“The year is 1985 and Cucu 'Gordita' Castelli  has just said goodbye to all of her friends and family in Santo Domingo and moved to Miami with her marketing executive father Víctor, her mother Adela, and her older sister Emilia. While life in America is far from what they imagined, the Castellis are determined to take charge of their strange new world,” reads the synopsis of the new series, Gordita Chronicles, which recently premiered on HBO Max.

The production stars Mexican actor Juan Javier Cardenas (known for his role in The Walking Dead), Dominican-American actress Diana-Maria Riva (from Dead To Me), and also Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Noah Rico, Cosette Hauer and Dascha Polanco. 

The comedy, which takes place in the 1980s, centers on a family accustomed to a good life in the Dominican Republic, but that reality changes when they move to the United States.

The Castellis will have to face a series of difficulties with both economic and social integration in their new life in Miami. Dad Víctor in his office, mom Adela raising her daughters and interacting with other women of her age, and Cucu and Emilia at school with their new classmates. Everyone must deal with racism and with the challenge of communicating in English.

With this story, Gordita Chronicles hopes to explore opportunities, love, resilience and the pursuit of the American dream. Cucu and her memories are essential for this.

"I think the American dream is something to fight for. But when they come to the U.S., the members of this family discover that they have a smaller house, that they pay a lot of taxes... and they say wait, where is the dream? I liked it to turn that idea around," said Latina actress and businesswoman Eva Longoria.

She and Zoe Saldaña served as executive producers.

Longoria is aware that this story is different from the one usually shown on the big and small screen, as it follows a wealthy family.

"It is not like what you always see in the media and in the news. They are not fleeing from violence or chaos, in fact when they arrive in the United States they are reducing their standard of living. Each experience is different," said the actress and producer in an interview.

The comedy will air 10 episodes.