In NBC’s New ‘Lopez Vs. Lopez,’ An Unlikely Family Reunion

Mayan Lopez grew up on the set of her father’s ABC comedy, George Lopez. She made guest appearances, helped out behind the scenes, made people on set laugh. Her father figured she was a natural for show business. “The first time my dad thought I was funny was when I took my mom’s old bra and put it over my eyes to pretend I was a fly. Then I buzzed,” Mayan remembers. “Another time, I was wearing sunglasses that had one lens missing. I really committed to it. I did it for three months. I remember my dad saying, ‘Look, she commits already, she’s 5 years old.’”

But as Mayan grew older, her relationship with her father frayed. He and her mother, Ann, went through a very public divorce that played out in the tabloids. By early 2020, Mayan and George were estranged.

Then the pandemic hit. George, who received a kidney donation from Ann in 2005, was immune-compromised and had to stay in to stay safe. With the specter of a global catastrophe looming, the relationship between Mayan and George began to mend. Like many families, the Lopezes found new ways to connect. They started shooting funny videos. Mayan became active on TikTok, where she showcased her parents and their interactions.

Others began to notice what George had always seen in his daughter. She was funny. She could commit to a bit.

“I joke that seeing me twerk upside down on a wall in TikTok is how we got people’s attention and eventually got our show,” Mayan says.

Indeed. The TikToks led to a pilot that was quickly picked up. Now, she and George are set to star in a new Lopez sitcom, Lopez vs. Lopez, which bows Friday, Nov. 4, on NBC. The two play a father and daughter who don’t always see eye to eye. Like in real life, the fictional Lopezes are repairing their relationship following a long estrangement. Mayan says many episode themes are pulled from their actual interactions.

“Reconciling is still an ongoing process. It’s challenging some days, I’m not going to lie,” Mayan says. “Sometimes we’re having these conversations on-screen where my character is actually able to talk to her dad better than I am, but it’s the same person. But it’s wonderful because even being able to talk to my dad at all, our relationship is growing deeper. That’s what makes this real and raw, and I can’t wait for people to be able to see that.”

She is also well aware that since the original Lopez went off the air in 2007, there’s been a huge dearth of Latinx representation on the networks. There were Gloria and Manny on ABC’s long-running Modern Family plus ABC’s short-lived comedy Cristela, but very little else. A recent study showed Hispanic actors, directors and producers are woefully underrepresented in the industry.

“It’s so important for the Latinx community. Our presence on-screen is very important. We want people to see themselves in us and our family situation. I wanted my pain to mean something as an actor and entertainer, and this is a great medium to do that,” Mayan says.

Ultimately, she hopes the show can open dialogues between generations. She believes generational trauma—so different from one group to the next—can have huge impacts on familial relationships. The norms of the parents are not the norms of the kids, and sometimes a lack of understanding can lead to the cracks that threatened her own family for years.

“We are trying to educate with love, from the Gen Z/Millennial generation to the older generation,” she says. “Tell people, ‘It’s OK to talk about your feelings. Your problems don’t have to be mine and our children’s. It’s not weakness to talk about your feelings. It’s brave to go into therapy.’

“Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to look inside and realize you need help. I know people want to show strength, but there’s strength in vulnerability. We want to take away the stigma of things our family has experienced, like alcoholism and anxiety, to say medication is OK—and try to do it in a way that is not preachy.”