Following the breakout success of Empire, and ABC’s well-received crop of freshman sitcoms with minority-driven casts, we already knew that diversity was playing a leading role in this year’s pilot season.

But if you ask the agents who recently spoke anonymously to the Hollywood trade site Deadline, that role is too large.

In what is perhaps the biggest controversy at Deadline since the “TOLDJA!” days of Nikki Finke, television writer Nellie Andreeva ignited a firestorm of criticism on Tuesday with an article that asked in its headline: “The Year Of Ethnic Castings – About Time Or Too Much Of Good Thing?”

Andreeva writes that although many talent agents are welcoming the new attention to diverse casting in Hollywood, some reps were privately griping about the lack of opportunities for white actors:

“Instead of opening the field for actors of any race to compete for any role in a color-blind manner, there has been a significant number of parts designated as ethnic this year, making them off-limits for Caucasian actors, some agents signal. Many pilot characters this year were listed as open to all ethnicities, but when reps would call to inquire about an actor submission, they frequently have been told that only non-Caucasian actors would be considered.”

She follows up the assertion above with succeeding paragraphs referencing a supposed dearth of talented young minority actors, and tales of casting directors maintaining a secret quota system to hire 50 percent non-white actors.

Criticism of Deadline—and Andreeva—was swift and merciless:

Andreeva has remained silent on the subject since the article went live yesterday, Tweeting a relatively straightforward link after the story was initially published, but ignoring the ensuing controversy.

In her piece, Andreeva did acknowledge that Hollywood was due for change:

“A lot of what is happening right now is long overdue. The TV and film superhero ranks have been overly white for too long, workplace shows should be diverse to reflect workplace in real America, and ethnic actors should get a chance to play more than the proverbial best friend or boss,” she writes. “But replacing one set of rigid rules with another by imposing a quota of ethnic talent on each show might not be the answer.”

Read More: Deadline, Vulture

Brief Take: Diversity might be a big part of the networks’ marketing pitch to viewers, but the anonymous agents griping to Deadline underscore that Hollywood still has a long way to go before diversity is less of a talking point and more of a reality.

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