The series chronicles the life of Cristela Hernandez, a Mexican-American law school graduate living in Dallas, Texas, who must balance her chance to live the American Dream by working as an unpaid intern at a law firm with the concerns of her family, including her sister Daniela, her brother-in-law Felix, and her mother Natalia. At work, she deals with her boss Trent Culpepper, his daughter Maddie, and Josh.
Cast
Main cast
Cristela Alonzo as Cristela Hernandez, a sassy and sarcastic aspiring attorney who lives with her sister and brother-in-law
Maria Canals-Barrera as Daniela Gonzalez, Cristela's over-the-top, vain sister who is the manager of a call center
Terri Hoyos as Natalia Hernandez, Cristela's and Daniela's critical, old-fashioned mother who constantly refers to growing up in poverty in a Mexican village
Andrew Leeds as Josh, Cristela's competitive co-worker from a privileged background, and her possible love interest
Sam McMurray as Trent Culpepper, Cristela's greedy boss who frequently makes racist comments
Justine Lupe as Maddie Culpepper, Trent's materialistic daughter and Cristela's ditzy co-worker
Isabella Day as Isabella Gonzalez, Felix and Daniela's daughter
Jacob Guenther as Henry Gonzalez, Felix and Daniela's son
Recurring cast
Gabriel Iglesias as Alberto, Felix's annoying cousin and co-worker who is in love with Cristela
Adam Shapiro as Ben Buckner, an associate who works with Cristela and later becomes interested in her romantically
Characters mentioned but not seen
Juanita Canales, the family's neighbor; Natalia and Juanita are always trying to one-up each other, and Nathalia openly expresses hatred for Juanita to the family.
Mr. Hernandez, Cristela, Daniela, and Eddie's father, and Nathalia's estranged husband, who left the family immediately after Cristela was born
Valente Rodriguez as Eduardo "Eddie" Hernandez, Cristela and Daniela's brother who works in Oklahoma. He is Natalia's favorite child, due to him being her only son.
Roseanne Barr as Veronica Culpepper, Trent's estranged third wife who is also a lawyer. She openly dislikes her husband, but becomes a friend of Cristela.
In 2013, Alonzo created her own semi-autobiographical comedy pilot Cristela for ABC. It was not greenlit as a part of the 2013–14 television season, but on February 26, 2014, ABC ordered another pilot presentation, and filmed a full-length pilot on the stage of Last Man Standing, where it got a strong testing from the audience. On May 10, 2014, ABC picked up the pilot to series for the 2014–15 television season. On November 24, 2014, Cristela was picked up for a full season.
Crossover with ''Last Man Standing''
On February 9, 2015, ABC announced that Cristela would cross over with fellow ABC Friday night sitcom Last Man Standing, with that show's star Tim Allen appearing in the episode "Last Goose Standing".
Cancellation
The series was canceled by ABC on May 7, 2015. ABC cited the show's live ratings as the reason for its cancellation.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
The series started with mixed reviews from critics despite praise for Alonzo's performance. On Rotten Tomatoes, Cristela has a rating of 52%, based on 31 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading, "Though Cristela Alonzo has a pleasing energy, Cristela's disappointing supporting cast and uneven writing ruin the show's attempts at humor." Metacritic gave the show a score of 61 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable review". However, as the season progressed, Cristela began earning more positive reviews.
Ratings
Although the series initially premiered to decent ratings, ratings gradually declined throughout the season, resulting in its cancellation.
Season overview
By episode
Broadcast
In Australia, Cristela premiered on Fox8 on February 1, 2015.
