News of the Latinx dramedyGentefiedcanceled onNetflixhit the creator family and everyone associated with the show understandably hard. Fans are sure to miss following the life of the Morales family as the three cousins struggle to fulfill their American dream. Linda Yvette ChaÌvez, co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner ofGentefied, shared a personal essay Friday following Netflix’s decision to cancel the show after two seasons.The dramedy follows the Morales family, a humble Mexican American family including patriarch Pops (Joaquin Cosio) and his grandchildren, Erik Morales (JJ Soria), Chris (Carlos Santos), and Ana (Karrie Martin Lachney), as they live and love in the city of Los Angeles. These three cousins (Erik, Ana, and Chris) chase the American dream in Los Angeles, while that same dream threatens the things they hold most dear: their neighborhood, their immigrant grandfather, and the family taco shop.Season 2 of the story, which ended up being the last, dove into the story of Pop’s possible deportation by highlighting the struggles of wanting to do the right thing, being a “model immigrant,” and trying to give the next generation the best opportunities available.ChaÌvez, who co-created the show, along with being its co-showrunner and Executive Producer, shared a rather heartfelt message as Netflix announced the cancellation. Although it was an albeit sad moment, what her message radiated on social media was the pride she felt to be a part ofGentefied. She shared somewhat of a personal essay about her feelings onTwitterandInstagram, which she paired with a quote by the beloved Teddy Roosevelt. She added, “Like the Morales family, no matter where we go, we’ll always be family.”
She wrote:
In a world where revolutionary art is commodified we have to rethink the way in which we value it… Metrics and algorithms will never measure the true impact of what we did here… We may never see how deep the work goes or how far it reaches, what seeds we planted for change in the world, but we do the work anyway…
Don’t let anyone tell you we didn’t succeed. We blasted through a brick wall and made ourselves known. … Como los Morales, we will always be family no matter where we go.
Chávez also praised how the show’s cast and crew and highlighted the people who were put “into positions they’re so often left out of — whether it was a face rarely if ever seen on screen, a director of color not often seen on set, a department head not often given the chance to lead, or a writer empowered and given their first credit.”
