Cristela Alonzo shares intimate thoughts on her ABC show cancellation - Los Angeles Times
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Cristela Alonzo shares intimate thoughts on her ABC show cancellation

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The week of the television network upfronts always brings equal measure excitement and heartbreak as new shows are picked up and other shows are canceled. But it’s rare for the star of a series to be as upfront and honest so soon after the news broke as comedian Cristela Alonzo, whose self-titled ABC comedy, “Cristela,” was one of the week’s casualties.

In a touching post written on her personal website, Alonzo shared stories of her mother’s childhood in poverty in Mexico and talked about how her mother’s dream in life was to have running water and electricity. By comparison, Alonzo achieved her own dream of having her own TV show. She wrote the post about the show’s cancellation one year to the day after she got the phone call that her series had been picked up.

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She discussed some of her frustrations with how the show was handled by the network. How it was regularly pre-empted and how she came under undue pressure to be a representative for Latino women everywhere.

She also hinted at other issues with the development of the show, which was very personal to her. But she didn’t elaborate.

“Throughout the course of the show, I got messages from people that said I need to add ‘that crazy chola cousin we all have’ or telling me that I sold out my culture because my mom has a thick accent,” Alonzo wrote.

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She continued, “I don’t want to specifically talk about the problems that existed because the cancelation is recent and still fresh. I don’t want people thinking that I’m making excuses or that I’m a sore loser of sorts.”

But though she was obviously nursing still-fresh wounds, she managed to close the post on a positive note, writing, “Trust me, Cristela the show might be done…but Cristela the person has just started.”

Follow me on Twitter: @patrickkevinday

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