Cristela’s “possible farewell” to fans

Cristela creator-writer-producer-star Cristela Alonzo has written a blog post headed “A Possible Goodbye” in case her US comedy is not renewed.

She writes:

I want to be realistic and honest about things. I’m not sure if the show is coming back. It worries me and not because I want to be on TV more. It worries me because I think this show gives a voice to people that haven’t been given a voice before.

Cristela isn’t a flashy show. It’s not a slick single-cam that looks like it’s a movie shot on a weekly basis, it doesn’t have voiceovers telling you thoughts the characters are currently having and it certainly doesn’t use crass and edgy things to tell its stories. That was my choice to not do any of those things. I wanted to take a harder path, a path that really isn’t taken on TV anymore. I wanted to make a TV show like the kind I grew up with, the kind that looked like a play, the kind that made the live studio audience we tape in front of, just as important as the cast because they are as important.

She also addresses two criticisms levelled at the show:

NOT ALL LATINO FAMILIES ARE LIKE THAT
I grew up in a household where women served men. I had to serve my brothers. My brothers always ate before my sister and I. The women were expected to cook and clean. That’s the family I’m from. And you’re right. Not all Latinos are like that but think about it this way. Let’s look at Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, two successful shows that feature a predominantly white cast. White people don’t say, “HEY BIG BANG THEORY! NOT ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE LIKE THAT! MODERN FAMILY! NOT ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE LIKE THAT!”

THE MOM ON YOUR SHOW IS SO STEREOTYPICAL
Which mom are you talking about? Because on the show, there are TWO mothers: my mother Natalia and my sister Daniela. So which one is stereotypical? They always mean Natalia but that’s my point exactly. There are TWO mothers on the show and the reason Natalia is so rough and mean is because that’s how my mom was in real life. I can’t write her any other way because that wouldn’t be honoring the person my mom really was.

You can read her full blog here.