The De Los Podcast

Telemundo Won the World Cup and Why Latino Hollywood Is Still Losing

Episode Summary

Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito go head-to-head on the state of Latino representation in Hollywood — what's winning, what's failing, and who's been getting away with both for too long. They start with the biggest media story of the summer: Telemundo's historic World Cup win, how half of all Americans chose to watch in Spanish over Fox's English-language broadcast, and what that says about who actually understands Latino audiences — and who doesn't. Then they get into the numbers: only three Latino actors received Primetime Emmy nominations this year, and at the Oscars, out of 120 nominees, only two were Latino — and neither won. Fidel and Suzy break down why those numbers won't improve, why Hollywood keeps throwing Latinos one bone at a time, and why they think the studios know exactly what they're doing — pointing to the moment every Fast and the Furious movie drops. They also highlight what's actually working: Julio Torres' Fantasmas and Problemista, the Hulu comedy This Fool, Alexa Demie's performance on Euphoria, Indi Navarrete leading the charge in horror, and why indie film is becoming the real home for Latino storytelling. Suzy also shares what she learned firsthand in the writers' room of Netflix's Neon — and the fight it took to get Puerto Ricans represented at every level of a show about reggaeton. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.

Episode Notes

Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito go head-to-head on the state of Latino representation in Hollywood — what's winning, what's failing, and who's been getting away with both for too long.

 

They start with the biggest media story of the summer: Telemundo's historic World Cup win, how half of all Americans chose to watch in Spanish over Fox's English-language broadcast, and what that says about who actually understands Latino audiences — and who doesn't.

 

Then they get into the numbers: only three Latino actors received Primetime Emmy nominations this year, and at the Oscars, out of 120 nominees, only two were Latino — and neither won. Fidel and Suzy break down why those numbers won't improve, why Hollywood keeps throwing Latinos one bone at a time, and why they think the studios know exactly what they're doing — pointing to the moment every Fast and the Furious movie drops.

 

They also highlight what's actually working: Julio Torres' Fantasmas and Problemista, the Hulu comedy This Fool, Alexa Demie's performance on Euphoria, Indi Navarrete leading the charge in horror, and why indie film is becoming the real home for Latino storytelling. Suzy also shares what she learned firsthand in the writers' room of Netflix's Neon — and the fight it took to get Puerto Ricans represented at every level of a show about reggaeton.

 

Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro.

 

🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.