By: Genelle Gogue
The new series, “Party of Five,” was released Jan. 8 on Freeform. This series is a remake of the 1994 version with the same name, and will contain 10 episodes, but only has seven out currently. The show showcases topics such as immigration, family and romantic relationships, and navigating life which makes the show all the more interesting to watch.The 2020 version of the show is definitely with the current times. The original show focused on five siblings learning to live together after their parents had passed away, while the new version focuses on five siblings learning to live together after their parents have been deported.“Party of Five,” focuses on the Acosta family: Lucia (Emily Tosta), Valentina (Elle Paris Legaspi), Beto (Niko Gauradado), Rafael (Arianna and Brianna Cardenas), and Emilio (Brandon Larracuente).The first episode, “Pilot,” hits watchers with a bang right away. Within the first 10 minutes of the episode, the Acosta parents, Gloria (Fernanda Urrejola) and Javier (Bruno Bichir), are picked up by ICE officers. It is unlike any show right from the start because creators don’t give you the chance to build an emotional attachment to the parents in the beginning, instead they start to develop it as the series continues.Within the Acosta family, the oldest is Emilio. He is the only sibling on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and viewers get to see how hard the transition is for him. He has to choose to put his dreams of being a musician on hold to step up and take care of his siblings. Emilio did not have the best relationships with his sibling prior to the deportation of their parents, so it takes a clear toll on the relationships of the siblings.The second oldest are the twins, Lucia and Beto. Before the Acostas had been deported, Lucia was a perfect student and daughter. She took care of her siblings, maintained her grades and never gave her parents a hard time. Since the Acosta children have been sheltered for most of their lives, this is the first time Lucia has experienced a situation that hasn’t gone her way and because of that, she acts out. She begins to stay out late, not care about school, and hang out with a different crowd. With the other twin, Beto, he is still continuing to struggle with school and even more so now that he had to step up for a little bit to take care of the restaurant and his younger siblings.The fourth in the Acosta family is Valentina, and she struggles the most parting with her parents. She’s a young girl going through puberty and doesn’t have her mom there to guide her.She is constantly trying to talk to her parents any way she can which makes it even harder for her to be independent. The youngest in the family is baby Rafael. Originally he was going to go to Mexico so he could be raised by his parents, but they ultimately knew that Rafael had to stay so he could have a better life. The Acosta siblings all try to navigate their new lives and on top of all that, take care of a baby.Throughout the show, viewers can see how the siblings try their best to still keep in touch with their old lives while still maintaining their new ones. The series showcases hardships that people have to go through when occurrences like this happen. The show also touches on people who are advocates for people coming to America through the proper channels and how the family have to deal with people like that. Viewers see both sides of the argument. New episodes of “Party of Five,” come out every Wednesday and I highly recommend you watch. It is a unique show, not like any other and shines a light on genuinely important topics. It is one of the most realistic and entertaining shows I have watched in a long time.