"Orange is the New Black" features a bevy of Latinas; different weights, different shapes, different sizes and different ages - and each actress is talented. Likewise, "Devious Housemaids" assembled an ensemble of brilliant actresses as well, women of different nationalities and different shades.

Latinos can be proud that there is more representation on the television screen than there has been in recent years. Latinos are likely to find familiar faces on nearly every network. Yet, Latinos continue to be bound by stereotypical roles. Latinos remain playing the role of a ditsy but forgivable housewife, a confident but compassionate prison inmate, cold-blooded and calculating drug dealers, and devious and seductive housemaids.

While positive, Latinos portray police officers, nurses/doctors, teachers, lawyers and judges. But more often, Latinos portray the negative roles: the criminals, gardeners, maids and dropouts. These negative portrayals, while they obviously aren't representative of the entire community, are first impressions to sheltered audience members who aren't personally familiar with Latinos, and they are more likely to take these misrepresentations to heart. These harmless characters can be potentially detrimental, engaging other's anti-Latino views.

Media stereotypes penetrate American audiences, and the American public chooses to believe these farce stereotypes based on what they see on the screen. Some of the negative stereotypes are that Latinos are welfare recipients, are less educated, refuse to speak English, have too many children, take jobs from Americans and don't take care of the home. Some of the positive stereotypes that audiences gain from constructive characters, however, are that Latinos are family-oriented, hardworking, religious/church-going and honest.

The renowned and incomparable Rita Moreno, the only Hispanic recipient of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, recently commented on the show "Devious Maids," stating that the show portrays the "the false image of the Latina."

"I was surprised that Eva Longoria developed that series. I hate to talk bad, because it is an effort at least, but these women do not exist," the 81-year-old talent said about the series, during a promotion tour of her first book, "Rita Moreno: A Memoir." "I keep hoping that there is a role for a woman or man, actor, actress, to maybe win at least one Oscar nomination, and that has not happened because there is not such a role."

She also insisted that choosing roles more wisely would result in Latino characters that transcend. Latino characters in television who are fleshed out and developed in Hollywood are rare, even though there are more Latinos writing in Hollywood than there has been in years.

"Just because the numbers of Latinos behind the scenes has increased, it doesn't mean that the portrayal of U.S. Hispanics is more accurate," says Juan Flores, a social and cultural theory professor at New York University. "On one hand, it's great that the industry is more diverse but we have to look at what's being produced and question its authenticity."

Though rare, fresh interesting roles for Latinos do exist for Latinos, though they are few and far between. Guillermo Diaz, who once played a drug dealer on "Weeds," now plays former-CIA Operative Huck Finn on "Scandal." Though, his character is violent, he is a soulful and complex character, and easily has one of the most interesting back stories on the entire show, even as it is still unfolding. Naya Rivera portrays Santana Lopez on "Glee," a character who was originally cruel and vicious, but as her character grows, audiences begin to understand that a great deal of anger came from an inability to cope with sexuality. Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres on "Grey's Anatomy," and Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado on "Modern Family" are both interesting characters, as well.

Though, it could be argued that while these characters are interesting, they still do not authentically demonstrate culture and diversity, or illustrate what makes the Latino experience unique. More roles should be made available so that Latinos can be shown as real people, to be aired alongside the TV shows that display experimental and authentic characters.