by Linda Castillo
My husband and I were huge fans of “Desperate Housewives”. It was our Sunday night pleasure to cozy up in bed and watch all the drama, twists, and juicy storylines unfold. And our favorite character on the show was Gabrielle Solis played by Eva Longoria. So of course when I heard that the “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry teamed up with executive producer Eva Longoria to develop the new Lifetime serious “Devious Maids” I was immediately intrigued. The show has an amazing lineup of stars including Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Roselyn Sanchez, Edy Ganem and Judy Reyes as maids who work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.
The show’s premise has caused quite the uproar in the community with many believing that the show is perpetuating stereotypes and misrepresenting Latinas. Tanisha Ramirez from the Huffington Post wrote a harsh review stating that “Devious Maids” seems to be a wasted opportunity.” Cosmo For Latinas editor Michelle Herrera Mulligan concurred with Tanisha’s assessment saying that the show “does a tremendous disservice to the 20 million-plus Latina female population living in the United States.”
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Responding to Tanisha’s opinion that “Devious Maids” is a wasted opportunity, Eva Longoria talks about the fact that this is the first show featuring an all-Latina lead cast where the characters are not one-dimensional or limited to their job title. She responded that “Devious Maids is a show that centers on five (count ’em), five Latinas who are bonded together by their jobs, their ambitions, their dreams and their life struggles. The five women are maids by occupation only; it is what they do, not who they are.”
The verdict is still out for me. My curiosity is raised and I will be watching the premier on June 23 to see what is all about and to judge for myself. Will you be watching?
Here is a clip of the “Devious Maids” premiering on Lifetime, June 23, 2013 at 10 p.m. ET.
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of http://www.modernlatina.com/. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.