Development The plot is based on the Mexican
TV series Ellas son... la Alegría del Hogar, which translates in English as "They Are... the Joy of the Home" and was heavily influenced by Cherry's previous series
Desperate Housewives. The Mexican series is based on an original concept by Gloria Calzada, Juan Meyer, and Salvador Rizo. The American adaptation was to follow four maids with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in
Beverly Hills, California. ABC ordered the pilot on January 31, 2012. Actress
Eva Longoria was announced as an executive producer on March 26. She had worked previously with Cherry on
Desperate Housewives, and was hired to add perspective to the Latina roles.
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. On May 14, 2012, the pilot was not picked up by ABC for the
2012–13 United States network schedule. However, on June 22, 2012, Lifetime picked up the pilot with a thirteen-episode order. In May 2012,
Roselyn Sánchez made a cameo appearance in the final episode of
Desperate Housewives, "
Finishing the Hat", as her character Carmen Luna. ,
Judy Reyes,
Susan Lucci,
Rebecca Wisocky, and
Mariana Klaveno at an event in October 2013 After a series of constant cliffhangers and ongoing drama, the season 1 finale became its highest-rated episode, with 3 million viewers. Season 2, on the other hand, averaged 1.8 million total viewers per episode. The premiere episode of season 3 drew in 1.5 million viewers.
Casting Dania Ramirez was the first lead cast member to be cast, being announced on February 15.
Ana Ortiz joined the cast as the central character on February 17. On February 23, both Sanchez and
Judy Reyes were added to the cast. 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; Ortiz's character was later changed to a professor who posed as a maid).
Rebecca Wisocky joined the cast on February 23. Most of the other supporting roles were filled in during March:
Brianna Brown (March 6);
Susan Lucci,
Drew Van Acker and
Brett Cullen (all March 9);
Mariana Klaveno and
Grant Show (both March 12); and
Tom Irwin (March 16). After the pilot episode was picked to series by Lifetime,
Wolé Parks was added to the cast in a regular role on November 21.
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.
Valerie Mahaffey also made cameo in pilot, and later had recurring role as Olivia Rice. Several actors from
Desperate Housewives had roles in
Devious Maids.
Richard Burgi,
Andrea Parker, Jolie Jenkins,
Patrika Darbo,
Dakin Matthews,
Liz Torres who previously appeared in
Desperate Housewives, have guest roles in this series. For the second season, four new series regular actors were added for the show. Wolé Parks and Brett Cullen did not return for the second season, while Brianna Brown made a guest-appearance. Mariana Klaveno was reduced to recurring status in the second season. Stage actress
Joanna P. Adler was cast in main role of a new mystery maid, Opal, in December 2013. Newcomer
Dominic Adams was cast as Tony, the bodyguard, and
Colin Woodell was cast as his son, Ethan Sinclair.
Mark Deklin joined the cast as Nicholas Deering, Marisol's new love interest.
Tricia O'Kelley joined the cast in the recurring role of Tanya. For the third season,
Gilles Marini was upped to series regular after appearing in the season two finale. Season one star Brianna Brown was announced to make her return to the series for its third season, as a series regular, with Brett Cullen also returning to play her husband.
Valerie Mahaffey recurred as Olivia Rice for a few episodes. In February 2015, it was reported that
Glee actress
Naya Rivera had joined the season in the recurring role of Blanca; a maid to a seemingly ideal family, who learns of a life altering secret. Later that month,
Days of Our Lives actor
Nathan Owens was cast in the regular role of Jesse, a recently returned home military man.
Cristián de la Fuente was also cast as a series regular in the role of Rosie's long-lost husband, Ernesto Falta, who had been believed to be dead. Actor
Alec Mapa announced on a tweet in February his debut on the show in the recurring role of Jerry. In April 2015, it was reported the previous regulars Drew Van Acker and Edy Ganem (who had previously been one of the central characters, on the show) were demoted to recurring roles for the third season. They both appeared in the first two episodes of the season and then departed as their characters left for New York. For the fourth season, filming started January 14, 2016 and episode titles will be cleaning puns.
Brianna Brown,
Brett Cullen, and
Gilles Marini will not return as series regulars. In January 2016, it was announced the executive producer
Eva Longoria would guest star in season 4 while Longoria's former
Desperate Housewives costar
James Denton had been tapped for the recurring role of Peter.
Ryan McPartlin will make a debut this season by playing Kyle who is a sweet, sexy — and, most importantly, filthy rich — newcomer who falls for one of the core maids. However, he has an unusually close relationship with his mother, Frances who is played by
Stephanie Faracy. Also,
Julie Claire who was recurring as Gail Fleming in Season 3 will return in Season 4. In early February,
Carlos Ponce was announced to play Ben who is the manager of a famous movie star, but also a dangerous-yet-handsome thirty-something who specializes in manipulating people. He's also described as charming and mysterious. Carter Birchwell was assigned to play Spence and Peri's son Tucker.
Katherine LaNasa will play Shannon Greene, Peri's older sister. In addition, Argentinian actress
Sol Rodríguez would recur as Daniela while
Nathan Owens has been promoted as a series regular.
Filming The pilot episode for ABC was filmed in Los Angeles. After Lifetime picked
Devious Maids to series, filming moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The pilot episode was directed by
Paul McGuigan. The finale aired on August 8, 2016. ==Reception==