Eva Longoria: Maid Characters in “Devious Maids” Are “Really the Heroes”

The maid characters in Lifetime’s “Devious Maids” are “really the heroes,” according to the show’s co-producer, Eva Longoria. In a story published by Fox News Latino, Longoria kept on task in defending the show, which she co-produced with “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry.

Here is what the FNL piece said:

Despite recently earning her master’s degree in Chicano studies, Eva Longoria said she doesn’t consider herself an “authority” on Latinos.

But it appears some in Hollywood feel otherwise.

With the television premiere of “Devious Maids” just days away, Longoria revealed why the show’s creator Marc Cherry wanted her on board as a sort of producing mentor.

“I’m not the authority of Latinos, but I definitely have a perspective that Marc respects,” Longoria said in an interview with E! News. “I’m a very big advocate in my community and so I’m happy to contribute in that way.”

With regards to the storyline, Longoria “always wanted to make sure that the girls are the moral compass of the show and that they’re really the heroes. And you’ll see that throughout the season.”

Later in the story, FNL ran a quote that Longoria gave the Canadian press: “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.'”

The FNL story continues:

The Lifetime network, which picked up the show from ABC last June, is pulling out all the stops to attract Latino viewers.

In the statement, Lifetime’s EVP and General Manager Rob Sharenow said they were “thrilled to work with our distribution partners on making Devious Maids available in both English and Spanish.”

Sharenow said the move was done “to maximize the show’s crossover appeal among the broadest range of their customers.”

The show is based on a Mexican telenovela called “Ellas Son La Alegría Del Hogar” (They Are the Joy of Home). 

The show, which has been a heated topic in the Latino blogosphere, has now begun to make the TV review rounds.

The Tampa Bay Times’ TV and Media Critic Eric Deggans wrote the following about the show: “Echoing stereotypes to make a creative point is one thing; evoking them to serve an empty soap opera is another.”

Syndicated TV critic Chuck Barney wrote: “The bottom line is that “Devious Maids,” while certainly not perfect, is much more see-worthy than “Mistresses,” ABC’s dreadful summer soap. Moreover, it has enough kooky class warfare, sexual shenanigans and whodunit intrigue to make for some escapist summer fun. In the meantime, let’s hope that the next prime-time TV show with Latinas at the forefront aims a little higher.”

LatinoBuzz’s Vanessa Erazo wrote the following for the HuffPost: “Just to be clear, I’m not giving the show a glowing review — it’s kinda like a crappyDesperate Housewives Latina redux. I, along with every other Latina, rolled my eyes when I heard that the show was about maids. But, I think it’s important to give the show a chance and to look at it critically. Let’s dissect what it does right and what it does wrong. Then we can be better prepared to demand the kind of television programming we want to watch.”

The show premieres on June 23 at 10 p.m. EST on Lifetime.