La Lucci, Susan Lucci KIlls It in Lifetime's Devious Maids

June 14, 2013

Anne Brodie interviews La Lucci on her juicy new role in Devious Maids.

As the most famous face in daytime television history, Susan Lucci has held audiences spellbound for years as the sexy, sassy, beautiful “woman you love to hate,” Erica Kane, on ABC’s All My Children. Lucci, the undisputed Queen of Daytime, moves to prime time in the dishy new series Devious Maids which pokes fun at wealthy Beverly Hills wives and their (mostly) trusty staff. From creator Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) La Lucci is Genevieve who is between husbands and freshly dumped by her pool boy lover. Mrs. R’s Anne Brodie spoke with Lucci in Toronto. She was stunning in form-fitting teal blue and that megawatt smile.

AB: We meet Genevieve under the bed, dressed in a gorgeous pink negligee, crying over the breakup, and her son is trying to calm her down. It’s something he’s seen many times. How far does she go?

SL: I don’t know all the answers yet but certainly Genevieve has been married several times and she is not now married to any rich and powerful man. She is attracted to a man the moment she doesn’t have one. And she feels like she’s losing her mojo so she is seducing the landscaper, the poor boy! She’s hopeful. She wants to have that love again. So she’s dressed and ready.

Behind the façade, we find that the maids and homeowners are surprisingly alike.

The takeaway is that no one is defined by what they do or the large or small bank account they have. The stereotype of who you might think the devious maids are, is torn down. They are each individual and have individual relationships and it’s the same for the homeowners. We grow up in this country and we’re taught to work hard and do our best and strive to achieve our dreams in our profession. But wealth is not the definition of success. That’s what the show is about.

AB: The yummy factor is out of this world. The clothes! The sets!

SL: It’s unbelievable. The homes where we shot the pilot were unbelievable and to duplicate them was no easy task. They are incredible, you go from room to room and the camera follows you. Genevieve’s home has the grand staircase and moulding for days and marble floors and oil paintings. And the clothes! You have to be entertained on all levels. What fun is it to get a peek inside those mansions that we’ve all driven by? You may think the homeowner is perfect and has everything perfect but it’s more interesting than that. Genevieve is not who you might think.

Devious Maids premieres on Lifetime, Sunday June 23rd at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT