Lifetime's 'Devious Maids' is devilishly entertaining

Lifetime
From left: Ana Ortiz, Edy Ganem, Judy Reyes, Dania Ramirez and Roselyn Sanchez in "Devious Maids." Lifetime photo
11 minutes ago  •  By Gail Pennington gpennington@post-dispatch.com

They’re not really devious, and one of them isn’t actually a maid. But “Devious Maids,” adapted from a telenovela — a Spanish-language soap opera — by Marc Cherry (“Desperate Housewives”), is just as juicy and entertaining as the title suggests.

Like “Desperate Housewives” before it, “Devious Maids” starts with a death. This is no spoiler; the murder that happens before the opening titles sets the whole story in motion.

Flora (Paula Garces) was being preyed on sexually by her creepy employer, Adrian Powell (Tom Irwin). His wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Wisocky), confronts her with a condescending speech about “you people” and “your determination to succeed in this great country of ours.”

That said, she warns, if Flora doesn’t stop sleeping with her husband, “I’m going to have you deported — comprende?”

Not necessary. Quickly, Flora is dead, and an arrest is made. But is the person who was charged really guilty?

That’s a subject for debate even among Flora’s friends, the other maids who work in the nearby mansions in Beverly Hills.

They’re a diverse and appealing group: Carmen (Roselyn Sanchez), an aspiring singer; Rosie (Dania Ramirez), a widow with a son back in Mexico; Zoila and Valentina (Judy Reyes and Edy Ganem), mother and daughter; and newcomer Marisol (Ana Ortiz), whose employers think she has “an attitude” because she’s educated and has no accent.

All they really have in common is that they clean rich people’s houses. And that’s why, long before its premiere, “Devious Maids” drew sharp criticism from Latino advocacy groups for advancing the stereotype that all Latina women are maids and showing the cast with mops and buckets.

Executive producer Eva Longoria, in a Huffington Post column, countered that the show is an opportunity to break the stereotype by providing “a deeper, more complex side to the women who live beyond the box that some choose to put them in.”


In the two episodes provided for preview, the maids are not portrayed in an insulting way. All are smart and, in various ways, going after what they want. Even the more cliched storylines, including one in which young Valentina tries to land her employer’s handsome (and rich) son, is portrayed with sympathy and surprising nuance.

Nuance, in a Marc Cherry show? Never fear; the silliness here is well supplied by the employers, some of whom are cartoonishly horrible. The worst of the bunch are the Powells, who don’t even clean up after the murder because they can’t find a maid to do it for them.

Rooting for the housekeepers to teach these awful people a lesson is one good reason to watch “Devious Maids.” But so is getting to meet all these interesting, likable Latina women.
MEET THE ‘MAIDS’

Flora Hernandez (Paula Garces) works for the Powells (Tom Irwin and Rebecca Wisocky) and is victimized by him sexually. Her murder before the opening titles sets the story in motion.

Marisol Duarte (Ana Ortiz) is newly hired by the newly married Stappords (Brianna Brown and Brett Cullen). But she has an ulterior motive for wanting to join the community of maids.

Rosie Falta (Dania Ramirez) is a widow whose young son is back in Mexico, while she raises a baby for two wildly self-absorbed actors (Grant Show and Mariana Klavenko).

Carmen Luna (Roselyn Sanchez) is an aspiring singer working as a maid for a pop superstar (Matt Cedeno) and wrangling with his terrifying housekeeper (Melinda Page Hamilton).

Zoila Diaz (Judy Reyes) and Valentina Diaz (Edy Ganem) are a mother and daughter who work for wealthy and emotionally fragile Genevieve (Susan Lucci). Valentina likes Genevieve’s son, Remi (Drew Van Acker).


What “Devious Maids” • When 9 p.m. Sundays • Where Lifetime • More info mylifetime.com/shows/devious-maids