Netflix canceled Gentefied, a half-hour comedy-drama series featuring a primarily Latin American cast. The show debuted in February 2020, and its second season was released in November 2021. It was created by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez.
Gentefied earned mostly positive reviews for its first season but was ignored by most Netflix viewers. The show never reached Netflix’s Top 10 after its second season was released. This may have played a part in the streamer deciding against ordering a third season, reports Deadline. The show was a Netflix production and included America Ferrera as an executive producer. Ferrera directed an episode of Season 2.
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The series followed three Mexican-American cousins as they struggle to achieve the American Dream and their neighborhood is threatened by changes. J.J. Soria, Karrie Martin Lachney, and Carlos Santos played the central cousins, while veteran actor Joaquin Cosio starred as their grandfather, who owns a taco shop. Manuel Uriza, Melinna Bobadilla, Ivan Rojas, and Clarissa Thibeaux joined the cast in Season 2.
The second season featured a story involving the deportation of Cosio’s character. In an interview with TVLine, Lemus said he and the writers wanted to show a side of immigration that is not usually explored on television. “To get into the nuance of how it affects the entire family and how family separation can look in a way that happens every single day, where people are just trying to be in their joy, trying to create memories… but in the background, always having this looming dark cloud,” he said. “We wanted to do that while still being able to see all of their joy and how they use the humor to cope with it.”
Netflix’s decision to cancel the show was panned on social media. “Super upset that Netflix canceled [Gentefied],” journalist Dino-Ray Ramos tweeted. “I don’t wanna go down the road of could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve’s but I will say that if that a network, studio, or streamer greenlights a show that is inclusive, they need to put as much weight on it as their white counterparts.”
Both Lemus and Chavez have more projects in the works. Chavez scored an overall deal with 20th Television and is wrote I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a film Ferrera plans to direct for Netflix. Lemus is an executive producer and director of The CW’s Hipster Death Rattle.
