Pilot (Devious Maids)

"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

In the opening scene, Evelyn Powell (

Flora was stabbed by a mysterious figure while scrawling a rape claim that accuses Evelyn's husband Adrian Powell (

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

ABC ordered the pilot based on the Mexican telenovela Ellas 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]

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.

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,

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]

Notes