As part of its overall corporate strategy to pull back on its “Live-Action, Kids and Family Programming”, HBO Max, and parent company Warner Media Discovery, announced the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles after only 36 days streaming on their platform and despite the show, and all involved, receiving universal high critical marks. Its unquestioned popularity and a loyal and growing fan base including this reviewer seemingly disregarded. So it is a big surprise that this semi-autobiographical family comedy about a young Dominican girl’s immigrant story from the creative mind of Claudia Forestieri is unceremoniously yanked off the streaming platform stage like a contestant on The Gong Show.  Or is it?

“It’s the Same Old Song”

That classic Four Tops hit song exactly captures what all too often happens to what seem to be outstanding Latino TV series only to meet an early untimely demise. Here’s a very, very short list of Latino TV shows that had their life support plug pulled before they had a chance to get any traction.

Here are just two shows which pulled after only one season that showed promise but were not given a chance.  

The Baker and the Beauty (TV series 2020). This romantic comedy, family drama about a working- class Cuban-American family running a bakery in Miami featured a talented Latino cast with Victor Rasuk, David Del Rio, Lisa Vidal, Carlos Gomez, Dan Bucatinsky and Belisa Escobedo. The love story between the baker’s son and a famous Australian movie star, played by Natalie Kelley, was filled with so many interesting plot possibilities. But unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and ended after one season.

Cristela (TV Series 2014 – 2015). This ground-breaking TV series tells the story of a Mexican-American law student on the verge of getting an internship with a progressive law firm and her struggles to balance her career ambitions and maintain her traditional Mexican-American values. Cristela Alonzo, the hilarious stand-up comic and the pride of San Juan, Texas, was the very first Latina to create, executive produce, write and star in her own eponymous network series on ABC.

Patience is Its Own Reward

At one time, the networks allowed TV shows the chance to develop their storylines and characters. The Seinfeld Chronicles is a perfect example of the networks having patience with a fledgling TV show.  It took a couple of tough, trial-run seasons before Seinfeld found its footing and became a hit iconic TV sitcom series.

By contrast, Gordita Chronicles led by a stellar cast of newcomer Olivia Goncalves (as Cucu), , Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas (as her mother and father) and Savannah Nicole Ruiz (as her sister)hit the ground running with its fast-paced, witty, Screwball Comedy-like dialog, quirky characters struggling to navigate their way on the long and winding bumpy road to the American Dream. Gordita Chronicles didn’t require an embryonic stage of development to find itself.  Thanks to the writing talents of its creator, Claudia Forestieri, it was born fully formed.

So, how is it that this coming-of-age, rite of passage, authentic immigrant story that was humming along on all eight cylinders suddenly got handed a pink slip by Warner Media Discovery now the parent company of HBO Max? A Latin Heat March 2022 Warner Media Discovery Merger Criticized for Apparent Disregard of Latinos article featured a headline by UnidosUS, the largest advocacy Latino group which posed the question to Warner Media Discovery, “Dear Discovery: Does Diversity Include Hispanics or not?” The answer, with the summary cancellation of Gordita Chronicles, seems to be a resounding “NO”!

A Hopeful Future

Latinos make up almost 20 percent of the US population, but according to the 2021 UCLA-Hollywood Diversity TV report, they are only roughly only 5% of lead roles on broadcast, streamers and cable. 

To change the tune of that same old song with its haunting refrain of Latino shows coming and going through the turnstiles of White Hollywood, the Latino community is beginning to see the need to finance their own stories, build their own networks and streaming platforms to be able to greenlight their authentic stories, and give them a chance to stay beyond one season.

There are signs of change, of creatives taking control of the Latino narrative. Executive producers/showrunners, like Gloria Calderon Kellett. (One Day at a Time, With Love) do have creative authority and management responsibility for their television shows. And the number of Latina/o showrunners is increasing, from Tanya Saracho who created Vida which ran for 3 seasons on Starz, Steven Canals (Pose) to veteran showrunners like Cynthia Cidre (Dallas, Cane), and Gordita Chronicles’s own showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. They make sure their shows accurately reflect their experience on the many different strands of the Latino tapestry to a wider audience. But still, the question of if their shows live to see another season or not, remains in the hands of the Hollywood powers that be.

However, Latina creatives of Gordita Chronicles, that include creator Forestieri, showrunner Muñoz-Liebowitz, Eva Longoria (Executive Producer and director) and actress Zoe Saldaña who is also executive producing), are currently searching for a new home as Muñoz-Liebowitz tweeted the same day the news of the cancelation was announced. Stay tuned for more developements.

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Genre:  Comedy, Family

Creators:  Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit

Showrunners: Leo Chu, Eric Garcia

Cast:  Scarlet Estevez, J. R. Villareal, Marianna Burelli, Juan Alfonso, Zelia Ankrum, Lorena Jorge

REVIEW

Oh, the growing pains of a teenage apprentice Latina superhero. When Violet (Scarlet Estevez) discovers a magic luchador mask has “chosen” her to wear it and become a superhero, it sets her off on a journey to become a crime fighter. However, being the typical rebellious teenager, Violet needs adult guidance

Luckily for her, the well-known local crime fighter, Black Scorpion, just happens to be her uncle, Cruz (J.R. Villareal) which she did not know. Black Scorpion becomes her mentor and takes Ultra Violet under his wing and teaches her the time-honored ethical ways of a superhero crime-fighter in a continuing effort to suppress the irrepressible, rambunctious teen’s tendency to think and act “outside the box” of a superhero’s sacred code of conduct.

In this first season, Ultra Violet’s rite of passage, into a budding Latina superhero is bolstered by the show’s clever light, fast-paced tongue-in-cheek comedic approach to the storyline and the positively charming and winning performance of Estevez as Ultra Violet.

The show is also enhanced by a good supporting cast, great special effects and the exceptional and imaginative cinematography of Rafael Leyva. Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion is a thoroughly enjoyable Disney production action-adventure comedy family TV series that will no doubt inspire young Latinas to discover and unleash the superhero within themselves.

Producers: Ian Watermeier, Nelson soler, Lisa Parsons, Leo Chu

Production Company: Chu Garcia

Distributor: Disney Channel

Available: Disney+

Rating:

TV Series:  Gordita Chronicles

Genre: Comedy, Family

Creator: Claudia Forestieri 

Showrunner:  Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz

Cast: Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas, Olivia Goncalves, Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Cosette Hauer, Noah Cottrell, Noah Rico

REVIEW

Is there a DR in the house? Happily, yes, four of them recently arrived from the DR (Dominican Republic) to Miami, Florida in search of the elusive American Dream and into our homes in this delightfully nostalgic semi-autobiographical good-natured family comedy by the creator, Claudia Forestieri.

The Castelli family is comprised of Adela, the mother, (Diana Maria Riva), the father, Victor (Juan Javier Cardenas), his older sister, Emilia (Savannah Nicole Ruiz), and la gordita, Cucu (Olivia Goncalves). Set in the 80s, the story is narrated by the adult Cucu recalling the family’s trials and tribulations of adjusting to their new life in the United States.

The Castelli’s immediately find out their illusions of America are in stark contrast to the reality of life back home in the DR to those in the good old USA. The Gordita Chronicles has some good fun with the Castelli’s coming to grips with such unknown things as taxes, coupons, Halloween, and Sadie Hawkins dances. Adela’s misadventure with coupons is an especially funny episode.

Victor who works in the marketing department of an airline is expected by his boss to be a great softball player because “all the great baseball players come from the Dominican Republic.” Well, that’s mostly true, but not about Victor who went to an expensive European boarding school and never learned how to play baseball.

Emilia tries to fit in at school by joining up with the popular girls known as the Bubble Gums.  The Bubble Gums make the Mean Girls look like Girl Scouts.  Emilia is in the drama class and has a crush on Rigo (Noah Cottrell).

But the story principally revolves around Cucu who is trying to navigate her way through school and social life with best friends, Ashley (Cosette Hauer) and Yoshi (Noah Rico). Cucu meets every obstacle and challenge confronting her with characteristic plucky determination and an innate intelligence beyond her young years. 

Gordita Chronicles is a madcap, zany look at an immigrant family’s adjusting to life in the states through the eyes of Cucu and her battle with body image in a world where “gordita” is no longer a Latin American term of endearment. You can’t help rooting for Cucu and her family as they struggle with joyous funky spunk and good humor to realize that all too often elusive American Dream.

Producers: Brigette Muñoz-Leibowitz, Claudia Forestieri, Dan signer

Production Company: Cinestar Pictures, Unbelievable

Distributor: HBO Max

Available: HBOMax

Rating:

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