Have you recently been offered a dose of más sabor? Are you suddenly being hit with marketing copy that’s giving, como se dice, mucho Spanglish? If you answered “yes†to these questions, you are undoubtedly being served big Latinidad energy for Hispanic Heritage Month. ¡Felicidades, amigo! Your options are en fuego until Oct. 15. Then you’re cut off.
One place Hispanics are getting their heritage served to them this month is on the various streaming platforms. I’m talking Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Max, Paramount+ and all the other streamers competing for $12.99 or more of your monthly income.
These streamers dug through their coffers for Latinx-centered series and films, finding every chancla-wielding abuela and spicy love triangle they’ve acquired for your viewing enjoyment. This is tough considering Hollywood has historically given Latinx stories the “nah we’re good,†which means you’re going to see a lot of repeats across platforms.
The show’s cultural impact is apparent, from our preoccupation with astrology to clips of the show making the rounds on social media.
Here’s my ranking of seven streamers’ Hispanic Heritage Month offerings, but feel free to poke around whatever is also available at other streamers.
7. AppleTV+
I searched and searched, but it appears AppleTV+ does not have a section dedicated to Latinx people for this holiest of holy months. Not a “Nuestro Sabór,†“Our Voces†or “Mi Gente†in sight. I thought, “OK, we hate when corporations pander to us so maybe this is fine. Let me at least find what Latinx-centered series and movies they’ve got.†I am saddened to report that I could only find the Eugenio Derbez comedy series “Acapulco,†the documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me†and the forthcoming docuseries “Messi Meets America†about soccer star Lionel Messi coming to play for Inter Miami. Aside from this limited offering, there may be a few episodes of “Carpool Karaoke†with a Latino thrown in there. Anyway, last place.
6. Paramount+ With Showtime
I accessed this platform via Amazon and found its section for Latinx content is titled “One mountain, una familia.†I have no clue what that means. Do they think we all live in the mountains with our families? Very odd. Anyway, the Latinx-centric originals here feel like they’ve been buried under 500 piles of “Yellowstone,†but once you get to the bottom of the weirdly racist pile (wait … mountain?) there’s the docuseries “Bad Hombres,†the docudrama “Bosé†about singer Miguel Bosé, Argentine telenovela “The First of Us†and a smattering of others. Also, “The Blair Witch Project†is housed under that collection, and I didn’t know the Blair Witch was Latina. Love that for us!
The National Latinx Theater Initiative aims to boost the profile of Latino theater companies across the U.S. with millions in grants.
5. Peacock
Head on over to Peacock, and you can find its Hispanic Heritage Month collection filed under “Nuestras Voces.†It can be found near the WWE collection, which I would argue is at least half Mexican, and a collection of movies curated by Chucky, the maniacal killer doll from the “Child’s Play†series. Chucky, in my opinion, is also Latinx and I won’t explain further. On Peacock, and by extension NBC Universal, you have various originals from both the streamer and its network parent, including “Lopez vs. Lopez†(a show I write for), “The Real Housewives of Miami†(important viewing in my home), “Superstore†and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.†There’s not a lot, sadly. Also, there’s a section dedicated to Antonio Banderas. Who’s gonna tell them?
4. Max (formerly known as HBO and HBO Max)
Uh oh. Peacock better watch their back because Max also has gone with “Nuestras Voces†for its Latinx collection. Selena Gomez holds it down for a lot of these platforms — here with “Selena + Chef.†You’ve also got Pedro Pascal in “The Last of Us,†which is a flex, and a section dedicated to films by Latinx directors, like Andrés Muschietti (“Itâ€), Alfonso Cuarón (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanâ€) and Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richardâ€). You can also catch the perfect, gone-too-soon “Los Espookys,†the groundbreaking doc “Muxes,†“Veneno†and concerts from Shakira, Thalia, Romeo Santos and more. I’d say you could watch “Gordita Chronicles†here but it was unceremoniously and quite cruelly removed from the platform.
The new series is based on a Latinx family and focuses on bringing educational content to bilingual and Spanish-speaking households.
3. Netflix
Netflix has tapped into “celebrate Latinidad†with a collection that has “vibrant stories and star-power shine.†Star-power shine sounds like the name of a Fenty highlighter. At Netflix, you’ll get a handful of awesome originals to choose from, like “Wednesday,†“Gentefied,†“Roma,†“Extinction,†“The Lincoln Lawyer,†“Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison,†“Mucho, Mucho Amor,†“La Reina del Sur†and “Vampires vs. the Bronx.†Don’t get too attached to any series, however, because the likelihood of there being more than one season is slim. Still, you can find programming from across Latin America and an entire section dedicated to fútbol, like the hysterical “Club de Cuervos†and docs like “FIFA Uncovered,†“Maradona in Mexico†and “Pelé.†You can also watch the episode of “Black Mirror†with Salma Hayek that is about AI that 20 people have told me to watch, but I’m already too stressed about AI.
2. Amazon Prime/Freevee
Amazon Prime and Amazon Freevee are “celebrating todo lo que somos†and have a category titled “All in the Familia,†so they’re really sticking to the Spanglish. In terms of originals, Amazon Prime has a deep and fantastic lineup that includes “Primo†(a series I also write for, full disclosure), “Argentina 1985,†“Cassandro,†“Sprung†and “The Horrors of Dolores Roach.†Plus, the platform has a wide selection of series, films, docs and stand-up from across Latin America that are more than worth your time. It also has a section, in partnership with Audible, of books that were made into films and series, including Isabel Allende’s “The House of the Spirits†(which, FYI, has approximately zero Latinos in its main cast), Laura Esquivel’s “Like Water for Chocolate†(banger) and Che Guevara’s “Motorcycle Diaries.†So if you have a school report for Hispanic Heritage Month, you’re likely set.
Saul Armendariz began his groundbreaking journey by overcoming homophobic taunts from crowds as an exotico, but now Cassandro is seen as a trailblazer and is the subject of a new Prime Video biopic.
1. Hulu
Despite having the unfortunate ad copy that reads, in part, “Más sabor, más unidad,†Hulu has a solid crop of Latinx series and films, organized into sections like Hispanic and Latin American-led series and films, creators (like Pablo LarraÃn’s “Spencer†and Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hotâ€), telenovelas and “Ja Ja Ja†(meaning comedy). When it comes to originals, Hulu has a leg up with the hilarious and delightful “This Fool,†the tender “Love, Victor,†“Miguel Wants to Fight†and the beloved “Only Murders in the Building.†You can also catch brilliant options from other networks, including “Pose,†“What We Do in the Shadows,†“Superstore,†“Mayans†and, if you’re my mom, “Caso Cerrado.†Because it pulls from FX and has its own collection of programming that focuses on compelling, original storytelling, Hulu tops the ranks.
Alex Zaragoza is a television writer and journalist covering culture and identity. Her work has appeared in Vice, NPR, O Magazine and Rolling Stone. She’s written on the series “Primo†and “Lopez v. Lopez.†She writes weekly for De Los.
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