HOLLYWOOD — For the first time in broadcast network history, NBC will present an hourlong drama series populated primarily by Latino characters played by Latino actors. But, as one critic put it, the "bad news" about "Kingpin" is that most of those characters "are drug dealers who kill each other."
In other words, American TV finally has a show about Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, but they could be looked at as the worst Hispanic stereotypes possible. That's a charge that writer/executive producer David Mills strongly denies.
"I'll tell you, I am fed up with the notion that when it's a white character and white actors, it's a universal story," Mills said. "But when it's a Mexican story and a Latino actor, it's a story about Mexicans. We're telling a story about a human being."
The central character in "Kingpin" is Miguel Cadena (Yancey Arias), a Stanford-educated businessman whose business is his family's drug cartel. He would prefer to avoid violence if possible — making him somewhat suspect to the family — but he's not above extreme violence when necessary. (Although Mills denies it, "Kingpin" is NBC's answer to HBO's "The Sopranos." While not as explicit as that show, "Kingpin" pushes the boundaries for broadcast TV.)
"White writers aren't the only ones who get to tell universal stories," said Mills, a veteran of shows like "ER," "NYPD Blue" and "Homicide" who is himself white. (He was quick to point out, however, that he hired four Hispanic writers to bring "some degree of authenticity to what we put on the page.")
"You shouldn't have to be limited to writing about white people to tell a universal story. And Latino actors should not be limited to playing the noble inner-city math teacher or the salsa-band leader."
While not a perfect show by any means, "Kingpin" is indeed engrossing, sometimes surprising and complex. It wrestles with issues of morality and forces the audience to do the same as viewers could find themselves rooting for a drug lord. It is both glitzy and gritty as it moves between the fabulous "Dallas"-like lifestyle afforded by the drug cartel profits and the violent, dirty business that creates those profits.
Almost all the Hispanic characters in "Kingpin" are in the drug trade, although the central DEA agent (Angela Alvarado Rosa) in the six-episode series is Latina. And there are white characters who don't reflect well on their race, either — Sheryl Lee ("Twin Peaks") is Cadena's Lady Macbeth-like wife, and Brian Benben ("Dream On") is a plastic surgeon who is heavily involved in the drug trade.
The stars all defend the show against any charges of fostering ethnic stereotypes.
"You can also put a positive spin on this, which is this show in unlike any other show on network television and it's employing 20 to 30 Latino actors every week," said Bobby Cannavale, who plays Miguel's brother, Chato. "I don't think you'll find any Latino actors that don't want to work on the show. Actors want good parts, and that's really the bottom line."
Arias said it is "a wonderful privilege to be an actor who was chosen to play out these incredible, complex moments."
"The actors draw upon their humanity to play . . . those tales of ambition and greed and pride and self-delusion and redemption," Mills said. "I draw on my humanity to write those stories. The audience is going to be touched on a human level and not on a level of their ethnic category."
And, he said, "A good story trumps everything."
"I'm willing to bet . . . the Latino audience will embrace this show. I want the Latino audience to feel, not that this is a show about Mexicans, but this is a show for us as the Latino audience."
And, NBC is hoping, a show that will be embraced by a much wider audience.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com