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‘Devious Maids’ Canceled: What Happened To The Lifetime Show?

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 01:59 PST, Sep 2, 2016

Fans of the show Devious Maids got the shock of their life yesterday when they got the news that Devious Maids was canceled after a successful four season run on Lifetime.

Cinema Blend was the first to break the news that Devious Maids was canceled, and needless to say, it’s sent shockwaves through both Hollywood and the fandom alike. The show, which was developed by Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and actress Eva Longoria, was originally developed as a pilot for ABC, but was ultimately picked up by Lifetime. According to the site, the reason the show got canceled is because of the steady decline in ratings: while the first season averaged 3 million viewers, the show was at less than a million viewers by the time the fourth season rolled around. And though the actual viewership of the show remained consistent, the declining ratings prompted Lifetime to pull the plug on the show.

Devious Maids received a lot of press when it debuted because it was the first show with an all-Latino/Latina cast that was not on a Spanish-language network. It was also the first original show that Lifetime had until UnREAL debuted shortly thereafter. The success of Devious Maids prompted Lifetime to consider changing the creative direction of their shows to focus more on original programming, and less on reality shows.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, news that Devious Maids was canceled may be bad news for the show, but good news for the Lifetime network. Under its rebranding — inspired, of course, by Devious Maids‘ success — Lifetime is now ordering a series of original shows targeted towards professional women. Using the slogan, “fempire,” Lifetime’s programming is now being geared towards a younger, and edgier, crowd. In addition to UnREAL, Lifetime will now be developing a show based on Sea Change, a popular young adult novel, and another show based on the book anthology, A Midsummer’s Nightmare. And though there’s no word yet on how Devious Maids will ultimately conclude — because the fourth season finale is now, technically, the series finale, and there are more than a few loose ends to tie up — a few suggestions have been made to both Cherry and Longoria.

Variety, of course, has a very different take on Devious Maids being canceled: because the show was never an Emmy favorite like its predecessor, Desperate Housewives, it wasn’t as successful. Further influencing Lifetime’s decision to cancel the show, according to Variety, is the success of UnREAL, which is receiving a lot of award nominations despite not being a ratings performer.

Unlike Devious Maids, UnREAL has already received an Emmy nomination for its star, Constance Zimmer, and additional Emmy nominations for writers Marti Noxon (previously known for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro. In addition, the show has also received Peabody and AFI Awards, as well as recognition from the Critics Choice Awards.

The stars of Devious Maids took to their social media to make statements after the news of Devious Maids being canceled broke in the blog-osphere. Eva Longoria thanked her fans for all of their support, saying the following.

“Devious fans, thank you for your support the past 4 seasons! I’m proud of this show & our amazing cast & crew! Monday nights won’t be the same!”

Eva’s co-star, Dania Ramirez, was equally gracious.

” I am so grateful to have been on such an incredibly fun ride! Thank you to all the writers/producers/actors that took part of this amazing journey. Rosie Falta will live on forever now and a big thanks to @abcnetwork & @lifetimetv for believing in us. Last but not least, THANKS to our amazing crew throughout the years. What a blast we all had! You guys are everything!!! #TeamRosie #Daniacs 4 Life! #RIPdeviousMaids”

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[Image via Lifetime]

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