Cristela Alonzo
María Canals Barrera
Carlos Ponce
Terri Hoyos
Andrew Leeds
Sam McMurray
Justine Lupe
Isabella Day
Jacob Guenther

Created by:
Cristela Alonzo
Kevin Hench

2014-2015
Comedy
ABC
TV-PG

“Cristela” attempts to use the Latino experience in this country to add some spice to the conventional Friday-night family sitcom. It largely fails.

While Latinos, unfortunately, are not commonly represented on television as the nucleus of a show, they have been represented in this way before. George Lopez anyone? The difference is that Cristela is a Latina. So, we get a female perspective. That doesn’t do much to change things.

Once again, we have a laugh track to beef up the live audience’s reactions. Why? It doesn’t work. Most of the jokes are old-hat, especially the ones during the scenes at Cristela’s home. Her mother constantly references the immigrant experience in disappointingly familiar ways. I wish that those jokes had more of a sting.

However, at Cristela’s workplace, the jokes are a little better, but still not good. Her banter with her boss is the best part of the pilot. It’s still not funny, but they might be able to turn that into something. Since her old, white boss freely jokes about Cristela’s heritage both in English and in Spanish, the comedy results from the clash between her boss’s inoffensively offensive comments and her reactions to them. But they’re still just jokes, broad ones at that.

Sitcoms are at their best when the jokes are the result of funny situations. The first episode of “Cristela” doesn’t give us that. As it is, it’s merely a collection of jokes that aren’t fresh in a show that fits well within the common family sitcom template (think TGIF), regardless of the ethnic makeup of its cast.

Verdict: Whatever

About: (Source: cristela)

Cristela’s dream of becoming a lawyer is something her traditional Mexican-American family doesn’t quite understand. She’s entering her sixth year of law school after juggling home obligations and working multiple jobs to pay her way.

Cristela lives in cramped quarters with her sister Daniela, her long-suffering brother-in-law Felix and their two young kids. The senior member of this extended family, all living under one roof in Dallas, is Cristela’s old school mom, Natalia, who tells her “somebody could have been a doctor two times in the time it’s taken you not to become a lawyer.” Daniela loves her sister but balks when she tries to bring her modern views into family life. Felix resents how Cristela pays no rent and worst of all, always drinks his last beer. After six years of setbacks, her mom Natalia worries that becoming a lawyer might not be in the cards for her and doesn’t want Cristela to be hurt by a dream that might not come true.

The Cristela TV show stars Cristela Alonzo as Cristela, Carlos Ponce as Felix, Maria Canals-Barrera as Daniela, Terri Hoyos as Natalia, Andrew Leeds as Josh, and Sam McMurray as Trent.  Stand-up sensation Gabriel Iglesias (The Fluffy Movie) also appears as Alberto.