This January the Fox network is going to shake-up their Sunday evening comedy by including a Latino animated series produced by Seth McFarlane. Before you start to worry about it being another "A Million ways to Die in the West" or just Mexican Family Guy, know that McFarlane is not involved in contributing to the show. That honor goes to none other than Mexican-American superstar cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz and the very popular Mexican-American columnist Gustavo Arellano of "Ask a Mexican" fame. The animated series which airs after Family Guy will be titled "Bordertown" and stars an all Mexican American cast of characters and voice actors as well as writers and takes place in the fictional town of Mexifornia. I was fortunate enough to see a preview of the pilot and another episode yesterday hosted by Lalo Alcaraz at the Tucson YWCA. Right out of the gate the show was hilarious. It was also incredibly smart and well written. The show revolves around a Mexican immigrant landscaper by the name of Ernesto (voiced by Nicholas Gonzalez) that is neighbors with a very Archie Bunkeresque border patrol agent by the name of Bud (voiced by Hank Azaria). The comedy is all border issue related and man is it spot on. From the interior of Ernesto's house to the cameo of the Virgen of Guadalupe, yes, the Virgen of Guadalupe makes an appearance. Now it has not eluded me that this show about Mexican American immigrants is on the Fox Network which owns Fox News and is a huge promoter of anti-immigrant sentiment, but to be fair, keep in mind that this network also brought you the Simpsons, Family Guy and Cosmos. Furthermore, a show like this could only air on Fox, there's no way any other networks would take the risk of airing such a groundbreaking and funny series. Never before has there been an animated show that stars Mexican American voice actors dealing with Chicano issues with a prominent political cartoonist such as Alcaraz as a show contributor. Check out the following trailer which, after seeing two full episodes does not do the show justice. |
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