The New York Times Bestseller Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez has been making a huge impact on the Latino community since its release in January 2022. Despite its success, Hulu has passed on the highly anticipated book adaptation starring Aubrey Plaza and Ramón Rodriguez, as confirmed by the author in a recent podcast interview.
What the Book Is About
Olga Dies Dreaming follows two middle-aged siblings from Puerto Rico, Olga and Prieto, as they deal with the fallout of a family tragedy and figure out how to love themselves along the way. Their parents were former members of the Young Lords. Their father died from a drug-related incident. Their mother left them with their grandmother to pursue radical politics back in Puerto Rico. It’s a family drama wrapped in political corruption, basically a coming-of-age story for people who already grew up.
Gonzalez’s book was adapted into a $13 million pilot for Hulu, starring Aubrey Plaza, Ramón Rodriguez, Jesse Williams, and Jessica Pimentel, among others. The streamer, now owned entirely by Disney, decided not to pick up the series.
In a recent interview on the Highly Relevant podcast, Gonzalez explained what happened and talked about the challenges of being a Latina showrunner. The numbers she cited are brutal:
“You’re dealing with an industry where I think there are 5% more executives of color in oil and gas than there are in entertainment. And the least represented are Latino executives.”
Meet Xochitl Gonzalez
Before Olga Dies Dreaming, Xochitl Gonzalez was writing short stories and art criticism. She went to Brown. The Washington Post named her debut one of the best books of the year. It won the Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize and was a finalist for the International Latino Book Award.
Family Secrets and Brooklyn
The book opens in Brooklyn. Olga is a wedding planner working with Manhattan’s elite. Prieto is a congressman with charm to spare. Both of them are trying to untangle who they really are while living in Sunset Park, a neighborhood with a big Latino population and bigger family secrets.
Gonzalez doesn’t dodge the tough stuff. Hurricane Maria, the Jones Act, Puerto Rico’s colonial history. It’s all in there, woven into the family drama. She goes back to the Young Lords, to questions about citizenship, to what it cost Puerto Rico to be tied to the mainland.
Through Olga and Prieto, she asks what it means to be Puerto Rican in America. How much comes from the island? Brooklyn itself feels like another character, with all its class tensions and contradictions.
Puerto Rican Identity in America
The novel gets into the complicated parts of Latino identity: assimilation, code-switching, even tarot cards. Gonzalez writes about cultural erasure without being preachy. Olga feels cut off from her roots, Prieto hides parts of himself, and neither of them has it figured out.
It’s fiction, but the politics are real. The Jones Act stuff, for example, how it blocked aid to Puerto Rico, is explained in a way that actually makes sense.
What’s Next for Gonzalez
She’s not done yet. According to Gonzalez, she has already pitched three other television projects. She still wants to bring Olga Dies Dreaming back, maybe as a limited series. “I’m really, really, really hoping that the world gets to see this amazing show,” she said.
