Desperate Housewives

The pilot episode of Desperate Housewives has Eva Longoria's (-Parker) character and her husband Carlos Solis playing the stereotypical Latino couple. They are very involved with the Catholic church, and in later episodes Carlos' mother plays a big role, emphasizing family values and having kids, which Gabby definitely does not want to do. Even watching episodes from the first season and later seasons I can hear an audible difference in their accents. The first episodes has them both talking with a heavy Spanish accent and using a lot of Spanglish/Spanish words. Later on, their speech and mannerisms pretty much become "gentrified" as they lose the accents and assimilate into their predominately White neighborhood. Even Gabby's hair, which started out very dark and big, poufy with a lot of extensions, is eventually highlighted and straightened and the show plays down her Latina heritage. The show also brings in most every stereotype there is, from the Black family- no father, and it's really presented as a mother with her one son. Later it she says the father/husband had abused her, and a second son comes out of the dungeon in the basement because she thinks his mental disabilities caused him to kill a girl. Really it was the first son who did it and when he pulls a gun he is killed by police. Desperate Housewives also brings in a gay couple, a Brit, and an Asian slave girl. Most of the ethnic characters on this show are for decoration, the Solis' are the only permanent non-White characters, and the others are normally brought to serve the purpose of a story line.