mood and tone of the show match its sunny L.A. setting.

Still, it’s firmly rooted in melodrama, even though its four beautiful protagonists might draw comparisons to HBO’s seminal comedy “Sex and the City.” (Their clothes are fabulous too, if slightly more modest).

The show’s producers agree that broadcast TV pushes boundaries these days, starting with a name like “Mistresses” that likely wouldn’t have flown even a decade ago. But times have changed, they said, pointing to high divorce rates in this country, and audiences are used to adult content on cable.

“We hope the title will be intriguing enough to lure people in,” Steinberg said, “but that the show is dimensional enough to surprise them, in a good way.”

BURBANK, Calif. — Alyssa Milano is set to show off a very sexy side of her acting chops as Savannah, in ABC’s “Mistresses,” premiering next month, but she said her husband, David Bugliari, is fine with it.

“My husband is really good with all this stuff and I don’t know how because if the role was reversed I would be totally freaking out,” Alyssa told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover for Friday’s Access Hollywood Live. “That’s why I never really dated actors because I always got jealous of their co-stars, because you spend so much time with them.”

In the series, which premieres on June 3 at 10/9c on ABC, Alyssa plays Savannah, a lawyer with a hot husband, Harry Davis (Brett Tucker). But, troubles in her marriage and a very flirty co-worker Dominic (played by Jason George) could send her eye wandering.

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Although the title of the show is “Mistresses” (it’s based on the UK show of the same name), Alyssa told Billy and Kit the drama may surprise viewers who tune in.

“I think that the great thing about the show is [that if] the title is what people are going to tune into, they will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of heart that the show has,” she said.

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Alyssa and her co-stars completed filming the first 13 episodes of the show, and now it is time to let the viewers check it out.

“I’m nervous about this premiere, by the way, and it’s the first time I’ve ever been,” she said.

“There’s a lot at stake because we’ve finished shooting the 13 episodes, so I feel like I know this person and I created this character and I just hope people sort of respond to it,” she added.

While on screen she plays a busy working woman hoping for a child, Alyssa herself is mom to son Milo, who heads into his toddler phase, when he turns 2 later this summer.

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“I have to tell you… I am so in love. It’s the craziest, most terrifying love I’ve ever felt in my life,” she said of her feelings for her little boy.

“Mistresses” premieres June 3 at 10/9c on ABC.

Mistress \ˈmis-trəs\ (noun): A woman who has power, authority or ownership; a woman who has achieved mastery in some field; a woman who has the power to control or dispose of something at her own pleasure; a woman, other than his wife, with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship

Up to now almost everything we’ve seen about Mistresses, from its titillating promos to its sultry images, has suggested the show’s main focus lies heavily with that latter definition; home-wreckers, adulterers, the “other” women. Don’t let ABC’s marketing fool you. Despite the romantic entanglements, the series has substance and heart.

This tantalizing new show from K. J. Steinberg surprisingly, delightfully, and cleverly incorporates each definition of the title. The end result? A sizzling summer soap with the perfect balance of smart and sex(y). Based on the U.K. series of the same name, ABC’s Mistresses stars Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes, and Jes Macallan as four very attractive, but multifarious friends who are grappling with how to handle the word’s role – and its various connotations – in their lives.

The pilot’s first moments are incredibly deceiving and you may feel the urge to turn the channel. Fight that urge. It will be rewarded with some real life humor and later on some well-written drama. In these early moments we experience our first character introductions, as we see the show’s sister duo Savannah Davis (Alyssa Milano) and Josslyn Carver (Jes Macallan) in “action.” Shortly after this we meet the other half of the dynamic group, which includes Karen Kim (Yunjin Kim) and April Malloy (Rochelle Aytes). The chemistry between these four actresses is strong out of the gate. Their scenes together are the most honest and revealing for the characters. They also feel the most natural and believable, showcasing the strength of the show’s writing and cast. This is not Days of Our Lives folks. The world of our mistresses’ is shrewd and authentic.

Savannah, also known as Savie, is a married attorney working her way up the ladder. She’s also trying to conceive with her husband Harry (Brett Tucker), a successful chef with his own restaurant. They hit a wall, however, when they find out that Harry’s sperm isn’t ideal for conception. Feeling inadequate, Harry distances himself aggressively from Savie at a time when what she wants the most is to reconnect. Jossyln is on a different end of the spectrum character-wise. The first time we see her is in a tryst with her immediate boss. Jossyln is an agent for a large Realtor, and spends her down time getting down with men better kept at working relationship distance. She’s smart, but a risk taker; the free spirit of the bunch. While Savie’s power comes from the control her professional life affords her, Jossyln’s is derived from her sexuality.

Karen’s story is the most complicated of the four. She is a psychiatrist, but was having an affair with her patient, Thomas Grey (guest star John Schneider). To make matters worse, she is close to his family. When he dies Karen is thrust into their mourning process which forces her to confront her reality as the other woman. Karen’s situation goes from bad to near uncomfortable when Thomas’ son, Sam (Erik Stocklin), approaches Karen for counseling and falls for her. April is probably the most conventional of the group. She, like Karen, is mourning the loss of a love, but her husband died 3 years prior. She is still fighting with herself about whether it’s okay to move on. Karen’s story takes an interesting turn when she discovers that the man she was faithful to – even in death – was having an affair. To add fuel to the fire, he had a child she never knew existed.

Milano does an excellent job as the clear-headed woman of the group. She also gives a pretty strong performance as an empathetic adulterer. Savie is losing her power; she cannot control how her husband feels or the disconnect growing between them. Understandably, she turns to her desire to connect as it’s something she can control. Josslyn, on the other hand, moves out of a relationship she has lost control of and into one where she may hold all, if not most, of the power. One can only assume that her suggestive comment to Alex (Shannyn Sossamon), one half of the lesbian couple she is helping pick a home, means she’s making a move. This has the potential to be one of the more interesting relationships on the show if it does come into fruition. Despite both women having very different personalities, their connection is pretty organic.

Kim was a scene stealer in her softer moments, and her character’s storyline may be host for the show’s most provocative on screen moments. Battling the necessity for professionalism while her own romantic desires possibly grow for another client (and younger man) should be great fodder for her character development. April’s storyline will prove to have its own unique challenges, but it has already set itself apart from the other three characters’; April is the only person who has not or is not currently engaging in infidelity. She is the victim of it. Hopefully the writers take this opportunity to create some solid dramatic tension for Aytes. April fighting with her own feelings, while trying to support friends doing the very thing that hurt her, is something a lot of people can relate to.

None of Mistresses‘ women are perfect, but that’s what makes this show so compelling. You know these women, if you don’t already feel you are one of them. Even if you don’t connect on a personal level, you at the very least sympathize. Relationships are never easy, but infidelity makes love harder. Each of these women in their own ways is trying to keep the love they have, whether they are the woman or the mistress. A smart, engaging, and well-written look at women, love, power, and the interconnected relationship between all three, Mistresses is certain to appeal on some level to (nearly) every woman.

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