At this point, there has to be a term given to the deja vu that we Latinas get when yet another show that focuses on us, on our our life experiences, is canceled way too soon. Otra ves-ness? The Incredible Disappearing Latinx Show? The One-and-Done (Season) Latinx Program? Well, whatever we want to call it, another great show has been canceled. This time, it’s Not Dead Yet, executive produced by, and starring, Puerto Rican Gina Rodriguez.
Based on the international bestselling book, Confessions of a Forty-Something F*ck Up, penned by Alexandra Potter, (which I am currently listening to on audiobook to ease the pain of yet another great show put out to pasture), the show introduces us to Nell Serrano, a Latina who finds herself back in Los Angeles after breaking up with her fiance, leaving her planned-out life in London, and having to navigate a new life in her 40s.
In LA, Nell is forced to live with a roommate (and an obnoxious one at that) and finds work at a local newspaper (with equally obnoxious bosses). There, she is tasked with writing the obituaries (this is where things get espooky). Out of nowhere, Nell starts to see the dead subjects of her articles and is able to communicate with them – which obviously complicates all that other stuff.
Nell comes to understand that these ghosts are sharing what they learned in life with her: their regrets, lessons, joys, and overall takeaways. And as a result, she grows from each experience. I don’t want to give anything else away, but the show is heart-warming, funny, and a great look at a type of Latina we don’t normally get to see on TV or in film – that of the 40-year-old f*ck up.
We already know the stereotypes that exist for Latinas in Hollywood. The options are almost always the maid, the sexpot, and other narrow-minded tropes that we have been exhaustingly trying to squeeze ourselves out of for decades. If a female character is quirky, complicated, or just a plain-ole hot mess, that role is usually given to an Anglo actress to portray.
While Latinas may pride ourselves on the notion that we are hard-working women who get things done (which is in itself a stereotype and can be as damaging when we don’t live up to it), Latinas can also be a hot mess. We don’t have it all figured out. We aren’t all married with kids by the time we are 40. And our careers can start and stop just as much as anyone else’s. We need the narratives about us to reflect that reality – that Latinas are multifaceted, equal women in reality and on the small and silver screens.
Luckily, Not Dead Yet made it to two seasons on ABC (it’s currently streaming on Hulu), and actually was the “most-watched comedy debut” on ABC in four years. We got to witness Nell bonding with her equally-fabulous co-workers – the cast is amazing (and diverse!), one of those great ensembles where each character can carry the show on their own, but that all work together perfectly). We saw her bond with more dead people, have a Latino love interest, and figure out her crazy-ass life one day at a time (as she – and we – should).
But, I want more of this Not Dead Yet, and way more like it (seriously, someone pick up this show!). It’s a way to show the world that we Latinas are not just maids, sexy, or simply one-dimensional. That we, too, can be forty-year-old f*ck ups.
