Who remembers the short-lived TV series The Golden Palace, a spin-off sequel to The Golden Girls that starred Cheech Marin? The show saw late actresses Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty reprise their roles as Rose, Blanche, and Sophia for one season between September 1992 and May 1993.
The Golden Palace saw Marin as a character named Chuy Castillos, a co-chef who works inside a Miami hotel that Rose, Blanche, and Sophia purchased after they sell their home on the series finale of The Golden Girls in May 1992.
If you’re not familiar with the show, you can now see all 24 episodes on Hulu. Weeks prior to White’s death on December 31, 2021, Hulu announced the series would be available to stream in honor of White’s 100th birthday, which she would’ve celebrated on January 17.
On The Golden Palace, Chuy works alongside Sophia, who is the hotel’s other co-chef. When the women tell him that they are his new boss, he doesn’t take the news well. “I’m the chef here, and everything you’ve heard about angry Mexican chefs is true, so run!” Chuy says when he first meets the trio.
In the first episode, Chuy quits when Sophia tells him that she wants the kitchen to serve Italian food, not Mexican. He returns to the kitchen before the episode is over to ask for his job back. Sophia eventually takes him back.
On the day White died, Marin paid tribute to her in a pair of Instagram posts. “Betty White was the first person who I ever saw on TV — she has remained my #1 star ever since,” he wrote alongside a photo of White early in her career. “There will never be another Betty White.”
Cheech Marin’s second post featured a photo of himself and White posing together for the camera.
The Golden Palace is currently streaming on Hulu.