Freeform is bringing back the popular 1990s family drama Party of Five, which revolves around a Mexican-American family. The reboot, however, will have an immigration twist, as 13 Reasons Why star Brandon Larracuente, Emily Tosta (Mayans M.C.), Niko Guardado (The Goldbergs) and newcomer Elle Paris Legaspi set to join the cast as the four older Buendía siblings.
According to Deadline, the original series, which aired on Fox, centered around the five Salinger siblings who suddenly become orphans after their parents are killed by a drunk driver in a car accident. The Freeform reboot will have an immigration-theme as the show will revolve around the five Buendia children as they navigate through the struggles of adolescence and surviving as a family after their parents are deported back to Mexico.
Larracuente, Guardado, Tosta and Legaspi will play versions of the characters from the original series played by Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell and Lacey Chabert, respectively.
Courtesy of Freeform
According to a press release from Freeform, Larracuente will play Emilio Buendía, the oldest son of Gloria and Javier Buendía and an aspiring musician. Emilio was the reason that his parents crossed the U.S.-Mexico border 25 years ago, in hopes of attaining a better life. While Emilio may be the oldest, he’s definitely not the most responsible one of the siblings, and had been enjoying a life away from home. However, that freedom is now threatened when his parents’ status is in jeopardy.
Tosta will portray Lucia Buendía, a straight-A student that has dreams of attending college until her parents run into some trouble with immigration. Her parents’ circumstances force her to reevaluate her willingness to follow the rules, and she quickly becomes rebellious. Not adhering to her expected duties as the oldest sister, Lucia becomes politically radicalized.
Guardado will play Beto Buendía, the second oldest brother of the family. Unlike his older siblings, Beto steps up in the midst of the family’s uncertainty. Although he struggles with sports, girls and school, Beto finds that being the head of his family comes easily to him, giving him a sense of purpose and the self-respect he didn’t have before.
Lastly, newcomer Elle Paris Legaspi finishes off the Buendía siblings as ten-year-old Valentina Buendía, the resourceful youngest sister. However, Valentina is forced to face adolescence without her parents, and she is afraid of what the future will hold. Her vulnerability about the future will force her older siblings to step up to the plate and offer her the support she needs, but that they aren’t wholly equipped to provide to her.
The original series’ creators, Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman reunited to write the pilot. Keyser, Lippman and Rodrigo Garcia will executive produce the pilot and Michal Zebede (Castle) will be a co-executive producer, Freeform said in its press release.
While we already know that Freeform tries to deliver bold, original programming to its audiences, this new reboot pilot sounds like it will help give an important look into and start a crucial conversation about immigration.