“Primos,” a new cartoon series about a Mexican American girl growing up with her extend family of cousins is set to premiere on Disney Channel next month.
The series is based on the show’s creator and executive producer, Natasha Kline, and her growing up in an extended, multicultural family in the 1990s. Kline’s father is from Tennessee, U.S.A. and her mother is first-generation Mexican American.
The show follows Tater Ramirez Humphrey, a girl with outsized dreams whose 12 cousins move into her family’s house for the summer.
“It’s all about having this big, bicultural family and the fun that comes out of that. It’s a very personal story,” Kline says in a 2023 interview on the MUSE TV Youtube channel.
When a clip of the show was first released last year, it came under some controversy, with criticism of the main character’s poor Spanish along with claims that it showed a stereotype of multiple Mexicans under the same roof and the yellow color palette that often would be used in other shows that depicted Mexico.
Kline grew up in California’s “Inland Empire,” which was heavily Mexican American. Her “Abuela” (grandmother) mostly spoke Spanish.
It’s all about having this big, bicultural family and the fun that comes out of that.
“Being in Los Angeles, I think it’s very common to have bicultural families, or even biracial families, and all of that is showcased in my actual cousins, so that’s definitely what we were trying to portray in this series,” she says.
Growing up bicultural “definitely feels like you’re strung between two worlds, and you don’t even really get to pick which world you get to be a part of, because you’re kind of neither-nor,” Kline adds.
The series is about a girl who’s trying to find her place in life and a place in her family and her culture. Her cousins, even though they may seem annoying at first, help lay down the path for whom she becomes, according to Kline.
“My cousins and my family … were central figures in who I’ve become, they’ve always supported my art path, they’ve always supported me and that’s why I’m so passionate about this story, is that I want to showcase them and show them to the world,” she says.
ANIMATION STYLE
The animation style of the show is based on the area that Kline grew up in, making it very personal and close to her heart.
“It’s things that I actually saw growing up,” she says.
Coincidentally, the show’s art director grew up just a few miles away from where Kline grew up.
“It was such a weird coincidence when I first met him he was like, ‘I grew up in Riverside,’ and I was like, ‘No way! I grew up in Fontana!’ So he really understands the vibe of that area, he understands what the light looks like, he understands that it’s hot, there’s haze, there’s smog, there’s just a lot of people that live outside of Los Angeles so that’s really what we’re trying to showcase,” she says.
Through the show, Kline wants to shine a spotlight on the L.A. community that she grew up in because she says “there’s beauty there; I’m personally very proud of having grown up there and I’m so excited for the world to see it.”
“What I’m looking for is that kids will see themselves and be proud of where they’re from, no matter where they’re from,” she adds.
“Primos” features the voices of Myrna Velasco as Tater, Melissa Villaseñor as Nellie, Jim Conroy as Bud and Angélica María as Abuela. Other guest voices include Xolo Maridueña and Cheech Marin. It will premiere on Disney Channel in the U.S. on Thursday, July 25 at 8:00 p.m. EST and will stream the following day on DisneyPlus.