Selena: The Series (2020)

Watchseries; This series moves so slowly, it lulled me to sleep. I couldn't get past the 2nd episode. Performances are very unemotional and flat....the opposite of the actual Selena. The casting is simply not good. Just watch the 1997 movie and call it a day.

This series moves so slowly, it lulled me to sleep. I couldn't get past the 2nd episode. Performances are very unemotional and flat....the opposite of the actual Selena. The casting is simply not good. Just watch the 1997 movie and call it a day.

Selena: The Series watchseries. Not what I thought at all. The actress doesn't even look like Selena and her lip syncing is so off. If you have insomnia I'd say give this a try, you just might get some sleep.

A LOT of inaccuracies in the timeline shots of the areas Selena lived in. This series was a disappointment. Seem more focused on the father for a redemption on what a GREEDY miserable pig he is in real life.

My uncle put it best, "it can't decide if it wants to be a comedy or a drama." Some shows are able to pull off both genres, but this show can't. The comedy can be awkwardly delivered and the dramatic moments are comedic, take for example the ending of part 1. Chris gets kicked off the tour bus, Selena looks out to him brokenhearted and the "Ayyyyy como me duele" line from 'Como La Flor' plays in the background with the happy keyboard melody that follows. I had to laugh.

Selena is very, unfairly, one dimensional in this show. That's not the fault of the actress, that's the writing. All she thinks about is her career and music, her love for fashion is shown too. However when it starts to get interesting, for example Selena's time in school or crushing on boys, the show immediately moves on and puts an end to it with a rushed conclusion. It does take plenty of time with Abraham scenes though. It tries to portray him as some sage father figure giving his kids the best "don't give up" type of advice, when in reality he was Mexican American Joe Jackson. Living his dreams through his children, whether they wanted it or not. Selena is like a background character in her own show, she repeats and says whatever the father wants to hear. The other characters seem so unrealistic and cartoony. It's obvious this entire show was rushed.

I will give credit where it's due, I learned more about the inspiration for some of her best songs, about what Suzette and A. B. were up to during their unorthodox childhoods. People are being too harsh to the actress playing Selena, I think she's trying her best, she's working with what she's been given, which is crap. Suzette's actress isn't so bad either, she's very natural. I wish the show was better, I wish it was based on Chris Perez's book instead of Abraham Quintanilla's B. S. I'm not going to compare it to the film and neither should you as these are two completely different things; based on the same story but completely different. That's like comparing Beetlejuice the film to the animated show.

I'll still watch part 2, might as well, but with Abraham Quintanilla behind the scenes, it'll be Abraham's version of Selena's story part 2.

UPDATE (after watching part 2): There was definitely improvements made in Part 2. "Abraham: The Series" took a backseat and it became about Selena, as it should've been in the first place. It still paints Abraham in the most positive light possible, still tries to justify why Abraham and apparently, Suzette, made it impossible for Selena to be with Chris. Finally, It still doesn't do Chris much justice but towards the end the events do add up with what Chris wrote in his book, before getting there though, it's debatable.

The good things, Selena is more realistic - we explore her feelings and emotions more this time around so that was a welcome change. More learning about the backstories to her classic songs, this was an element that was present in the first part that I really enjoyed and it was nice to see this continue with even more detail in the second season. The acting definitely got better from the first season, the actresses playing Suzette and Marcela Quintanilla are still fantastic, as well as A. B's actor, but everyone else got better, not Emmy winning performances but still decent. The way they bring Yolanda into the story definitely gives a better backstory to those who were

Saccharine and Lifetime-y. Selena is written like a Disney Princess instead of a real person. I'm assuming that is because her family was involved in the production of this series. It really does her memory a disservice not portraying her as the nuanced woman she likely was. This was a real missed opportunity.

Well to start off the series seems very low budget. As a huge Selena fan the acting is very bad. Christian over does it her personality does not match Selena's I get that she doesn't have to look like Selena but she couldn't even dance like her. Not body shaming her at all but Selena wasn't as skinny as christian they didn't portray her beautiful curves. I'm very disappointed since the movie was so great. There are so many actress that would have done way better. Plus the wigs were hella cheap like come on they could have invested in better !! The only reason I'm giving it a two star is because I got to learn a bit more about her family and their struggles. otherwise this show would have got a 1 star and this is only my opinion. It was very hard for me to finish the show but i didn't want to give up on it .