With a title like ‘Hialeah: Dade F**kin County’ can this TV show miss? We may find out
Got to admit you might be curious to tune into a streaming TV show with the title, “Hialeah: Dade F**kin County.”
Especially if you are from the 305.
A Hialeah sitcom! Could it even capture the essence of, and the distinctive sabor, of the sixth-largest city in Florida — a city with the highest percentage of Cuban and Cuban-American residents of any in the United States, according to the U.S. Census.
“Hialeah: Dade F**kin County” is now in development for IMDb TV, a free streaming service from Amazon Studios, said an IMDb spokeswoman. (The Miami Herald added a second asterisk to the title).
The series is imagined as a half-hour family comedy and it was co-created by writers and executive producers Monique Alvarez and Jessica Lee Williamson, according to IMDb.
My Abuela fame
Alvarez, a Cuban/Colombian American writer, actress and producer from Hialeah, could go from local video star behind the MyAbuelaInMiami website to landing a nationwide streaming TV show if this Hialeah sitcom takes off.
Alvarez created a viral moment last season when she and her 90-year-old grandmother filmed a video that transformed the “The 12 Days of Christmas” into an English/Spanglish, only-in-Miami twist — “Los 12 Dias de Navidad de Abuela (en Hialeah).”
The video — on several My Abuela platforms — YouTube, My Abuela in Miami on Facebook, Instagram and their website at MyAbuelaInMiami — was filmed against a backdrop of street art in the Leah Arts District in Hialeah and surrounding stores, cafecito windows and supermarkets in Miami-Dade neighborhoods.
Louise and Monique Alvarez called themselves “the Cuban Laverne & Chur-lee,” and wanted to make people laugh and spread holiday cheer “Cuban-style,” they told the Miami Herald at the time.
And in 2020, we sure could use some more laughter.
Novel idea, aside, that doesn’t guarantee a TV show gets picked up and streamed.
“Too soon for any timing details,” IMDb’s spokeswoman said. That includes whether or not “Hialeah” gets filmed in, well, Hialeah.
Alvarez also tipped us to the developing show when she reached out on Thursday. “I know it’s an odd time to celebrate some good news, but we don’t always pick our moments. And I’m just so excited and proud to hopefully bring that colorful community to the forefront,” she said.
What ‘Hialeah: Dade F**kin County’ is about
Amazon Studios describes the proposed Hialeah sitcom as such:
The comedy “follows first generation Cuban-American, ChiChi Rodriguez, who makes a run from her failed marriage and lands back with her disapproving family in the Cuban mecca of Hialeah: a hard left from Miami, a world away from the lavish version of South Florida, and the last place on earth ChiChi ever wanted to be.
“She’s determined to reinvent herself in this singular neighborhood brimming with cafecito counters, Santería altars, and bench ads for ass implants. But first she must learn that, hay que resolver: you gotta work with what you’ve got,” the premise goes.
Like Alvarez, Williamson, the show’s co-creator, writer and executive producer also has Cuban roots. She was raised by a Cuban mother on Maryland’s eastern shore, according to her bio released by IMDb TV.
If “Hialeah” comes to fruition, it would follow Norman Lear’s rebooted “One Day at a Time” that focuses on a Cuban American family and costars Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno with a theme song update by Miami’s Gloria Estefan.
Could the proposed “Hialeah: Dade F**kin County” be as funny and critically well-received as Lear’s Pop TV sitcom? With that title, maybe it has a shot.
Whatever happened to abuela?
Monique Alvarez currently has a role as Jane Doe in the new film “Percy” that co-stars Christopher Walken.
As for grandma, Alvarez tells us that Louise, fresh from becoming a YouTube sensation on the eve of her 91st birthday with her “12 Days of Christmas” parody, is handling the COVID-19 pandemic in fitting Hialeah style.
“She’s quarantining with her telenovelas, so she’s fine,” her granddaughter said.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 3:22 PM.
