Title: The Garcias
Creator: Jeff Valdez
Streaming: HBO Max
About: The saga of The Brothers Garcia continues in HBO’s newest update aptly named The Garcias. It follows the Garcia brothers and sister in their adult lives as they find themselves all under the same roof again, just as their lives began to evolve again.
Thoughts: Centered around the Garcia Family, these 30 minute episodes bring back the original cast from the Nickelodeon 2002 show The Brothers Garcia. This time the majority of the family, complete with their own children now, find themselves all under middle child George’s roof, which just happens to now be in Mexico.
With their parents Sonia and Ray’s new retirement, sister Lorena’s recent employment upheaval, and the ongoing rivalry between Carlos and George, you would think the family would struggle to find peace, but having young families proves to bring new perspectives. Brother Larry is absent from the day to day, but is looped into the show none the less. Each
show touches on the family conflict one would see as more growing pains, such as the debate on whether to go with Carlos’s or George’s ideas, keeping a light mood throughout, and reminding us, “todo para la familia”.
Worth it? Streaming services have brought us a bevy of new instant options, ranging from the popular Coco Melon, to the more mature sea of shows like The Boys, yet one glaring representation lacking in the streaming universe is the Family Friendly sitcom. A family dilemma wrapped up in a 30 minute interval that adults relate to and still could watch
with kids in the room.
Jeff Valdez noticed this and sought to recreate his early 2000’s Latine representing show The Brothers Garcia, knowing that topic could both fill a kid night slot, and strive to represent the communities that still remain grossly underrepresented in film and television.
The Garcias were an effort to bring back to television, one he remained committed to and it shows. The show brings back all the original cast, having them recreate themselves in a way that feels like very authentic sibling rivalry. The show combats common stereotypes in their character development, opting to give every character a socially equal path in life that reflects
in their interaction, even dedicating a portion of one of the episodes to the film industry’s continued efforts to typecast.
Rather than focus on heavy topics, the show gears towards family resolution, which sums up nicely at the end of each 30 minute episode. It is these efforts that make The Garcias a series worth watching, they demonstrate you don’t have to give up critical thought to opt for enjoyable and sweet.
I recently had the chance to chat with Executive Producer/Showrunner Jeff Valdez about the show, you can watch the interview below.
All episodes of The Garcias are now available on HBO Max.
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