Eva Longoria on How She Helped Humanize Marc Cherry’s ‘Devious Maids’

As the Eva Longoria-produced “Devious Maids” prepares for its third season premiere on Monday night, creator Marc Cherry sat down with the actress at the 2015 Produced By Conference on Sunday to discuss how she helped shaped the series.

In a conversation at the Sherry Lansing Theater on the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angles, Longoria explained how she elevated the characterizations of the domestic workers portrayed in the series.

“The show was from Marc’s point of view. It was him looking at relationships between employees and employers. And I just thought to myself, ‘what is your opinion of the maids? Who are they? Are the dumb?’” she said.

Longoria said she also rediscovered her respect for domestic workers after joining the Lifetime series, which stars Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Judy Reyes and Roselyn Sánchez.

“The maid who raises a brain surgeon, is she not a success? The Castro Brothers, who are the future of the Democratic party, their mother was a maid. My housekeeper, both of her children are going to be doctors,” said the actress who produces the series through her company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment.

She’ll next produce and star in NBC’s “Hot And Bothered,” about the lives and relationships of a telenovela cast and crew. Cherry also created Longoria’s star-making “Desperate Housewives,” which ran for eight seasons on ABC.

Produced By is a signature event of the Producers Guild of America. Panelists this weekend included Reese Witherspoon, who spoke on gender equality in the industry. The prolific producer-director Tyler Perry was also interviewed by “Selma” director Ava DuVernay, and discussed his early days touring the African-American theater circuit and his gamble on Hollywood.