WHEN Marc Cherry’s (Desperate Housewives) name popped up as the creator of Devious Maids, it immediately piqued the interest of viewers. This was further heightened by Eva Longoria being listed an executive producer.
And the storyline about a group of five close-knit maids – Marisol Suarez (Ana Ortiz of Ugly Betty fame), Rosie Falta (Dania Ramirez), Carmen Luna (Roselyn Sánchez), Zoila Diaz (Judy Reyes) and Valentina Diaz (Edy Ganem) – to the Beverly Hills rich and powerful smacked of intrigue, deception, danger, drama and romance – especially with them trying to find out who killed Flora Hernandez.
Once again, Cherry opted for his conventional treatment of the story, which is marked by a fair amount of comedy and scandal to offset the intensely dramatic scenes.
Last season ended with several cliffhangers. Valentina ran off to be with Remi in Africa, aspiring singer Carmen found herself having to choose between the man she loves and the fame she seeks and Rosie’s life came crashing down when she was arrested thanks to the machinations of a vengeful Peri Westmore.
This season, Cherry has upped the hunk factor by adding British model and actor, Dominic Adams, as Tony, the bodyguard to the Powells, and Colin Woodell as Ethan Sinclair.
So what’s in store for season two?
First, Marisol has cleaned up really nicely. And she has landed herself a well-heeled and gorgeous man – Nicholas Deering (Mark Deklin). Of course, the path to romance isn’t that easy. His maid Opal (Joanna P Adler) seems to harbour much resentment towards Marisol – to the point where it seems like she is deliberately sabotaging her relationship with Nicholas.
Meanwhile, the family dynamics between Zoila and her wilful daughter Valentina remain strained, especially after Valentina decides to work for the Powells.
Then there’s the lovesick Rosie and Spencer, who find themselves in another love conundrum. And Carmen seems to be getting a big head as Alejandro’s “fake girlfriend”.
And the Powells’ marriage appears to be back on track, well, that was until Adrian revealed his weakness – fear. The situation isn’t helped with his wife dabbling in cougar territory with their perfectly chiselled bodyguard prancing around.
This season seems to be shrouded in several new mysteries, one of which is centred on Opal. Then there are the robberies that have been taking place in the neighbourhood, which end in tragedy for one of the characters.
Oh, and Zoila learns that she is preggers again.
In a chat with TVLine, executive producer Sabrina Wind revealed: “Zoila’s baby daddy is a big deal. Rosie gets a happy ending with Mr Spence, but the happiness just couldn’t last long enough. The devious writers wouldn’t have it that way.”
And Cherry added, in another interview: “When I first wrote the pilot, I was choosing to introduce her (Marisol) as a woman on a mission. And I knew that would play great for the first season. But the question was, what to do about Marisol? So I knew before I even started the first season that, in the second season, Marisol marries a rich man and has a devious maid working for her. So she becomes one of the employers…”
On the backlash from season one over the Latino typecasting of the central characters, he revealed: “This season, Marisol will have a white woman as her maid. And we had Odessa (Melinda Page Hamilton), who is Russian, working in Alejandro’s house. So we are trying to diversify a little bit.”
Although Longoria directed the first episode, Cherry is hoping to write a special role for her in the series at some point.
In the meantime, viewers can indulge in the dirty little secrets, drama and plotting for another entertaining season.
• Devious Maids airs on Vuzu Amp (DStv channel 114) on Mondays at 7.30pm.