In the 70s and early 80s, Norman Lear was a sitcom king, producing hit shows such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons. But in 1984, he produced a sitcom that missed the mark a.k.a. Pablo.
The show was about a Mexican-American comic Paul (Pablo) Rivera, played by stand up comedian Paul Rodriguez and his large family. His parents, Domingo and Rosa Maria were played by veteran actors Joe Santos and Katy Jurado. Santos, who also appeared on The Rockford Files was very straightforward to his show business son "I don't like jokes about Mexicans." Jurado was in several movies and was rarely seen in sitcoms but she handled the mom role well. Other notable names were Alma Cuervo as his sister Sylvia and Hector Elizondo as Paul's manager Jose.
There was one episode I remember where Paul got in trouble with his family for making jokes about them. A similar plot also turned up almost 30 years later on The Bernie Mac Show when Bernie's family detested his jokes about them. In another episode, there was one scene I remember where the Riveras were listening to Vin Scully call a Dodger game when Fernando Valenzuela was pitching. They were cheering on the Dodger pitcher who was born in their native Mexico.
IMHO, t was one of the few sitcoms before The George Lopez show to have a predominantly Hispanic cast. Unfortunately, the Latin humor in the show was too controversial and ABC said "Adios!" to a.k.a. Pablo after only six episodes. Not one of Lear's successful shows.
