Eva Longoria embraces the anything-can-happen atmosphere of ‘Telenovela’

Eva Longoria’s return to primetime television on the NBC comedy “Telenovela” comes four years after she said goodbye to her career-defining role as wealthy Gabrielle Solis on “Desperate Housewives.” And in this particular moment, it’s a role that has her drenched in water.

As Ana Sofia, the over-the-top leading lady of the show-withinthe-show “Las Leyes de Pasion” (The Laws of Passion), Longoria is the star of a comedy that peers behind the scenes of a popular Spanish-language soap opera, a telenovela where the drama offscreen is just as melodramatic as the drama onscreen. Ana Sofia is bossy but lovable, out of control while trying to be the one who holds things together. And she often finds herself in wacky situations.

But Longoria’s not just acting here. She’s also directing. And did we mention producing?

During a recent shoot on Universal Studios’ backlot in Universal City, Longoria scurries in fringed high heels from her mark in front of the camera, where her character has just been doused in water by a co-star for a post-hurricane scene, to a nearby director’s monitor where members of her team surround and cover her in towels.

“It doesn’t look like we’re having a wet T-shirt contest, right?” Longoria, dressed in a white tank and white shorts, asks while reviewing the footage. “OK, let’s do it again and go in a bit tighter now.”

The spoof on Spanish-language soap operas — which previewed last month and gets its official premiere Monday — comes at a time when networks are looking at “Empire’s” success and striving for more diversity to appeal to underserved audiences. “Telenovela” joins “Jane the Virgin,” “Narcos,” “Bordertown” and other series that weave Latino culture into their foundations.