…a top-drawer drama with Latinos in front and behind the camera that’s not getting nearly enough “official notice”
Tuesday marks the release of the first season of TNT’s hit nighttime soap Dallas on DVD. And Latino Hollywood should take note: Dallas actually represents a major landmark in Latinos in key roles, and it’s currently kicking major butt, and Latinos are major part of that success.
First and foremost, there’s Cynthia Cidre’s excellent re-imaging of the Dallas mythology. As we’ve seen from so many failure in recent months, taking a pop-culture icon like Dallas and turning it into something worth watching all over again–especially as a legitimate sequel to the original, and not a reboot–is delicate work. But she’s brought energy, panache, and more than a little spice to the party, fully proving the promise she showed as a writer and producer on CBS’ Cane some years ago–a show that never got the chance it deserved.
Best of all, her continuation of the Dallas drama suddenly (and finally!) had places for Latinos in it–specifically Marlene Forte as a wide and respected head of household, and Latino beauty Jordana Brewster as her daughter, the spitfire romantic lead that makes every relationship a little more interesting. And Argentine born actress Julie Gonzalo is a major player as well, as the ’secret daughter’ of Cliff Barnes who marries Bobby Ewing’s son Christopher under false (and delicious) pretenses.
L-r: Jordana Brewster, Marlene Forte and Julie Gonzalo
Add even more Latinos actually playing Latino characters into the mix, like Chilean Leonor Varela’s turn as “Marta del Sol,” a mentally unstable woman who pretends to be a Mexican heiress, and Carlos Bernard, he of Spanish-Polish descent, who plays a much-more-actual Venezuelan businessman who tries (and fails) to challenge the Ewings at their own devious games.
The result: a wonderful high-energy, no-holds-barred nighttime soap that all ethnicities can and do enjoy, even with a host of Latino characters on board (and a Cuban visionary at the helm). And the ratings have proven the concept: each episode has an average of 4.5 million viewers, making it one of the strongest cable shows on the air, right up there with Mad Men and Walking Dead, and a bone fide hit for TNT.
Best news of all: the second season begins very soon–Monday, January 28. The recent death of Larry Hagman may have cast a pause on production, but the show will continue…and even acknowledge “J.R. Ewing’s” death with a funeral in one of the early episodes. You can get all the details they dare to reveal at dallastnt.com…and stick around after the premiere for Dallas Round-Up, the Dallas-centric aftershow, hosted by Cameron Mathison (All My Children).
