L-r: Roselyn Sanchez, Dania Ramirez, Judy Reyes
Mark Cherry’s dubiously named nighttime soap, starring four talented Latinas, finds a home on cable…
As ABC’s Desperate Housewives was rolling out its last original episodes before retirement, Marc Cherry pitched a new pilot, cleverly titled Devious Maids, hoping–most likely–that the familiar adjective/plural noun construction would make everyone think the shows were somehow related. They weren’t; in fact Cherry based the new show on the popular telenovela from Mexico, Ellas son la Alegria del Hogar, which doesn’t translate as “devious maids” at all (actually, it’s something closer to They are the Joy of the Home.)
Lifetime is picking up the series for a 13-episode run, premiering sometime in 2013.
ABC approved the making of the pilot, and Cherry recruited a remarkably strong cast, including a host of beautiful and accomplished Latinas for the leads: Ana Ortiz, star, along with Susan Lucci, Edy Ganem, Grant Show, Brianna Brown, Rebecca Wisocky, Tom Irwin, Mariana Klaveno, Brett Cullen and Drew Van Acker. There was a certain amount of grumbling about the title and the implicit concept even at the beginning–simply put: “Just what we need: a show about dishonest Latinos.” The discomfort was shrugged off for a while, then later defended by Eva Longoria, who joined the project after the pilot’s completion as one of its many executive producers. (Michael Garcia, a relative newcomer to the producing game, is also on e.p. on the show.)
At first, buzz about the show was good. Cherry even started staffing up for the anticipated greenlight from the network. Then–ironically enough–on the day that the last episode of Housewives aired, Cherry got the word: ABC was passing on the show. There was, of course, much talking about taking the show elsewhere. ABC had done this kind of thing before, most recently ‘allowing’ Cougar Town (featuring Ian Gomez in the ensemble) to move to TNT.
Fade to this week, when the official announcement came: Lifetime is picking up the series for a 13-episode run, premiering sometime in 2013. It’s not a complete surprise: Lifetime’s relatively long-running series Army Wives also comes from ABC Productions, just like Devious.
There is a fair amount of queasiness among some concerning the title and the possible content. While the Mexican series had a gentler name, the storylines themselves did, in fact, chronicle the adventures of a bunch of Mexican maids who were, well, devious. Will those unsympathetic portrayals be moving across the border? And there seems to be a general lack of appreciation about the potential racist element. When Ellas son la Alegria del Hogar was produced, it’s true: all the maids were Mexican, just as in the North American Maids. But then all the rich people were Mexican, too, and that’s certainly not the case in the U.S. adaptation. In fact, rumors (via Deadline.com) indicate that the only wealthy Latina character in the pilot, played by Angelique Cabral, will “likely be eliminated” as the show goes through the inevitable tweaks and changes as it moves from ABC to LIFE (Pay cuts and lower production costs across the board are likely part of the transition, too. The air isn’t quite as rich as you move down the dial.) And though the series is set in Beverly Hills, the production is moving to Atlanta because of its attractive tax incentive, like Drop Dead Diva and other before it.
Generally, of course–as with ¡Rob! and Work It! before it, just last season–many in the Latino community find themselves conflicted. Yes, it’s nice to see so many deserving Latina actresses getting regular work, and yes–as Longoria pointed out–the stories of maids and their lives are just as worth telling as the story of Latino doctor, attorneys, and politicians. On the other hand…is that title–not even a clean translation of the Mexican show–really necessary? And those potential story lines…hmm. And then there’s the almost complete lack of any other new and admirable Latino roles on TV this year. It makes it hard to accept Devious Maids with open arms. Maybe the best we can hope for is a sincere, if guarded, “wait and see” attitude.
In any event, congrats to Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Dania Ramirez, Roselyn Sanchez and the others in front and behind the camera. We’ll let you know what happens next…
Previous articles on this subject here, here and here.
