By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, September 1, 2016
Sinking ratings doomed Lifetime's "Devious Maids," which recently concluded its fourth season.
I pretty much called it two weeks ago, citing various reasons why the show was in serious trouble. Besides ratings, the network had cut its order season four from 13 to 10, not a sign of confidence.
The soapy drama, shot primarily at Eagle Rock Studios in Stone Mountain but was fictionally set in Beverly Hills, saw average overnight ratings slip from 2.5 million viewers season one to 900,000 this past summer. Even if DVR and on-demand usage upped those numbers, they clearly were not enough to merit a fifth season.
Marc Cherry, the creator of "Desperate Housewives," conceived the idea focused on four Latina maids originally for ABC in 2013 but the network didn't pick it up. Sony, the production company, found a new home at Lifetime, which moved production to Atlanta to take advantage of the tax credits.
The show in many ways felt very similar to "Housewives" in its frothy style and tone. Eva Longoria, an actress on "Housewives," was an executive producer of "Devious Maids" and even made a cameo appearance this season.
Lifetime currently has only one scripted drama on its schedule left: its darker "Bachelor"-like behind-the-scenes drama "Unreal."
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