Despite the Latinx community being one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States, they continue to find it difficult to find themselves represented on television since shows with Latinx leads like One Day At A Time and The Beauty and the Baker often end up getting canceled too soon. Thankfully, there are Latinx creators determined to change that, which leads to shows like HBO Max’s Gordita Chronicles being created.
The family sitcom was released on June 23rd and is already getting rave reviews. Set in Miami in the 1980s, the series tells the story of how the Castelli family immigrated to the United States from the Dominic Republic through the eyes of the youngest member of the family: Cucu. With ten episodes, the show is easy to binge again and again, but fans who want something similar yet different will be pleasantly surprised to find there are a lot of shows that are similar in character, story, tone, and humor to Gordita Chronicles.
Blackish (2014-2022)
When Blackish began airing in 2014 it quickly became one of ABC’s best sitcoms. The series is narrated by Johnson family patriarch Dre (Anthony Anderson) as he tries to give his children a better life than he had while trying to maintain their connection to their African-American roots.
Like Gordita Chronicles, Blackish really shines a light on the experiences of families of color. Both shows feature family characters dealing with white neighbors and strangers who see them in a negative light solely because of their appearance and where they come from. However, both shows put a positive spin on being the “outsiders” which is an important narrative that needs to be told.
Diary Of A Future President (2020-2021)
Premiering in January 2020, Diary of a Future President was one of the first Disney+ original series that wasn’t based on an existing Disney IP. The series follows Elena Cañero-Reed (Tess Romero), a middle schooler who is trying to figure out her place in the world all the while writing about her adventures in her trusty diary which future her reads before making her first speech as President of the United States.
Like Gordita Chronicles, Diary of a Future President centers on a Latinx family with the Cañero-Reed being Cuban-American. Elena and Cucu also have similar personalities in that they’re determined young women who aren’t afraid to make some waves if it means doing what’s right. They might be main characters with flaws, but that’s why fans love them.
Fresh Off The Boat (2015-2020)
Despite airing for six seasons on ABC, Fresh Off The Boat never got the attention it deserves for being one of the best family sitcoms of recent years. Set in the 90s, the series followed the Huang family who has just moved from Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown to Orlando so their father can open his dream restaurant.
One of the biggest similarities between Fresh Off the Boat and Gordita Chronicles is that both shows focus on the perspective of the young children – in this case, Eddie (Hudson Yang). Like Cucu, Eddie finds himself ostracised at school because of his culture and has to figure out if he wants to assimilate to American culture or stay true to who he is.
Girl Meets World (2014-2017)
Fourteen years after the beloved ABC sitcom Boy Meets World ended, the Matthews family returned to the small screen with the release of the Disney Channel spin-off Girl Meets World. Happily married and parents to two children, Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) find themselves parenting their teenage daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard), who is ready to take on the world.
Like Cucu and Emilia in the Gordita Chronicles, Riley is determined to come into her own while under the watchful eyes of her well-meaning but overly protective parents. Both shows focus on the coming-of-age of young girls who are supported wholeheartedly by their parents.
Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004)
Lizzie McGuire is arguably one of the best Disney Channel shows of the early 2000s. The comedy series ran for two seasons and followed the misadventures of Lizzie, an awkward 13-year-old, and her two best friends as they navigated the highs and lows of middle school. The show put a unique spin on its premise by creating an animated version of Lizzie’s consciousness that often disagreed with what real-life Lizzie was doing.
Cucu might be a real character in Gordita Chronicles, but her level of snark makes it easy for fans to compare her to the animated Lizzie. However, it’s Emilia’s storylines in Gordita Chronicles that are the ones that can best be comped to Lizzie McGuire like her kissing the wrong boy and dealing with friendship drama.
Never Have I Ever (2020-)
Created by Mindy Kaling for Netflix, Never Have I Ever centers on Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian-American teenager who has the worst year of her life after her father tragically passed away during her music recital. Wanting a fresh start, Devi decides the only way to repair her high school image is to become popular putting her at odds with her family and her friends more times than she can count.
Though Never Have I Ever is aimed at older teens and young adults, older fans of Gordita Chronicles can definitely enjoy it. The shows are similar not just because they focus on stubborn, sometimes unhinged, young girls of color, but also because they explore how hard it can be to live a traditional American experience when their cultures butt heads with those experiences.
One Day At A Time (2017-2020)
A reboot of Norman Leer’s beloved sitcom of the 70s, Netflix’s version of One Day At A Time followed three generations of the Cuban-American Alverez family who find themselves living in the same apartment. Like most mixed-generation houses, Penelope’s (Justina Machado) great parenting advice and style was often put under question by her fun-loving and traditional Cuban mother Lydia (Rita Moreno).
It’s easy to see the similarities in writing and production style between Gordita Chronicles and One Day At A Time since the two share a producer in common. Beyond that, both shows deal with bilingual characters in a similar way, choosing to only subtitle large chunks of Spanish dialogue, leaving the smaller phrases as inside jokes for their Spanish-speaking viewers.
The Goldbergs (2013-)
Headed into its tenth season, The Goldbergs is one of ABCs best family sitcoms of the 2010s and 2020s. Set in the 80s, the series is narrated by Adam Goldberg (Sean Giambrone), the youngest member of the family who is almost never without his family’s video camera in hand. It’s through his eyes that fans experience the craziness of his family being led by his hilarious “smother” Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey)
Like Gordita Chronicles, The Goldbergs leads heavily on voice-over narration to push the stories along with the narrations being done by adult versions of the young protagonists. In addition to being the main characters, Adam and Cucu are also similar because of their chaotic but loving home lives and social outcast status.
The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
Released in 1988 The Wonder Years became a beloved American coming-of-age dramedy that won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series with only six episodes to its name. Set in the 1960s and 70s, the series told the story of the Arnold family through the lens of the youngest family member, Kevin Arnold.
The obvious similarities between The Wonder Years and Gordita Chronicles are that they’re both period-style shows that explore family life in American culture during that time. While the Arnolds and the Castellis might not seem like they’d have a lot in common, the younger members of the family do since they go through the same adolescent growing pains despite growing up in different time periods and under different circumstances.
With Love (2022-)
Released in December 2021 on Amazon Prime, With Love is billed as a holiday romantic comedy family series that delivered on the promise. Each of the five episodes focused on a different holiday and followed the Diaz siblings on their quest for love and happiness.
With Love is more mature than Gordita Chronicles considering all of the characters are adults, but the shows touch on similar themes. Both shows are also grounded in the diversity of Latinx culture, making it a point not to homogenize these cultures but rather celebrate them individually for what they offer their communities.
