The first trailer for the Hulu original comedy series This Fool dropped this week, and it looks like it’s trying to do something different with Latine stereotypes.
The life and stand-up career of comedian and co-creator Chris Estrada will inspire the half-hour series. Set in South Central Los Angeles, This Fool stars Estrada as Julio Lopez, a 30-year-old who doesn’t seem to have his life together. He does, however, have a job at a gang rehabilitation nonprofit organization called Hugs Not Thugs. Julio has also welcomed his older cousin Luis (Frankie Quinones), a former gang member and ex-convict, to move in with him and his family. One of the executive producers on the series is former Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen, who is part Venezuelan.
In the trailer, we meet Julio participating in a counseling session where a group of former gang members is being told that they have “taken the first step towards gaining control of your life.” During a tour of the rehab facility, Julio explains to one of the gang members what their services provide. “We offer free legal counseling, solar panel installation classes…”
The gang member isn’t impressed when Julio tells him that his job offers him dental insurance. “Man, your teeth still look pretty f—ed up, though,” he says. Julio responds: “Yeah, but guess what? They used to be even more f—ed up.”
We then meet Luis, Julio’s cousin, who has spent the last eight years in prison. Julio wants to help him out now that he’s a free man, but he can’t even help himself. In one scene in the trailer, Julio refuses to stand up for himself against a group of gang members in his neighborhood who are blocking his car. Later, we see Julio helping his Hugs Not Thugs clients try to sell cupcakes to raise money. Well, this is already a different perspective than we see in the media.
This Fool premieres on Hulu on August 12.