‘Cristela’ Star Reflects On Show’s Cancellation In A Lengthy Blog Post
It’s upfront season, and that means we’re getting a sneak peek at the new fall shows. Unfortunately, that also means that we’re saying goodbye to shows that didn’t make the cut.
ABC announced their lineup, and absent from their schedule was the underdog comedy Cristela. While many stars and creators usually tweet their reactions, the show’s star and creator Cristela Alonzo decided to write a blog post about the decision ABC made to cancel her show.
Alonzo started the blog describing her mother, who was impoverished but accomplished her dream of making a life for herself in Texas. “Dreams are what you make of them. I’m a true believer in that.”
Then she goes on to discuss her dream, which was to have a TV show.
“I once had a show named Cristela. By once, I mean up until Thursday night. I said ‘once’ because it adds dramatic flair and I think dramatic flair is funny.”
Cristela didn’t hold back as she made light of the challenges the show had, hinting there was a lack of support by the network due to scheduling conflicts.
“It was a multi-cam sitcom that SOMETIMES aired on Friday nights. I say sometimes because a lot of times we were pre-empted for more important things like an Easter egg hunt happening in real time. Kidding. In reality, we were preempted for other things like a documentary on a parade and some other things I can’t remember. I think one night was a show about Christmas lights?”
Specifically, the actress highlighted how much Cristela meant for the Latin community, and how responsible she felt to appease everyone. She went on to say that there were people who wanted her to create “chola cousins,” but since her family didn’t reflect that, she couldn’t write those characters. Then again, she said she still received criticism because her mother on the show had a thick accent, and some people thought she was “selling out” her culture, when in fact, that was just the way her mother spoke.
While she writes at length about the challenges of wanting to make everyone happy and represented, Cristela captures her message in the following.
“I thought it was important to show my family because there had never been one like that on TV before. A lot of the time, Latinos are shown as cholos/cholas that ride around in lowriders. I didn’t grow up that way but I always respected authentic stories that (as you’ll find in movies like Mi Vida Loca) showed that life because that lifestyle is someone’s reality.
I wish I could’ve written a show based on my life that showed my family kicking butt … like we were Latino Huxtables but that wasn’t my truth. And maybe I will create that show one day, who knows.”
Are you surprised ABC cancelled Cristela?
[Image via ABC]
