Fox's Party of Five,which ran from 1994-2000, is inherently tragic: Five young adult siblings lose their parents in a freak accident, and are suddenly left to fend for themselves. Shocked, grieving, and forced to grow up too soon, they forge ahead.
Freeform's triumphant reboot is similarly heartbreaking. Viewers meet the Acosta family, comprised of loving parents Javier (Bruno Bichir) and Gloria (Fernanda Urrejola); their eldest son, aspiring rock star Emilio (Brandon Larracuente); teenaged twins Beto (Niko Guardado) and Lucia (Emily Tosta); preteen daughter Val (Elle Paris Legaspi); and newborn baby Rafa. The family runs a restaurant and resides in California.
Emilio, Val, Beto, and Lucia gathered around baby Raffa. Credit: Freeform As we soon learn, Javier and Gloria immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with Emilio when he was a baby. Emilio is a DACA recipient, while the rest of the siblings are native-born American citizens. The series kicks off just as Javier and Gloria are deported and sent back to Mexico during a raid of their restaurant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency because they are undocumented. Thus commences what connects the reboot to the original Party of Five: the compelling conceit of a group of siblings going on with their lives after their parents are taken away from them.
Freeform's narrativization of deportation is brave and holds a mirror to society.
Party of Five's power expresses itself both in theory and in practice. To dramatize deportation in the current political climate is gutsy. Family separation has been discussed in comprehensive nonfiction works such as Netflix's Living Undocumented, but Freeform's fictional narrative bravely holds a mirror to society. Also, it's worth noting that a big reason creators Amy Lippman and Christopher Keyser were able to make the series is because a wider audience has become aware of deportation as a result of immigration policy overhauls and divisive rhetoric on the subject from the Trump Administration.
The series follows through with pointed, specific, up-to-date storylines. The specific anxieties Emilio harbors as a legal guardian of four minors with DACA status rather than citizenship are explored, and the siblings face a mix of racial prejudice and anti-immigrant sentiment from multiple authority figures in their orbit...all while habitually alerting the workers in their restaurant about ICE raids.
In addition, Party of Five showcases how each sibling reacts to their parents' deportation, a circumstance completely out of their control. Lucia rebels and distances herself from friends, Beto struggles academically, Emilio exhibits spurts of anger, and Val, not even 13 years old, turns to religion and demonstrates symptoms of anxiety and a heightened fear of abandonment.
Val is consoled by Beto as she longs for her parents. Credit: Freeform The way in which the series deals with Val's emotional struggles in particular is adept and worth highlighting. I was brought to tears more than once watching her search for meaning in her family's circumstance, and repeatedly call her parents just to reassure herself they were still alive. Even though Val's abandonment issues reach an emotional climax, Party of Fivedoes justice to her pain and continually references the storyline in following episodes.
All throughout, the viewer experiences an essential tension between wanting the siblings to grow into themselves and sincerely hoping their parents are granted re-entry into the United States -- which is a stark contrast to the original Party of Five, wherein only the former development was possible. Even though the audience wants Javier and Gloria to return and for the siblings to resume childhood, watching the siblings evolve is rewarding. Their journey invests the audience through its complexity.
Accordingly, Larracuente, Guardado, Tosta, and Legaspi's performances as Acosta siblings are fantastic. The actors's ability to convey the sudden emotional maturation that would result from their parents deportation is impressive. In particular, Tosta and Legaspi play young, powerful, misunderstood female leads with grace, authenticity, and grit.
Tosta as the headstrong Lucia. Credit: Freeform A particular interaction between Lucia and classmate named Jackie (Natalie Liconti) exemplifies the series' excellent writing, bolstered by Tosta's sharp delivery: In an effort to express understanding, Jackie tells Lucia her parents got a divorce. Lucia calmly turns to Jackie and stoically states "That's not the same thing," and segues into another topic.
This moment conveys that the Acosta siblings are written as perseverant in the face of societal shortcoming and widespread inequities. They aren't embarrassed by their circumstances; on the contrary, the siblings are strong, scrappy, and forward-looking.
Party of Five premiered on January 8 on Freeform, and new episodes air weekly.
