Showtime:
From Californication to Shameless to The Big C and Nurse Jackie, to Weeds and The Borgais—almost all of Showtime's signature shows feature mostly all-white casts—and only two of the network's shows (the hit serial killer drama, Dexter and new drama, Homeland) feature Latino stars in supporting roles.
Now in its sixth year, Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, has two Latino series regulars (Puerto Rican actress Lauren Velez, who plays the badass Captain Maria Laguerta and Boricua David Zayas, who plays Sgt. Angel Batista). The show, which is Showtime's most diverse series, also welcomed two new Latino stars this year in season-long recurring roles. Half-Puerto Rican actress Aimee Garcia joined the show in the role of Jamie Batista, the nanny to Dexter's son Harrison, and Mexican actor Edward James Olmos signed on to play James Gellar, a professor of Religion who was believed to be the Doomsday Killer. Season six also saw the return of Mexican actor Christian Camargo as Brian Moser (AKA "The Ice-Truck Killer").
The diversity on Dexter must be contagious, because the show that airs right after it on Sunday nights (new drama, Homeland) is now the only other show on Showtime that features a Latino star in a supporting series regular role (Brazilian actress Morena Baccarin is one of the show's stars).
So while there isn't much diversity on many of Showtime's signature shows, Dexter and Homeland—two of Showtime's highest-rated shows—do a good job of helping the network's diversity efforts. That said, we can't help but notice that all of the lead actors on Showtime (Mary Louise Parker, William H. Macy, Michael C. Hall, Claire Danes, Laura Linney, Edie Falco, David Duchovny, Toni Collette, and Jeremy Irons) are white. With America being as diverse as it is, and with recent census data showing that there are more than 50 million Latinos in America, that doesn't seem right to us.
Grade: C-
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