How Spicy Series ‘Vida’ Earned Its 100% Rating On Rotten Tomatoes

The drama continues as Stan drops season two of their critically acclaimed series Vida, set in the heavily Latinx east side area of Los Angeles.

I’ve generally made it a rule to not consider reviews and ratings as gospel when sussing out a film or TV series but the fact that this show scored a 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes after just one season is pretty freaking phenomenal.

So what is it about this series that has punters hooked and the critics raving?

Well, you’ve got two Mexican-American sisters, Emma (Mishel Prada) and Lyn (Melissa Barrera) who reconnect after years of estrangement following their mother’s death.

Mishel Prada (left) and Melissa Barrera (right) star as sisters mourning their mother

Throughout the first season, which consisted of six half-hour episodes, we fell in love with the dynamic relationship between the sisters who are polar opposites but both very loveable in their own way.

As the older sister, Emma is the more responsible sibling; a no-nonsense career woman who was living in Chicago. While Lyn is the younger, flakier sister who left L.A. behind and moved to San Francisco.

The season leaves off with the grieving sisters deciding to stay in L.A. to take over the bar owned by their late mother, Vida.

Picking up 10 days after the season one finale, the 10-episode second season further explores their relationship as they go into business together, creator Tanya Saracho reveals.

“Emma will attack it from the financial. She arrives with [the mission of] ‘I have to make money,’ and Lyn is like ‘it has to matter,’” Saracho told TV Guide.

“So they both have their missions in that regard. And in a way, it’s the right mission for them, for the bar.”

Barrera adds that their joint venture strengthens their bond as sisters and their differing points of view end up being a strength rather than a weakness.

What’s beautiful about the second season is you get to see them together a lot,” she told the publication. “They’re like the yin and yang. They need each other to balance each other out and it’s really amazing. And they have fun.

“You see how they’re trying to get to know each other, because they don’t really, and trying to build their relationship in the workplace and at home and how hard it is, but how they’re both trying really hard to make it work. And it’s a beautiful thing.”

The series has been praised by critics for its fresh take on the Latinx culture, from the gentrification of the old school neighbourhoods to the traditions and customs and how they’ve adapted in the modern world.

It’s also been celebrated for its representation of the queer community as Emma, a main character, is a lesbian. The episodes tackle a variety of prevalent themes including LGBTQIA+ discrimination, sexual identity and coming out.

In order for the series to paint an accurate picture of this world, Saracho exclusively hired Latinx writers, some of whom are also queer, so that their first-hand experience and knowledge of that world would be baked into the show’s DNA.

Vida is unlike any other show on telly right now which is why I reckon it’s gone gangbusters, ‘coz you won’t find anything like it elsewhere.

Every episode of the hotly anticipated second season will drop on Stan on May 23, the same day as the U.S.

Catch the epic trailer below and binge watch the first season ASAP to prep yourself for incoming drama.

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