Paulina Chavez On Everything You Should Know From Netflix’s Latinx Show ‘The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia’

Netflix has a brand new Latinx show premiering February 17th called, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia. It stars Paulina Chavez and Jencarlos Canela, with cameos from Mario Lopez and Cristela Alonzo. I had the chance to chat with its young female lead, Chavez, via phone, to discuss the improvement of Latinx images on-screen, sitcom formats, what it was like to be directed by Eva Longoria, and that new album she’s doing with Jencarlos Canela.

(Jack Rico): There was such a brouhaha about ‘One Day At A Time’ leaving Netflix and people seem to be a bit happier knowing it was replaced with your Latinx show. Was that part of the attraction and appeal, representing the Latinx culture and heritage on screen?
Paulina Chavez: Being part of this show, featuring a young Latina lead who is super intelligent and people can relate to her, you don’t often see that on TV.

Tell me about the premise of the show and who you play.
PC: Well, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia is about a 15-and-a-half-year-old who is Latina. who is the youngest person ever to earn a Ph.D.? And she gets her dream job at JPL, where she’s going to build robots for NASA, and moved in with her uncle Victor in Pasadena. And Victor, I’m sure Jencarlos Canela will tell you a lot more about that, he was a pro football player and is now a high school football coach. But aside from Ashley’s work, Ashley just wants to be a teenager. She wants to have the teenage experience. She wants to kiss boys.

Paulina Chavez, Jencarlos Canela

Would you say this is a kid’s show, a teenage show, or a family show? How would you describe it?
PC: It’s a family show. There is something for everybody who watches the show for grown-ups. I mean, you got Jencarlos who is navigating how to be a parental figure. And he’s dealing with that. And then we also have the teenage side with a girl who just really wants to be boy-crazy kind of. I mean, the friendship between Ashley and Brooke played by Bella Podaras is so wonderful. You know, they’re just helping each other out.

Mario Lopez is the creator and executive producer of the show. There’s been news that Eva Longoria has directed a couple of episodes. Which episodes are those?
PC: She directed two. I’m pretty sure six and seven.

What was that experience like? She started directing on ABC with Grand Hotel and I’ve seen her be invited to direct other shows here and there. That’s where the true power is, right? To really control the content, the vision, and the style. Can you describe her directing style?
PC: Oh, my gosh. She is just full of knowledge. She’s super chill. It’s like she’s a friend when she’s directing. She’s not really like the boss, but she can be the boss. So, you know, she’s short, but like when you look at her and she’s taking control, it’s like she’s 6 feet tall! Eva does directing, writing, producing, and acting, and the privilege to work with her and learn from her, I’m just so honored.

Mario Lopez, Paulina Chavez

What was your audition like?
PC: So I’m from San Antonio, Texas. And I submitted a self-piece over there. It was just like another  Wednesday night when I got the audition and it was due on a Friday morning. I read the script and fell in love because it was nothing like I’ve ever auditioned before. Of course, it’s a Latina who is the lead. It was incredible. And it just really captured me. My mom and I taped it. The opening scene was like me wearing a nerdy girl sweatshirt with periodic elements. I wore pigtails and glasses and she was recording it from her computer. I just had a blast doing it. I think my mom had a really bad headache. So she was like, I don’t care. Let’s get this done. And then, my manager called me a week after I submit it. And they’re like, they want you to go straight to testing so they flew me out here. And the day before my test, we drove by the Netflix building and I had like a panic attack, but like a good panic. I’m actually staring at it as we speak.  I was so nervous and so excited. And it was really cool. I mean, right now I’m shadowing Jodi Hahn, so I’m right outside the Netflix building. I’m staring at the building as we speak.

It’s interesting to see the framing of Hispanics in this show. I don’t ever remember seeing a show where two Latinx women were Ph.D’s with you and Cristela Alonzo who plays your mother. She’s a Ph.D. in sociology, and you in math and sciences. Was that intentional? Was there any social commentary you wanted to infuse the show with?
PC: I don’t really know, but I totally get your point. I think we Latinas and Latinos have to open the doors for others. It’s crazy.

The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia

Was it nerve-wracking working on a multi-cam show? Or would you have preferred a single-cam show for your debut on Netflix?
PC: I love what multi-cam, I really do. A week before we actually started working on it. Shooting and stuff. Jodi Hahn and the dialog coach made a boot camp for all of us because we had never done multi-cam. So we did scenes from ‘Friends’ and a lot of other multi-cams. And they really, really helped us. And we learned so much. And we just continued learning and growing and being a part of a studio audience is incredible. I came from the theater, so it was really cool.

I heard that you’re recording your first album, a record with Jencarlos Canela. Is this true?
PC: We’re working on an E.P. about five or six songs.

How did that come to be? Was it you guys were hanging out in the lunch area and they’re like, “Hey, you know, I sing, and we should sing together?” Were managers involved? How did that conversation come about?
PC: It was a thing where in the boot camp we went around and everybody told a little story about themselves. And I mentioned that I was in a Mariachi group back in San Antonio. And he looked at me and was kind of amazed. And I think that day I went to go have coffee with him at a coffee shop with my mom and my dad because he wants to know more about me because he was going to be my uncle so we have to have that chemistry. And I mean, that chemistry just came this close. But while we were there, he asked me to sing a song. And I’m the shyest person. I know I’m talking a lot right now. There were quite a bit of people at that cafe, but I was like, you know what? Yeah, I’ll sing for you. And so I sang. And being a Mariachi singer, I have a really powerful voice. And at that time, I’m pretty sure my manager asked me are you into singing, and back then I was just like, no, I don’t want to focus on that. But then when Jencarlos believed in me and gave me that opportunity, I was like, yeah, I really want to do the singing thing. They really have a passion for it. Coming from my Mariachi roots, so it was something that we always knew, but we really couldn’t go because we were so busy and I had so many scenes. But now we have the time to focus on it and find the best producers.

When could we hear the first track?
PC: I don’t have any dates and I don’t have anything just yet.

Do you feel any pressure of having to sustain our Latinx culture on your back because of the show?
PC: No, I’m just so excited about it. And I really hope that this show is about Latino families, I really hope they connect to it and I really hope they love it.