Starz’s queer Latinx series ‘Vida’ gets renewed for season 2

A huevo.

Less than two days after its season one cliffhanger, the Starz series “Vida” was renewed Tuesday for a second season, the channel announced.

‘VIDA’ RENEWED SEASON 2

Since its May 6 premiere, the Latino household viewing for “Vida” has nearly tripled, growing by 171 percent, to earn the series the largest Latino audience composition for premium series in 2018, according to Nielsen.

“ ‘Vida’ has delivered on its promise of attracting a young, new Latinx audience to the STARZ platform, as we had hoped it would, and we are pleased to be able to announce a second season of the series,” Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement.

“Vida” has been a refreshing change of pace. The show’s writing team is all Latino, and the show explores the Latinx community of East Los Angeles, including the queer experience.

Starz Vida Season 2

In the Starz series “Vida,” estranged sisters Lyn, middle, and Emma, left, (Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada), return to their Boyle Heights neighborhood to bury their mother, who has unexpectedly died, and are confronted with an unknown truth — Their mother was married to a woman, Eddy, right. (Ser Anzoategui, Photo: Starz.

QUEER LATINX

In season one, “Vida” follows Mexican-American sisters Lyn and Emma Hernandez (Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada), who return to their Boyle Heights neighborhood for their mother’s funeral and soon learn she had been living a secret life. Their mom, Vidalia, or Vida, was married to a woman, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui).

Tanya Saracho, who identifies as queer, is the creator and showrunner for “Vida.”

In a show filled with strong characters, topical subject matter, and tangled relationships, Eddy stands out with a softspokeness and love that centers the show.  Anzoategui’s portrayal of Eddy is a great counterbalance to Prada’s hard-as-nails, no nonsense Emma, and Barrera’s free-spirited and even reckless Lyn.

In the cliffhanger, Eddy’s is almost beaten to death, the victim of a hate crime, while Emma and Lynn stay in Boyle Heights to save their deceased mother’s bar and protect the tenants living in the apartment building the sisters inherited.

SEASON 2

In season two, viewers will learn more about the community and the Hernandez sisters, Albrecht said.

“With these new episodes, Tanya and her team now have the opportunity to take audiences even deeper into the lives and community of the Hernandez sisters, and we look forward to bringing the next chapter of their story to life.”

About the author

Phillip Zonkel

Award-winning journalist Phillip Zonkel spent 17 years at Long Beach's Press-Telegram, where he was the first reporter in the paper's history to have a beat covering the city's vibrant LGBTQ. He also created and ran the popular and innovative LGBTQ news blog, Out in the 562.

He won two awards and received a nomination for his reporting on the local LGBTQ community, including a two-part investigation that exposed anti-gay bullying of local high school students and the school districts' failure to implement state mandated protections for LGBTQ students.

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