Based on New research from McKinsey & Company, there are more than 62 million Latinos living in the United States, who not only account for more than $3 trillion in GDP but are also avid consumers of film and television. Latin Americans account for 24% of box office ticket sales and 24% of streaming subscribers. Yet somehow, there still aren’t enough Latinas behind and in front of the camera even though our viewership doubles when we see ourselves represented on or off screen.
Today, we still don’t have enough TV shows that accurately represent us—and some are created for us and by us, like “Vida“One day at a time“, “Promised Land” and “pagan” In the end it was all cancelled despite their popularity. Among these many cancellations was the Dominican-American creator Claudia Forestieri’s beloved Gordita Chronicles“, was released in June 2022 on HBO Max and was canceled after just one season. Although there was scores 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, Max removed it completely from their platform, breaking the hearts of fans and the creators who brought it to life. Now, more than a year later, the 10-episode series is getting a second chance at life, returning to not one but three streamers: Tubi, Disney+ and Hulu.
“After more than a year of hoping and praying for the show to get a second life, it was like having Christmas three days in a row. [I] still can’t believe it,” Forestieri told PS. “First we found out about the Tubi streaming, which was like the answer to all my prayers. Then we found it [out] we’re also going to Hulu and I almost can’t believe it. Then last Friday, the day the episodes premiered on Tubi and Hulu, I received this photo from one of our cast members showing me the show, which is also available on the Disney+ platform.”
“Gordita Chronicles” includes the support of Zoe Saldaña and Eva Longoria as executive producers and it is one of the rare television shows that represents the Dominican-American family experience. For many years, the only available Latin family shows depicted Mexican-American stories, like “George Lopez show“, or sometimes Puerto Rican or Cuban stories. That was part of Forestieri’s inspiration behind creating the show. She wanted to develop a show inspired by her own life when growing up as a gordita and a Dominican immigrant navigating life in Miami in the 1980s—something that touches on important themes around immigration, the pressure to assimilate to the culture America and the values and traditions of her Colombian-American family, Brigitte Muñoz teamed up with Forestieri as the first Latina creator and host duo.
The show also features an impressive cast, including Olivia Goncalves, who plays the show’s main character, 12-year-old Carlota “Cucu” Castelli, Diana Maria Riva, who plays the mother (Adela ), Juan Javier Cardenas, who plays the father (Victor), a Dominican of Italian descent hence the last name, and Savannah Nicole Ruiz, who plays Emilia, Cucu’s older sister.
But despite strong ratings and continued support from the community, the show could not survive the brutality of Hollywood. Its cancellation caused so much outrage among Latine viewers that fans eventually went on to create a #SaveGordita digital campaign on social media in the hope that another streamer would take over. receive it. Forestieri believes that the reason Latine shows keep getting canceled is because streamers and networks don’t give them time to really build their audiences.
“If you show on the platform too quickly, you won’t give it a chance to build an audience. In the ’90s, ‘Seinfield,’ my favorite TV comedy of all time, was initially didn’t do that,” she explained. “I don’t even think it was that successful in the second season. I think it wasn’t until the third season that it started to become a hit, but the network believed in the show and gave it time to find an audience and grow into this phenomenon.”
Forestieri, who has written for shows such as “Selena: The Series” and “Good Trouble”, began his career as a journalist working for Spanish-language media. The cancellation of “Gordita Chronicles” left her disappointed with the lack of transparency behind the decision to cancel the show. According to Forestieri, streamers rarely provide show creators with data or analysis about how the show is performing.
“My career started in media working at Telemundo and we had what they called overnight ratings… you would see what percentage of the audience you had. The numbers became more transparency,” she said. “That system isn’t perfect either… but what I love about it is that any broadcaster can access those ratings and you can immediately tell whether a show is being watched or not. Now with streamers, they keep that information very close to their chest.”
However, as Forestieri explains, Sony believes in “Gordita Chronicles” and over the past year has worked hard to find another platform for the show to continue to exist.
She added: “I’m so grateful to all the streamers who see the value in our programming and pay to have it on their platforms, and to the amazing distribution team at Sony, who who made it all possible.”
The show’s second chance at life gives Forestieri and fans not only hope for a second season, but also reinforces the importance of Latin storytelling. In fact, during the time “Gordita Chronicles” was no longer streaming, Forestieri was not only fighting hard to get it back on streaming, but was also working on new show ideas — all of which revolves around Latino stories.
“Personally, I feel like the timing couldn’t have been better, because I’m preparing to reboot ‘The Nanny’ called ‘La Nanny.’ We’re in the process of launching that and I’m really excited,” she said. Forestieri shared that the show, which she collaborated on with comedy writer Shawn Wines, is set in Manhattan with a mom single Dominican American who grew up in Washington Heights but now lives in the Meatpacking District as a divorced fashion designer with her two children. “Those are the themes,” she added about the newcomers compared to the first and second generations. It’s almost similar to the tone of ‘Gordita Chronicles’.
Forestieri wants to continue creating shows that make Latinas feel seen through accurate representation and thoughtful storytelling, and she also wants to combat negative stereotypes about Latinas, especially are Latin immigrants. She believes that, now more than ever, our stories matter and deserve to be seen on screen.
“I just think erasing is the worst thing you can do to a community — not seeing them. It really affects your psychology as you grow up,” she said. “Our contributions need to be represented in television, movies, etc. Sometimes it feels like one step forward and two steps back. But there are so many of us who are fighting for the cause, writing plays good content and developing really good ideas and TV shows and putting our heart and soul into it because we love it and we know best how it can really touch people .”
“The Gordita Chronicles” season one is available to stream on Tubi, Disney+ and Hulu. Check out the trailers below:
Johanna Ferreira is the content director of POPSUGAR Juntos. With over 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latinx culture. Previously, she spent nearly three years as deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for multiple outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity. .
