When we heard the news that Fox was bringing the Spanish series, Los Serrano, to the states, our first thought was, que padre! After all, the award-winning dramedy was one of Spain’s most successful shows, and has already been adapted in nine other countries. Then we learned that The Simpsons vets Mike and Julie Scully have been tapped by Fox to develop the show, so naturally, our next thought was, “no mames!”
Los Serrano, which was broadcast in Spain from 2003 to 2008, was kind of an updated Brady Bunch but with way more stolen besos among step-siblings: it told the story of the blended Serrano-Capdevilla family. The original series was charming and even risqué, but no one is declaring it sacred TV territory; there have been plenty of great American adaptations of imported shows, from recent hits like HBO’s Shameless and ABC’s Ugly Betty, all the way back to Sanford and Son and Three’s Company.
While watching the video below keep in mind these two are siblings now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbhRETK6xlM
But for every success, there’s a flop, a la The IT Crowd and Skins. And Mike Scully’s involvement is a huge red flag: he, along with Seth MacFarlane, was an executive producer on Dads (which also aired on Fox), the racist basura that tried to pass as a sitcom. Dads, which was dubbed the “Worst Show of the Fall TV Season” in 2013, had a lot of racist and sexist stereotypes and not much else, and was canceled after its first season.
So to call us “cautiously optimistic” would be a bit of a stretch, but because cada martes tiene su domingo, we’re going to focus on Scully’s other work like Parks and Recreation and the forward-thinking The New Normal and hope that he avoids some of his previous pitfalls. But just one Speedy Gonzalez joke and we’re outta there!