Primos (TV series)

Primos is an upcoming American animated television series created by Natasha Kline and produced by Disney Television Animation. The series is scheduled to premiere on July 25, 2024, on Disney Channel.

Synopsis
The series centers around a large Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles. Told through the diary of eccentric 9-year-old Tater Ramirez Humphrey, the series centers on her as she discovers the "it factor" that makes her special alongside her cousins, who moved in with her for the summer.

Main

 * Myrna Velasco as Tater Ramirez Humphrey, the show's 9-year-old protagonist.

Tater's cousins

 * Elizabeth Grullón as Lita Perez
 * Jonathan Melo as Scooter Perez
 * Rick Simon as Cousin Bud Humphrey and Ignacio "Big Nacho" Ramirez
 * Cristina Vee Valenzuela as Tere and Toñita Ramirez
 * Natasha Kline as Gordita Humphrey and ChaCha Ramirez
 * Nomi Ruiz as Tabi Ramirez
 * Becca Q. Co as LotLot Ramirez
 * Ryan Anderson Lopez as Nachito Ramirez
 * Sarah Tubert as Lucita Perez

Recurring

 * Angélica María as Buela Ramirez, Tater's grandmother.
 * Melissa Villaseñor as Nellie Ramirez Humphrey, Tater's younger, but taller sister.
 * Jim Conroy as Bud Humphrey, Tater's father.
 * Michelle Ortiz as Bibi Ramirez Humphrey, Tater's mother.
 * Cheech Marin as Pop Ramirez, Tater's grandfather.
 * Cristina Milizia as Bud Ramirez Humphrey, Tater's infant brother.
 * Liza Koshy as Serena, Tater's best friend.

Guest

 * Joel "The Kid Mero" Martinez as Diego Perez, Lita, Scooter and Lucita's father and Tater's uncle.
 * Mark Consuelos as Ivan Ramirez, Tere, Tabi and Toñita's father and Tater's uncle.
 * Ricardo Chavira as Ignacio Ramirez, Big Nacho and Nachito's father and Tater's uncle.
 * Gabriel Iglesias as Gustavo Ramirez, LotLot's father and Tater's uncle.
 * Sarah Sherman as Carmela
 * Sherry Cola as Ms. Mahoney
 * Kyle MacLachlan as Bill
 * Jaime Jarrín as Día de la Cultura Announcer

A Piece of My Mind
These shorts primarily focus on Disney Channel characters meeting their various creators and learning how the concept of their shows were created.

Development
On November 3, 2021, it was reported that Natasha Kline, a long-time storyboarder and character designer, is developing an animated series titled Primos for Disney Television Animation (DTVA). The series was inspired by Kline's childhood summers living with her cousins alongside her extended Mexican-American family and she wanted the lead characters to also be of Mexican-American heritage due to the lack of Mexican-American representation on television during her childhood. Meredith Roberts, a senior vice president at Disney Television Animation said the series bears the "authentic voice" of Kline and "her family's culture and values", saying the series will be aimed at kids and families. Edward Mejia, a DTVA executive, oversaw the series.

On June 15, 2022, at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that the show's first season would have an order of 30 episodes. Philip Cohen was announced as show producer. In March 2023, Kline told Animation Magazine that the series was inspired by an adult short she had created for an Upright Citizen's Brigade stand-up comedy show in 2017, was inspired by Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, and said she loved working with the show's crew, praising their "intense passion, drive, and talent".

On July 8, 2024, the show's official trailer was released.

The series will air half-hour episodes that are divided into 11-minute stories.

Pre-release backlash
On June 13, 2023, the opening sequence of the series was released by Disney Branded Television. It received criticism on social media, including from Mexicans and other Latin Americans. Some criticized it for being similar to Nickelodeon's The Casagrandes. Some viewers argued that the opening sequence had various negative stereotypes, complained that the names of some characters and the setting were too stereotypical, and that the Spanish grammar in the opening sequence was incorrect. Also criticized was the use of a "yellow tint", a technique used in some American media to establish a sense of "otherness" in Mexican settings.

Online criticism worsened following social media posts made by Tater's voice actress Myrna Velasco, including a comment on Instagram where she said critics of the Spanish used in the show were "grammar nazis" and a story in which she described the Spanish language as being "forced upon Latin American people" by Spanish conquistadors. The spread of online misinformation, including false claims that Velasco was the show's creator and that the production crew was only Anglo, fed into the online criticism.

In an interview on June 16, 2023, Kline said the series is based on her personal experiences of growing up with a multicultural Mexican-American family in Los Angeles in the 1990s, being bicultural, biracial, and said that the project's relatability attracted well-known individuals like Melissa Villaseñor. She also stated that Tater doesn't speak Spanish, which is why her grammar is incorrect; emphasised the importance of cousins in her life; and stated that the art style showcased the environment in L.A. She additionally hoped the series would make people proud of their roots.

Changes made following the backlash
As a result of the controversy, the series premiere was delayed several times. Changes were made to emphasize that the show is set in Los Angeles and not in Latin America.

The name of the fictional town was changed to Hacienda Hills from Terremoto Heights, as the original name drew criticism for alluding to the earthquakes common in the region. The name of one of the characters was changed to Lucita from Cookita, as the latter is similar to a vulgar term in several dialects of Latin American Spanish.

Release
Primos is scheduled to premiere on Disney Channel on July 25, 2024, with the first nine episodes of the series scheduled to be added to Disney+ the following day. The first episode will also be uploaded to YouTube on July 25. The series will have a TV-G parental guideline.