Disney Greenlights Mexican-American Animated Series ‘Primos’

Get excited, Disney fans! A new animated family comedy series inspired by the real-life story of extended multicultural Mexican American family of the show’s creator. Natasha Kline, director on Big City Greens, South Park, is the creator and executive producer of  the upcoming show, Primos. The show will center on Tater, an eccentric 10-year-old girl with big dreams and, unbeknownst to her, a certain “it factor” that makes her exceptional, which she will discover when her twelve cousins move in for the summer.

Each half-hour episode will be made up of two eleven-minute short stories featuring the family hijinks and adventures, Tater’s aspirations, and her secret diary thoughts that turn her imagination into grandiose animation sequences within the show. Disney introduced its first Latina princess, Elena of Avalor, in 2016 and they also announced their first bisexual lead character, Dominican-American Luz Noceda in The Owl House and now with Primos it’s an entire show dedicated to the Latinx experience.

“Primos is set in childhood summers spent with my cousins under one roof, and the comedy that’s borne from that wonderfully hectic setting,” Kline said in a statement. “As a kid, I didn’t see myself or my culture represented onscreen, so I’m excited to share my family dynamic through these new Disney characters and stories.”

JUST ANNOUNCED: #DisneyBrandedTelevision orders "Primos," an original animated comedy series created and executive produced by Natasha Kline. The story is based on her childhood experiences with her extended multicultural Mexican American family. #DisneyPrimos pic.twitter.com/isFKN0FMBl

— Disney Branded TV PR (@DisneyBrandTVPR) November 3, 2021

Kline has more than a decade of experience in animation with nearly seven years as a storyboard artist and designer on Comedy Central’s Emmy-award-winning series South Park. She previously freelanced for various animated projects like Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold!, The Jungle Movie and Pinky Malinky. She also worked as a story artist on LEGO Ninjago movie and as a storyboard artist in Netflix’s Bojack Horseman.

Latinx representation in animation remains low but we’re excited to see progress with shows like The Casagrandes which is also about a large, Mexican-American family. The Nickelodeon animated series that premiered in 2019 is about 11-year-old Ronnie Anne Santiago and her multi-generational Mexican-American family. The series, a spinoff of The Loud House, features a Latinx cast that includes actress Izabella Alvarez (Westworld) as Ronnie Anne, Sonia Manzano (Sesame Street) as Abuela Rosa, and Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included) as the voice of Ronnie Anne’s father, Dr. Santiago.

Primos is currently in pre-production so no word yet on the cast but no doubt this will be an amazing opportunity for to have an all-Latinx cast. Though Disney Television Animation will help produce the series, the network that the show will air on has yet to be announced.