'Lotería Loca': Jaime Camil Discusses New CBS Game Show and its Mexican Roots (Exclusive)

Jaime Camil is gearing up for his big return to CBS with the premiere of his new game show Lotería Loca part of CBS' fall 2023 schedule. The series is inspired by the game Lotería, the traditional Latin bingo that "has been around for 400 years," Camil tells PopCulture.com. Each episode will see two contestants picking cards to get four in a row, a.k.a. Lotería. Each time a card appears on their bingo-style card, they bank money. Landing on a "Loca Card" creates a twist in the game and gives players the opportunity to bank more cash by competing in wild and interactive challenges.

The Jane the Virgin alum says that while it started in Italy, it's "known as a Mexican game." With Lotería being a well-known game in Mexico and it making its way to America by way of merchandise and restaurants, they "really want to bring this show to the mainstream market. We really want to give away a lot of money to everyday Americans, regardless of their background, regardless of their demographics. We all make this great country. So, it's a fun endeavor. It's a fun show. I cannot wait for you guys to watch it."

As for what fans can expect, there was a little bit previewed in a recent sneak peek of Lotería Loca. Between the "Loca Dancers" and band leader Sheila E., Camil says the series "has the classic elements of a good game show."

"I think that's why I partnered up with Jeff Apploff," Camil said. "He is a game show legend. He created Beat Shazam!, Do You Know the Lyrics?, dozens of successful game shows. And he was very intelligent on making Lotería work for television, making it dynamic because you cannot sit down for 30 minutes waiting for the little Lotería cards to get filled out. It's just ridiculous. But he made it work for television, and we're very proud of the product."

Lotería Loca is the first multi-cultural, bilingual, Latin-inspired game show to ever have a spot on primetime TV. On top of the history-making, the hope is to bring in audiences of all cultures. "I don't want to put that narrative out there because I don't want a CBS mainstream audience think, 'Oh, this show is not for us then because we don't speak Spanish,' or, 'We are not from that culture,'" the former star of CBS' Broke explained. "Nothing could be farther away from that. The show, it is meant for primetime television, no doubt. It is meant for the CBS core audience. While at the same time, a big, underserved audience will feel very proud to have a piece of our culture out there. But make no mistake about it, it is a TV show, a game show designed for the mainstream audience."

Jaime Camil's hosting duties come just a year after he was a contestant on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, so he knew what it was like to be on both sides. Being an actor as well, Camil says he feeds "off interaction. So I think that I love getting to know my contestants, cheering when they win, suffering when they lose, we really get connected with the contestants, and we really cheer for them. And that's the fun part. It is not like just going out, laying the rules, and best of luck, and that's it. So we try to make it more interactive."

"And we have challenges," Camil continued. "We call them Loca challenges, which, hopefully, they will make the folks at home interact with us. Me and my family, when we watch The Price is Right or Family Feud, we love shouting out the correct answers that we think are the right answers. And that's what I love about game shows, and at least, me and my family, we really interact with the show as the show is going on."

Although Lotería Loca is just now coming out, the Schmigadoon! actor admits that they've been "working for over two years" on the series, but the wait will definitely be worth it. Especially since he describes the game show as "if a variety show, a game show or a late night show had a baby."

"All of these elements that we bring together to the show it's kind of like unseen on American television," he says. "So, hopefully, we can bring this injection of energy and color and life into the game show universe, which I believe you see a lot in Japan and you see a lot in Europe, right? The game shows are way more interactive, way more energic than just, 'OK, give me your answer. Very good, Oh, you don't have that answer. I'm sorry. Let's move on.'"

Jaime Camil also explained the differences between acting and hosting since he has done both quite a lot. While there are scripts for hosting, they are only used to help you "to lay down the rules in little detail, every single little detail you need to give the contestants for them to understand what they're doing there and what's the process, the rules of the show." It's also "more like ad-lib," says Camil. "Whatever they tell you, feed off of what they tell you." There are also more cameras to capture everything, so "it's a completely different creative process than doing a single-camera show or a multi-camera show."

With Lotería Loca's series premiere just two days away, Camil is ushering in a new era of game shows, but it is still made "with a lot of love, and the goal is to award everyday Americans with a lot of money, and for the folks at home to play along with us. So, hopefully, they can tune in, and after The Price is Right at Night, which is a tough act to follow, I'll say. But hopefully, they will give us a chance of watching our show and probably entering our little fiesta we have going on into this beautiful we call in Mexico, Magic Town, like Pueblos Magico. All the set is built as a pueblo. The set feels like the Land of the Dead in Coco."

Jaime Camil told the set designer he wanted to make the set look real and authentic to respect the façade and "the decorations of every single town. It's very beautiful. The set is gorgeous. So hopefully, it's a welcoming environment for all Americans to watch the show, and hopefully, they will like it, and they will recommend it, and they will keep watching it." And make sure to watch it when Lotería Loca premieres this Monday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET only on CBS.