This Series Needed to Be Dusted Off

SAN DIEGO -- Eva Longoria actually tried to defend a series she had agreed to co-produce about Latinas cast as housekeepers. But in the process, the Mexican-American television star came across as, well, desperate.

The program - "Devious Maids, which was set to debut this fall on ABC -- was, if you'll excuse the expression, the brainchild of Marc Cherry. One would expect more from the creator of the hit show "Desperate Housewives," which starred Longoria and recently wrapped up its final season.

Casting Latinas as maids isn't much of a stretch creatively. In fact, Lupe Ontiveros, a Mexican-American actress from an earlier generation, estimates that she has played a maid on screen as many as 300 times.

Fortunately, in a burst of good taste and common sense, ABC decided not to pick up the series.

Based on the popular Mexican telenovela "The Disorderly Maids of the Neighborhood," it would have revolved around four women who worked as maids in Beverly Hills. The maids were to have been played by actresses Judy Reyes, Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez and Roselyn Sanchez. Susan Lucci of "All My Children" was slated to play one of the rich employers.

When critics sounded off, Longoria got defensive.

"They are the leads of the show, and they are playing maids, which is a realistic reflection of our society today in America," she told the Huffington Post. "When we get any sort of backlash for -- 'Oh, they're playing the stereotypical maids' -- my immediate response is, 'So you're telling me those stories aren't worth telling, that those people are lesser than, that their stories aren't worth exploring, that they have no complexity in their life because they're a maid?'"

A realistic reflection? Seriously?

Longoria needs a new mirror. I don't know what society she lives in. But in the one I'm familiar with, Latinas are reflected in the medical and legal professions, run major corporations and huge nonprofit organizations, and excel in a variety of fields ranging from education to academia to media to law enforcement.

This gives me an idea. Listen up, ABC. You want to feature Latinas in lead roles? Glad to hear it. I'd like to propose a new television series about the adventures of four Latinas. One is a Supreme Court justice (Sonia Sotomayor). One is the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA (Anna Maria Chavez). One is the governor of New Mexico (Susana Martinez). And one is the co-owner of the Colorado Rockies, a major league baseball team (Linda Alvarado).

As for Longoria's burning desire to tell the stories of housekeepers (not to mention, make a fortune, if the show were successful), "Devious Maids" wasn't exactly a documentary. This was going to be a weekly television show played for laughs with sexy Latinas who would probably spend much of their time trying to avoid the advances of their male bosses. This sort of mind candy might keep viewers amused and entertained. But how does it help explore the "complexity" of being a maid? It doesn't.

Defenders of the proposed series were quick to compare it to the acclaimed film "The Help," which told the compelling stories of African-American women working as maids in Mississippi at the start of the civil rights movement.

There is a big difference between the two projects. By the time that audiences were exposed to "The Help," they had already seen, over the years, African-Americans on screen cast in roles ranging from police detectives to university professors to federal judges. So viewers knew that being a housekeeper wasn't the extent of the experience of African-American women.

Unfortunately, you can't say that about Latinas at this point. Longoria said it herself. In her view, anyone who casts Latinas as maids is just being "realistic."

We can do better. Latinos represent 16 percent of the U.S. population, on their way to an estimated 25 percent by 2040. Yet, according to data obtained by the Screen Actors Guild, Latinos only get about 4 percent of television roles. And this includes guest appearances where a character has only one line. It's pathetic.

But then, you'll have to excuse the television studios. They're hampered by geography. They're based in Los Angeles, and where would you find Latinos there? Oh yeah. At half the population of the city, just about all over town.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.