Sounds like Wisteria Lane is just around the corner after all.
“Desperate Housewives” alum Eva Longoria is making a return to TV, NBC Entertainment chair Bob Greenblatt announced at the network’s Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif. on Friday. “Telenovela” will be a single-camera comedy centered behind the scenes of a fictional soap, featuring Longoria as a glamorous and demanding diva clinging to the spotlight. Longoria has also signed on to produce, alongside “Cougar Town” EPs Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein, and Universal Television. The deal reportedly came attached with a full 13-episode greenlight if Longoria agreed to star, and a lone pilot order if she didn’t.
The series marks Longoria’s first leading role since “Desperate Housewives,” although the actress has kept plenty busy off-camera since the ABC hit ended in 2012. Her production company, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, is behind Lifetime’s “Devious Maids,” and is currently developing medical drama “Critical” for NBC and Texas-set political thriller “Pair of Aces” for ABC.
“Telenovela” comes on the heels of The CW’s critical darling “Jane the Virgin,” a self-aware dramedy that nabbed the network’s first-ever Golden Globe last Sunday for star Gina Rodriguez. Based upon a Venezuelan soap, “Jane the Virgin” has kicked off a potential trend for Hispanic-centered series upon which NBC hopes to capitalize.
“I think you’re going to start to see a really big change and we’re ahead of the curve,” NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke told reporters. “We’re excited about the idea of looking at an all-Latin cast, so I think you’ll see more of that for sure.”
“Telenovela” is slated for the 2015-2016 season on NBC.
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