Despite mixed reviews among the community, Eva Longoria’s buzzed about new show “Devious Maids” is pulling out all the stops to attract Latino viewers.
Beginning Sunday, the pilot episode of the Longoria-produced show will be available on digital platforms in both English and Spanish. And following the June 23 premiere, the network will make each subsequent episode available in both languages the day after its Sunday night airing.
The Lifetime network, which picked up the show from ABC last June, said they were “thrilled to work with our distribution partners on making Devious Maids available in both English and Spanish.”
In the statement, Lifetime’s EVP and General Manager Rob Sharenow said the move was done “to maximize the show’s crossover appeal among the broadest range of their customers.”
Centering on five Latina maids, played by Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramírez, Roselyn Sánchez, Edy Ganem and Judy Reyes, the drama follows the women as they work for Beverly Hills rich and famous. They form a strong bond after a fellow housecleaner is murdered.
The show is based on a Mexican telenovela called "Ellas Son La Alegría Del Hogar" (They Are the Joy of Home).
Marc Cherry, who also created “Desperate Housewives,” developed the show and recruited Longoria to sign on.
But since putting her name on the project as one of the executive producers, Longoria has faced criticism for perpetrating Latino stereotypes.
But she told the Canadian Press on Tuesday that she believes "with the demographics of the United States changing rapidly, we should represent our diverse country on television.”
"It's a fact that we do make up a large percentage of domestic workers, and so when somebody criticizes us saying, 'Why are you telling their stories, it's so stereotypical?' I always say back, 'You're telling me their stories aren't worth telling, that maids are not complex, that they don't have a life, that they don't have a story to tell, and they do.'"
She said it’s the first show to ever have five Latina leads in television.
Longoria was also quick to dismiss the criticism that "a white male is writing these Latina characters."
"Well, he's also a white male who wrote 'Desperate Housewives,'" she said of Cherry. "So it's like, you just have to be a good writer and have good content, and the show has really nothing to do with race…It's a really great drama, it's a great mystery and it's a lot of fun."
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