Review based on first three episodes

Acapulco isa Spanish and English-language half-hour comedy executive produced and starring Eugenio Derbez.  It is inspired by hit 2017 feature comedy How to Be A Latin Lover, which was headlined by Derbez, Acapulco produced Lionsgate Television, studio-based The Tannenbaum Company as well as Derbez and Benjamin Odell’s 3Pas Studios. The show Created by Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist creator Austin Winsberg, Eduardo Cisneros & Jason Shuman (Half Brothers).

In Acapulco, a young Mexican man’s dream comes true when he gets the job of a lifetime at the hottest resort in Acapulco. But he soon realises the job is far more complicated than he ever imagined as all of his beliefs and morals start to be questioned. The show takes place in 1984 with Derbez narrating and playing the present-day version of the main character.

Acapulco is a simple story of human ambition and the relationships made along the way. It contrasts the colour and glamour of Acapulco’s premiere resort with the more normal and squalid lives of those that live and work there. It’s hard to tell if the show plays too heavily on cultural stereotypes or shining a light on the realities of this world; it’s a balance the show doesn’t seem to strike. However it feels like the goal to entertain and the result is light-hearted and airy comedy/drama.

Eugenio Derbez is instantly charming and charismatic as the present-day Maximo who narrates our story (They are using the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ type format here..) and is well matched by
Enrique Arrizon as the young Maximo who he plays as naive but endlessly ambitious with a twinkle in his eye. The picturesque setting works well visually and is certainly charming but lacks some of the substance and elevation we have come to expect from Apple shows such as Ted Lasso.

C+

Season 2 of Acapulco launches Friday, October 22nd on Apple TV.

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Watch Season 1 now Apple TV