Origins stories usually fit into the "prequel" box, but not so How To Be A Latin Lover, currently on Netflix. No one could have predicted in 2017 when it was released that it would not only inspire a TV series, but one which now has a fourth season on the horizon — Apple TV Plus's sun-soaked bi-lingual comedy-drama, Acapulco.
The announcement of its renewal came only weeks after the season three finale, so practicalities like shooting and release dates are a while off for now. But, in true Acapulco time-switch tradition, there's still the opportunity to go back to where it all began seven years ago.
And it's a film that also turned out to be part of the irresistible rise of actor Eugenio Derbez, now a popular face in both English and Spanish language films since his breakout role in CODA (2021). As Maximo in How To Be A Latin Lover (available on Netflix in the US and UK now), he finds himself dumped after 25 years of marriage, during which he's made a lucrative career out of seducing older women, and his only solution is to move in with his estranged sister. It's an experience that teaches him some much-needed family values.
While some of the characters from that story found their way to Acapulco, their storylines changed, and even Derbez's Maximo isn't quite the same person. In the show, which debuted in 2021, he's now seen landing his dream job in the 1980s, working in Acapulco's hottest resort hotel, Las Colinas, but discovering there's more to it than he thought. What gives the show its combination of dramatic punch and sparkling laughter is the way it bounces between the present day to the 1980s. That unconventional approach, as well as all the twists and turns that come with it, means that viewers have been hooked ever since.
The show's third season ended with a flurry of questions. Everybody in both sets of storylines had gone through massive changes so, when season four lands, fans can expect some resolutions, as well as new ideas and maybe some new faces as well.
Those twists and turns have been part of the fun since day one and it wouldn’t be the same without them. Most of the main cast are expected to return and there’s already speculation there could be more in the way of serious drama and a little less comedy as Maximo’s slightly dubious past starts to emerge. But, however, things pan out for him and everybody at Las Colinas, and the fun looks set to continue — all bathed in Mexican sunshine and, of course, lurid pink!
How To Be A Latin Lover is currently on Netflix in the US and UK. All three seasons of Acapulco are on Apple TV Plus. A release date for season four has yet to be confirmed.
