After a rocky introduction to its new animated series Primos last year, Disney Channel has just announced the premiere date and cast for the show.
The first two episodes of Primos premiere on July 25, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET on the Disney Channel. The first nine episodes will be available on Disney+ the following day. The series was created by Emmy Award-nominated Natasha Kline (Big City Greens), who used her childhood experience growing up in Southern California in a large and blended Mexican American family.
Primos follows Tater Ramirez Humphrey (Myrna Velasco), “an eccentric girl [whose] ambitious summer dreams … take an unexpected turn when her family invites all 12 of her cousins to stay with them, leading to a summer of surprises and unforgettable adventures.”
Along with Velasco voicing the lead role, some of the other Latine talent behind the characters includes Cheech Marin (Up in Smoke) as Tater’s grandfather, Pop; Angélica María (Qué bonito amor) as Tater’s grandmother, Bulea; and Melissa Villaseñor (Saturday Night Live) as Tater’s sister, Nellie.
Some of the notable guest stars in the first season will include Mark Consuelos (All My Children) as Tío Ivan Ramirez; Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez (Desus & Mero) as Tío Diego Perez; Gabriel Iglesias (Mr. Iglesias) as Tío Gustavo; and Ricardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives) as Tío Ignacio.
When the first trailer for Primos premiered last year, it received backlash because some viewers said the characters were stereotypes, from their names to the fact that the house looked a mess, and the main Spanish in the theme song was grammatically incorrect. Some even found the city Terremoto Heights insulting. In a since deleted post on Instagram, Velasco pushed back on the criticism.
“Be mad at me all you want for misspelling words in Spanish,” Velasco wrote. “Be mad at me all you want for mispronouncing words in Spanish. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m a Mexican American, Native American woman. We’re trying to make a good show for kids; for kids who feel left out; for kids who feel different; for kids who don’t have a full grasp on any language no matter where they live. If you’re gonna be mad at that, I don’t know. Be mad then.”