"Pilot" is the series premiere to the Lifetime series Devious Maids. The pilot had been ordered by ABC on January 31, 2012, and cast during the following two months. Filming began in March. ABC declined to pick up the pilot on May 14, but Lifetime did so on June 22, ordering 13 episodes. Although most of the cast had been selected by this time three additional regular supporting characters were added in November 2012 for inclusion in the pilot and the continuing series.
The episode revolves around the murder of a Latina maid in Beverly Hills and the introduction of her cadre of associates who are also Latina maids. The maids are shown in their employment surroundings with their upper class employers who play supporting roles. The main character is not actually a maid but rather the mother of the primary murder subject who poses as a maid to gain entrance into the world where she might find clues to prove her son's innocence.
The pilot episode was released online in both Spanish and English on June 9, 2013, before its television debut on June 23.[1] The episode, which was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Paul McGuigan, debuted with a 1.99 rating.[2] The episode was the first episode of any television series with an all Latina leading cast, but the roles as maids was controversial due to its presentation of Latinas in stereotypical roles.[3] Nonetheless, critical feedback was generally positive.
Plot
Ana Ortiz plays Marisol, the central character of the show.
In the opening scene, Evelyn Powell (Rebecca Wisocky) gives her maid Flora (Paula Garces) the following warning "I think what you people do is heroic... You wash clothes you can't afford. You polish silver you will never dine with.... I am in awe of your determination to succeed in this great country of ours. That said, if you don't stop screwing my husband, I'm going to have you deported." Subsequently, a season-long story arc around which the show revolves begins with Flora's murder.
Flora was stabbed by a mysterious figure while scrawling a rape claim that accuses Evelyn's husband Adrian Powell (Tom Irwin). She manages to drag herself to the pool during a lavish party and falls in. At her funeral, her four maid friends Zoila (Judy Reyes), Valentina (Edy Ganem), Rosie (Dania Ramirez) and Carmen (Roselyn Sanchez) agree not to divulge their knowledge of the infidelity and its circumstances.
The employer of Zoila and her daughter Valentina, Genevieve Delatour (Susan Lucci), is enduring emotional distress. For both personal reasons and out of concern for Genevieve, Valentina comes up with the idea that Genevieve's son Remi (Drew Van Acker) should return to live at home rather than University of Southern California campus housing in order to help stabilize his mother. Zoila eventually recognizes and tries to temper Valentina's romantic interest in Remi.
Meanwhile, Rosie is fighting for her young son to join her from Mexico while working for the self-absorbed Spence (Grant Show) and Peri (Mariana Klaveno). Along with Sam Alexander (Wolé Parks) and Odessa Burakov (Melinda Page Hamilton) Carmen is a staff member for Latino music star Alejandro Rubio (Matt Cedeño) who she is trying to convince to help her start her music career. Marisol (Ana Ortiz), who is not really a maid, successfully interviews to be the fifth maid for the show as an employee of second wife Taylor (Brianna Brown) and Michael (Brett Cullen), who hires her despite objections from Taylor.
Background and production
The teleplay and story were written by series creator Marc Cherry,[4] and the episode was directed by Paul McGuigan.[5] Most filming occurred in and around Los Angeles.[5] Cherry created the show with a multiple female lead dynamic that was similar to his previous success, Desperate Housewives. His first job in Hollywood was as a personal assistant, allowing him to relate to the maid characters to some degree. He felt that Devious Maids provided a vehicle to deal with themes that Desperate Housewives did not, while being very different than the similarly themed Downton Abbey, due to Downton's historic nature.[6] The format of the show that was pitched to ABC was as a spinoff of Desperate Housewives.[7] While Roselyn Sanchez's character Carmen appeared as a gardener in the final episode of Desperate Housewives, "Finishing the Hat",[8] the final version that was produced is not strictly a spinoff.[9]
ABC ordered the pilot based on the Mexican telenovelaEllas son la Alegría del Hogar[10] (translation: "They Are the Home's Joy", which is sometimes referred to as The Disorderly Maids Of The Neighborhood), on January 31, 2012.[11]Dania Ramirez was the first lead cast member to be cast, being announced on February 15.[12]Ana Ortiz joined the cast as the central character on February 17.[13] On February 23, both Sanchez and Judy Reyes were added to the cast.[14][15] When Edy Ganem was announced in the cast on March 2 the show was still described as centering on the other four maids (Ortiz, Reyes, Sanchez and Ramirez).[16]
Eva Longoria was announced as an executive producer on March 26.[26] She had worked previously with Cherry on Desperate Housewives, and was hired to add perspective to the Latina roles.[27]ABC Studios gave Cherry permission to start making senior staffing offers for the show on May 1, which was perceived as an indication that the show would be picked up.[28]
On May 14, 2012, the pilot was not picked up by ABC for the 2012–13 United States network schedule.[29] On June 22, Lifetime picked up the pilot with a thirteen-episode order.[30][31] The network stated that they were "thrilled to be getting into business with one of entertainment’s true visionaries. This show and Marc Cherry’s unique story telling voice perfectly articulate Lifetime’s strategy of attracting top-tier creatives with their most original and exciting projects."[32]Wolé Parks was added to the cast in a regular role on November 21.[33]Melinda Page Hamilton and Matt Cedeño were added to the cast in recurring roles with the promise of promotion if the show got picked up for a second season on November 26. Both were expected to appear in the pilot episode.[34]
The episode was marketed as an important milestone in television history because it was the debut of the first television show with an all Latina leading cast.[3] However, in the days leading up to the debut, there was controversy surrounding the concept of having Latina actresses glorify the stereotypical roles of maids, nannies and gardeners.[3] On May 3, Tanisha Ramirez criticized the show in The Huffington Post as a wasted opportunity,[35] but executive producer Longoria countered that the show presents "modern day woman's view on universal themes."[36]Cosmopolitan for Latinas editor Michelle Herrera Mulligan responded to Longoria by calling the show an "insulting disgrace".[37] Cherry defended the show for its substantive themes: "Devious Maids deals with themes of racism, classism and immigration. These women all work in the homes of rich people, but they have goals and dreams that are much greater than the people they work for realize."[38]
The pilot episode was released online in both Spanish and English on June 9, 2013, before its television debut on a variety of platforms, including myLifetime.com and the Lifetime video watch app.[1] The first two episodes were available on Lifetime.[39] In the weeks before its June 23 premiere, the cast members were scheduled to host screenings around the country: Ramirez and Sanchez on June 4 in Miami, Reyes and Ganem on June 6 in Dallas, and Ortiz and Lucci on June 11 in Chicago.[40] The show's premier party was held in Los Angeles on June 17.[41]
Reception
Ratings
The episode first aired on June 23, 2013, in the United States,[42] debuting with a 1.99 rating in the 10PM (Eastern Time Zone) time slot.[2] In the adults 18-49 viewer demographic, Devious Maids posted a 0.65 rating, which lagged the 0.74 rating for The Client List's season finale the week before in the same time slot for Lifetime.[10] Cable television shows in the same time slot included the Mad Menseason 6 finale, "In Care Of", on AMC (which drew a 2.69 rating), Falling Skies on TNT (3.59 rating).[2] The shows ratings were modest compared to other Lifetime drama series debuts such as Drop Dead Diva, The Client List and Army Wives, which all had ratings close to 3 million.[43] Approximately one third of the Devious Maids viewership for the pilot (662,000) were from the Lifetime network's target demographic of women ages 25–54.[10] The pilot attracted higher ratings in subsequent weeks.[44][45]
Reviews
The show resembles Desperate Housewives in many ways, including having a "pilot" that revolves around a death, according to Daily News critic David Hinckley.[46] Hinckley states that the pilot presents each of the five main characters in a way that makes them intriguing, while tackling contemporary issues with a mix of comedy and drama.[46] Hinckley lauded the show by saying "... a Cherry drama rises or falls on the pretty simple test of whether it’s fun, and 'Devious Maids' has the right stuff to get to there."[46]Alessandra Stanley, the chief television critic for The New York Times, at first described the show as a "landmark" where the rich "Beverly Hills employers are mere foils for the real heroines, who are poor, Hispanic and striving: desperate housekeepers."[47] Stanley felt that servant heroines are a bit of an overused perspective in 2013 as is the use of tongue-in-cheek humor.[47] After describing the evolution of maid, butler and nanny roles on television, Stanley notes that this was not a show that depicts "how the other half really lives", but rather "an over-the-top dramedy".[47]
Robert Bianco of USA Today felt the show benefited from not being picked up by ABC, where it would have been in the shadow of Desperate Housewives, and from being scheduled as summer television, where its competition was weak.[48] Bianco believed that the various storylines were gracefully woven together in the scenes of the episode.[48]Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described the show as a guilty pleasure.[49] Owen stated that although the show was not original for following Desperate Housewives' path, it was good summer entertainment that managed to slip in a bit of "social satire".[49] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times panned the show's pilot, describing it as "a silly, hyperactive version of Downton Abbey", although she acknowledged that the episode had elements of The Great Gatsby (the opening murder) and West Side Story (the schoolgirl crush).[50]San Francisco Chronicle critic David Wiegand said "the pilot episode may not break any new ground, but it's energetic and funny". He also noted that "it's a hoot the first time we see the maids get the better of their shallow, self-absorbed bosses...", but he felt that this theme might lack the depth to retain audience interest.[51]
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and she was called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year. During her run on All My Children, Lucci was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won only once, in 1999, after the 19th nomination; her status as a perpetual nominee for the award had attracted significant media attention since the late 1980s.
Desperate Housewives is an American comedy drama mystery television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a total of 180 episodes. Executive producer Marc Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.
Marc Cherry is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives.
Judy Reyes is an American actress, model, and producer, best known for her roles as Carla Espinosa on the NBC/ABC medical comedy series Scrubs (2001–2009), as Zoila Diaz in the Lifetime comedy-drama Devious Maids (2013–2016), and as Annalise "Quiet Ann" Zayas in the TNT crime comedy-drama Claws (2017–2022). Reyes also appeared in the films All Together Now (2020), Smile (2022), and Birth/Rebirth (2023), for which she received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance nomination.
"Pilot" is the first episode of the American dramedy-mystery series Desperate Housewives. It premiered on October 3, 2004, on the ABC network. It was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Charles McDougall. The pilot introduces the residents of the suburban neighborhood of Wisteria Lane. Following the suicide of an outwardly successful neighbor, her friends begin to deal with the problems in their personal lives. Susan Mayer competes for the attention of a new plumber who has moved across the street; Bree Van de Kamp struggles with her failing marriage and ungrateful family; Gabrielle Solis continues an affair with her sixteen-year-old gardener; and Lynette Scavo copes with life as a stay-at-home mother of four.
Melinda Page Hamilton is an American actress, best known for her role as Odessa Burakov in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Devious Maids, and for her leading role in the independent film Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006). She has had recurring roles on Desperate Housewives, Mad Men, and Big Love.
Ana Ortiz is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred in the short-lived NBC sitcoms Kristin (2001) and A.U.S.A. (2003), and had recurring roles on Over There and Boston Legal.
Brianna Lynn Brown is an American actress and producer. She is known for her television roles as Lisa Niles in the ABC soap opera General Hospital, Taylor Stappord in the Lifetime series Devious Maids and as Claudia Blaisdel in The CW reboot series Dynasty.
Rebecca Wisocky is an American actress. Best known for her role as Evelyn Powell in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Devious Maids (2013–16), as of 2021 she is starring as Hetty Woodstone on the CBS sitcom Ghosts. She had small roles in shows such as Desperate Housewives, and had a reoccurring role as Ramdha on Star Trek: Picard.
Devious Maids is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, Paul Presburger, and Michael Garcia. It is based on the Mexican series Ellas son... la alegría del hogar created by Eugenio Derbez. It originally aired on Lifetime for four seasons from June 23, 2013, to August 8, 2016.
Witches of East End is an American television series based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Melissa de la Cruz. The series premiered on Lifetime on October 6, 2013, and ended on October 5, 2014, after two seasons. Set in the fictional seaside town of East End, it follows the lives of a family of witches – Joanna Beauchamp and her two grown-up daughters, Freya Beauchamp and Ingrid Beauchamp, as well as her sister Wendy Beauchamp.
Low Winter Sun is an American crime drama television series that aired on AMC from August 11 to October 6, 2013, for one season consisting of ten episodes. The series was developed by Chris Mundy and starred Mark Strong and Lennie James. It is based upon the 2006 British two-part miniseries of the same name which also starred Strong in the same role. Filmed and set in Detroit, Michigan, the series follows detectives Frank Agnew and Joe Geddes after they murder a corrupt cop and attempt to cover it up, and explores organized crime in Detroit. The series received generally mixed reviews and AMC announced in December 2013 that it had canceled the series.
Drop Dead Diva's fifth season premiered on June 23, 2013 and concluded on November 3, 2013, on Lifetime. Season five aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm ET and consisted of 13 episodes.
The second season of the American television comedy-drama series Devious Maids began airing on Lifetime on April 20, 2014. The season consists of 13 episodes.
The first season of the American television comedy-drama series Devious Maids began airing on Lifetime on June 23, 2013. The season consisted of 13 episodes, and concluded on September 22, 2013, with a season high of nearly 3 million viewers. The pilot episode has received positive reviews from critics. It tells the story of five Latina women who works as maids in Beverly Hills, and how they are affected when one of their friends, Flora, is murdered for knowing a secret. Marisol Suarez, tries to figure out who was the killer in order to help her son get released from prison.
The third season of the American television comedy-drama series Devious Maids premiered on Lifetime on June 1, 2015. The season consisted of 13 episodes. Lifetime renewed the show for a fourth season on September 24, 2015.
Nathan John Owens is an American actor, model, and producer. Owens portrayed Cameron Davis on Days of Our Lives and was a regular as Jesse Morgan on the Lifetime comedic-drama series Devious Maids.
The fourth and final season of the American television comedy-drama series Devious Maids was ordered on September 24, 2015. Filming began January 14, 2016, with episode titles being cleaning puns. It consisted of 10 episodes, airing from June 6 through August 8, 2016.
Grand Hotel is an American mystery drama television series developed by Brian Tanen, based on the Spanish television series Gran Hotel created by Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira. The series aired in ABC on June 17, 2019, and stars Demián Bichir, Roselyn Sanchez, Denyse Tontz, Bryan Craig, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Lincoln Younes, Anne Winters, Feliz Ramirez, and Justina Adorno. Grand Hotel is executive produced by Ramón Campos, Teresa Fernández-Valdés, Bob Daily, Bill D'Elia, Eva Longoria Bastón, Ben Spector, and Tanen. Longoria Bastón also appears on the series in a recurring role. Grand Hotel was canceled in October 2019 after one season.
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