More “Vida” is on the way. Deadline confirms Tanya Saracho’s half-hour Starz dramedy has been renewed for a third season. Season 2 is currently airing, and the third is expected next summer.
“Vida” centers on sisters Lyn (Melissa Barrera) and Emma (Mishel Prada), who return home to East LA after their mother’s death. They eventually decide to renovate the bar their mother, Vida, left them, in spite of the gentrification that is threatening their predominantly Latinx neighborhood.
In addition to its culturally-specific storylines, “Vida” is known for its queer representation. It’s only at Vida’s funeral that Lyn and Emma find out that their mother was married to a woman, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui). The bar they ran together was an unofficial hangout for lesbian Latinx women. Although she’s tight-lipped about her personal life, Emma is also gay.
“It is a rarity in television today to have a series earn this level of critical praise for two consecutive seasons and spark cultural conversation in the way that ‘Vida’ has,” said Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch. “We are proud to continue to tell this story with Tanya and the incredible cast and crew she has assembled.”
“Vida” Season 2 broadcasts new episodes on Sundays, and is available in its entirety on the Starz app. When the second season launched on the app May 23, it netted almost twice the viewership of last year’s series debut. “Hispanic-household viewing of ‘Vida’ has shot up 56 percent compared to the same point in Season 1 to remain the largest Hispanic audience composition for premium series this year,” the source reports. The first season saw a 60 percent increase in viewership from its premiere to its finale.
“Vida” was honored with the 2019 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy series. Its cast also includes Chelsea Rendon, Maria-Elena Laas, and Roberta Colindrez.
Saracho previously wrote for and co-produced “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Looking.” On her slate is “Brujas,” a series following four Chicago-based Afro-Caribbean/Latinx women and their growing relationship with the Bruja movement.
