A sequel to Nickelodeon's beloved family comedy series The Brothers Garcia, The Garcias premiered on HBO Max in April this year, running for 10 episodes. The series was produced by New Cadence Productions, the banner headed by Brothers Garcia co-creator and executive producer Jeff Valdez and Sol Trujilo. The rights to The Garcias are reverting to the producers and studio behind the series.
The original The Brothers Garcia, which ran for 52 episodes across four seasons between 2000 and 2004 on Nickelodeon, was billed as the first English-language sitcom to have an all Latino cast and creative team, and revolved around the Mexican American Garcia family, narrated by Larry, the adult version of one of the family’s sons. Larry recounts his life alongside George, Carlos, and Lorena (his two brothers and twin sister, respectively), and the way they deal with everyday problems such as school, work, growing up, and all living in one house in San Antonio, Texas.
The new iteration finds the Garcia children grown up and gathering with their parents for a three-month summer vacation in a luxury home by the beach.
The six core original cast members reprised their respective roles: Ada Maris (Nurses) and Carlos Lacamara (Nurses) returned in their roles as parents Sonia and Ray Garcia. Alvin Alvarez, Jeffrey Licon and Bobby Gonzalez came back as brothers Larry, Carlos and George, and Vaneza Pitynski reprised her role as sister Lorena.
The Garcias boasted a cast and crew that was 90%-plus Latinx, Valdez noted, and inclusive of the many ethnicities therein. A number of original writers, directors and crew members from the Nickelodeon series also signed on again to bring the Garcia clan back to life. Brothers Garcia alum Joey Gutierrez served in the role of head writer.
The Garcia siblings also now have diverse families of their own, reflecting the increasingly multi-racial complexion of American families. Joining the original cast were Oliver Alexander as Max Garcia; Nitzia Chama as Ana Garcia; Maeve Garay as Victoria Garcia; Elsha Kim as Yunjin Huh Garcia; Ayva Severy as Andrea Huh Garcia; and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Alexa Huh Garcia.
Paramount Global, the parent company of Nickelodeon, owns the original Brothers Garcia. Valdez was relentless in pursuing the right to mount a sequel because he sees clear demand for an unabashedly family friendly series about a family that happens to be Mexican American. More urgently, there is the sad fact that the representation of Latinx stories, talent and creatives in mainstream TV hasn’t increased much since Brothers Garcia bowed more than 20 years ago.
“The original show was always about a simple slice of life story that happened in this family,” Valdez said. “In every episode there’s a lesson to be learned. We wanted to keep that simple contract with our audience.”
Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favourites on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!
H/T: @spongieupdates.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have your say by leaving a comment below! NickALive! welcomes friendly and respectful comments. Please familiarize with the blog's Comment Policy before commenting. All new comments are moderated and won't appear straight away.