“It’s a show that has boxing as a context, but it’s about much more. It’s about family,” says Mexican actor Diego Luna. He is talking about his latest project, La Máquina, which he stars in alongside his life-long friend Gael García Bernal.
The two are no strangers to entertainment – here in the US and in Mexico tambien. That said, this latest project is without a doubt the pair’s biggest swing, and it packs a punch.
In it, Gael García Bernal plays Esteban “La Maquina,” a long-revered but aging boxer who is ready to hang up the gloves after an embarrassing loss in the show’s opening sequence. His manager, and best friend, Andy (Diego Luna) isn’t ready to take a draw, let alone a loss, though. So Andy corners his childhood amigo and convinces him to get into the ring one last time. But, (insert dramatic announcer voice here), there is a far darker reason Andy wants Esteban to keep on fighting. Don’t worry, we aren’t gonna spoil it for you but we can say there is a conspiracy of proporciones de masa!
Also in the ring for La Máquina are Eiza González who plays Esteban’s ex-wife Irasema, Mexican telenovela star Luciá Méndez as Andy’s mama Josefina, and Karina Gidi as Andy’s wife Carlota. They may not put on the gloves, but they deliver some killer right hooks for the show. “It’s a show about the drama that happens in the ring but also on and offstage,” said La Máquina co-creator Marco Ramirez (The Twilight Zone). “Especially in the world of a male boxer, that world can get very kind of masculine very quick,” he continued, “And so it felt really important to include all the other people in their lives that are just as important.” And yes, that absolutely includes the women in the show. Who, by the way, are far from being welterweight. In addition to co-parenting Esteban’s hijos, Irasema is also a sports journalist who over the course of the series may or may not have a hand in uncovering the aforementioned conspiracy.
What is not a conspiracy is the decision to keep the show as close to its Mexican roots as possible. La Máquina marks Hulu’s first, original Spanish-language show. “[Spanish] is our homeland in a way, it’s our motherland,” said Luna during a press conference for the show. “It’s where we can fly more, we can play with more accents, we can play with more of the nature, the dialectic of Spanish, which is very different.”
“We did Y Tu Mamá También, then a lot of time passed,” said Luna. “We did Rudo y Cursi, time passed, and we did Casa de Mi Padre, and time passed. It’s like life has to happen to us in order to get back together and do something different, right?”
García Bernal weighed in on the origin of the project too, sharing “We knew it was gonna be a boxer and a manager. We knew it was gonna be about the success trap – how to say goodbye, how to end a career.”
As the pair began promoting the project, they gave us a sneak peek at their undeniable chemistry – appearing together onscreen at this year’s Emmys when they took to the stage and spoke Spanish to the Television Academy audience.
That same chemistry is without a doubt the driving force of the show. Equal parts drama and comedy, the two shine brightest when their humor is center stage. Luna is especially funny as the plastic surgery-obsessed manager who will stop at nothing to erase the marks on his face left by Father Time. Together, however, they are undeniable. Frankly, we are not sure that La Máquina would have a shot in hell if not for the captivating charm of these two chicos. There is a lot riding on the show’s success. But, if anyone can deliver a total knockout, it’s Luna and García Bernal.
But to Luna’s earlier point, it is about a lot more than boxing. It’s a story of friendship. Of loyalty. Of secrets and their ability to never stay in the shadows. It’s about aging and coming to terms with your legacy and asking: What will anyone of us leave behind? What are the limits of friendship? And of, course, how much botox is too much botox?
La Máquina is six episodes long and is streaming now on Hulu and Disney +.
