Disney's 'Primos' series sheds light on Mexican-American experiences in new animated comedy

LOS ANGELES -- It's the "Summer of Tater," or at least, she wishes it was. Tater Ramirez Humphrey, voiced by Myrna Velasco, is dreaming big on her first day of summer vacation, and is ready for some much-needed "me time" - time to create her vision board - in the quiet of her home. That is, until her mom invites all 12 of her primos (Spanish for "cousins") over for the summer!

Inspired by her summers as a second-generation Mexican-American kid in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Natasha Kline's "Primos" revisits her experiences growing up in a large, multicultural and dynamic family.

"At first, Tater is really resistant that this is not the summer she was expecting. It's not what she needed and wanted, but I think she learns throughout the series that having your family there is an asset," said Velasco.

Kline has worked as an animator for many years and has directed over 30 episodes of Disney Channel's "Big City Greens." Now, she's ready to share her own unique story.

With 23 cousins in her family, Kline worked to condense their characteristics into 12 primos. "My cousins were like, 'I think this one's me!' And, they were all just super duper excited about it. Yeah, they keep sending me screenshots of the trailer and just being like, 'Oh, my God! That's just like our lives,'" she laughed.

A big family is key to Tater's story, as is a great cast for this show, which stars Angélica María as Tater's grandmother, Buela; Cheech Marin as Tater's grandfather, Pop; and Melissa Villaseñor as Tater's sister, Nellie Ramirez Humphrey.

Mark Consuelos guest stars as Tío Ivan Ramirez, alongside Joel "The Kid Mero" Martinez as Tío Diego Perez, Gabriel Iglesias as Tío Gustavo, Ricardo Chavira as Tío Ignacio and more.

When it came to having a diverse cast of characters, Kline explained, "That was really the goal of the series, to create characters that were all from different walks of life, all different skin tones, all different kinds of ethnicities, but that they all live together in this house, and there's a bond that forms for them, and there's an acceptance that forms, that's already there, honestly. Even if they're speaking different languages, there's still the language of love that unites them."

Although the cast hasn't been able to do any group recording sessions yet, Velasco expressed how elated she was to be supported by the actors in the show. "All of these iconic actors and performers are somehow bolstering me," she said in disbelief.

It wasn't until a few months ago she learned she was working with some of the greats! "'Is that Melissa Villaseñor from 'SNL' on-, my-, she's my sister! Is that Cheech Marin the icon of Mexican-Americans?' So mostly I was just freaking out," she recalled.

"Primos" premieres with two episodes on Thursday, July 25 at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Disney Channel. The first nine episodes of "Primos" will be streaming July 26 on Disney+. Tune in Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel for two episodes weekly.

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