Selena: The Series

I happened upon this series as I was driving down the freeway by seeing it advertised on a billboard. I thought, The movie wasn't enough?! But I decided to give it a shot anyway. First of all, I can't get passed how Lifetime-ish the acting is! Second of all, I was born and raised in Corpus and I still currently live here. I don't recall my town being THAT clean and with what looked like a mountain in the background? Um...??? Third of all, I don't want to see a constant presence with Abraham! I want to see Selena! I thought that was the name of the show? Anyway, disappointment all around. I guess the movie and Fiesta De La Flor wasn't enough cash grabs. Oh well...

Episode one was okay for an introduction. The show feels like if Lifetime had a really big budget to make a biopic. It doesn't dive deep, not dark enough and feels like a viewership grab with her namr. Hopefully, part two learns enough from part one reviews.

I was looking forward for this show and so far, I'm enjoying it. Before anything, for all people out there saying "the actress doesn't look like Selena, her hair doesn't look like Selena's" .. just do a little research and you'll find out that Selena actually had pretty curly hair and in her earlier years she did rock her curls! Only later she started to style her hair in a different way. You'll see that her hair curls and color actually looked like that before... Later on in the show you'll see she changes her style as she matures and becomes a woman! I am, like many people, a huge fan of the movie with JLo, but obviously they speeded up in order to make a 2 hours movie about her life, the series portrays a more detailed and slower paced timeline. So they actually did a great job by showing her hair like that. Just give it some time because the series is showing her earlier years and the process of her becoming the Selena we know. Yes, there are some negative aspects, but I think that it's overall consistent and well portrayed. Sometimes the acting isn't the best performance, but it isn't THAT bad either. Obviously the actress can't dance as JLo, hasn't the same curves as JLo , but she's good and as far as I know, Selena's family chose and approved her to play Selena... That has to mean something. Just enjoy the series for what it is. Don't compare to the movie. It's a different kind of magic and it's great that her memory is being honored.

Show full of empty smiles and unnecessary laughter. It is as if the actress is pretending to be Selena instead of acting like her. That is what happens when you get a 30 year old to play a 15 year old teenager. The youthful energy that Selena had is missing in this show. The only believable acting was when Selena was trying to learn Spanish. Selena seems to be a character made for comical relief rather than a main character, which is disappointing given that this show is named after her.

One of the reasons everybody loved Selena was because she represented many of the first generation Americans of Mexican descent. She had more Native features than Spanish features, which is a reason why her story is incredible, many lower class Mexicans could relate to her. It is disappointing for Netflix to choose an actress that poorly represents who Selena was.m. Netflix decided to whitewash a Mexican Legend.

It's not all bad though. The supporting actors are great. There acting is believable and the chemistry between the family and supporting actors is well formed.

Leave your expectations at the door when starting this series. Selena: The Series is a family style show based on The Quintanilla family's life story. It's cute, light, and full of funny moments that remind me of my own family. The series shows us parts of Selena's life we never knew such as her childhood and teenage years. Love it!