Did you see the series finale of Vida? Creator Tanya Saracho recently spoke with Deadline about the end of the Starz TV show.
The drama series centers on two estranged Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles. The cast includes Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Carlos Miranda, Chelsea Rendon, Maria-Elena Laas, and Roberta Colindrez.
WARNING: SERIES FINALE SPOILERS AHEAD
Speaking to Deadline, Saracho explained why the Vida series finale feels so open-ended:
When they shortened the season and shortened the series, I was like, okay, how do we earn that? Then I got to direct it myself, too, so it got to look how I wanted it to look. So that was a gift to be able to do that because when I dreamt this up, I didn’t know I was going to be directing stuff.
So, yeah, so there’s, like, an open-endedness to a lot, I mean, it wouldn’t be Vida if we resolved everything, you know? Like, what is the resolution with Eddy? It’s satisfying. Her pulling the ring from her marriage with Vida off is satisfying, but what is it, you know? I love that.”
Saracho mentioned it was a difficult shoot for the Starz series finale:
The last scene, when we shot it, the day was fraught with problems. Eight of my people in the camera department were out with the stomach flu, including both my camera operators. So, I was working with new camera operators that I didn’t know, and also, we were losing time, and also, I had to take care of Mishel and Melissa because, for this particular scene, they knew the gravity. It was the last thing we were ever going to shoot in that intersection.
Later, Saracho added that she hopes there will be more Latinx shows run by Latinx creators in the future:
I hope that Vida gives permission and is a marker in this timeline of us. Us meaning Latinx in this industry. That it’s a marker that allows for this kind of storytelling to happen. We were the first prime cable show, and in lots of ways, we didn’t find the audience the way we wanted to, you know? We found you all, and thankfully we did, because the critics, you know, they got it, and then the fans that we did find, they are ride or die
What do you think? Do you watch Vida on Starz? Were you satisfied with the series finale?
Very unsatisfied
I was not happy with the ending, very disappointed I wanted more didn’t understand why it ended the way it did. And a happy fan.
The show, overall, was a very good one, with excellent acting and fine directing. I do think that there is a specific trend in new cable shows of this genre, or related to this genre, meaning urban life stories featuring young minorities and alternative lifestyles, that can be a slight turnoff to some audiences. It seems they are all starting to look alike in that they are always inhabited by gay and bisexual characters and all have very explicit (for cable TV) sex scenes. I think that for the sake of keeping your show on the air, unfortunately, no matter… Read more »