“I was a big fan of Soap and a big fan of Soapdish and a big fan of Tootsie”, says Eva Longoria who cited those soap opera themed plots as a template for NBC’s Telenovela, the sitcom that is set behind the scenes of a Spanish-language soap. The setting is ripe for appropriately over-the-top hijinks amongst the self-absorbed cast of the show within a show, although the Golden Globe nominated actress (Desperate Housewives, 2007) hastens to add that differently from other “Latino crossover” adaptations (like Jane the Virgin) this show is entirely original. Like the show’s protagonist Ana Sofia, Longoria is Hispanic although not fluent in Spanish; earlier in her career she also worked on actual soap operas, like The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful. We spoke to her about producing as well as starring in a show, which she says, “pulls back the curtain … on how the sausage is made”.