In the new season of Ana, the titular character played by Ana De La Reguera has landed her dream role as Morticia Addams in an Addams Family show – or so she thinks. It turns out that she is playing a cheap telenova version of the character named Mortadella Adams. At the same time, she is trying to juggle an alcoholic director, her 12-year-old diva co-star and an ex-lover who owns the network she is on.
Needless to say, Ana is dealing with a lot in the sophomore season of the GLAAD Media Award-nominated series. For de la Reguera, this series follows her resume of series including Narcos, Twin Peaks, Power, Eastbound and Down, and Goliath as well as films such as Nacho Libre, and Cowboys & Aliens. That said, Ana is extra special to de la Reguera because it hits close to home because it is loosely based on her life.
“I just wanted to share my story,” de la Reguera told Anthony Allen Ramos during an interview with GLAAD. “I just wanted to empathize with the audience. I just wanted to put myself in that position so people can say, ‘well, if that happens to her, it’s ok that it happens to me.’ Everyone goes through those struggles.”
The series was a priority for de la Reguera. The first season debuted during the pandemic on the streamers Pantaya and Prime Video. In addition to receiving a GLAAD Media Award nomination in 2021 for Outstanding Spanish-Language Scripted Television Series as well as an Imagen Award nomination. On top of that, de la Reguera won a Broadcasting and Cable award for her commitment to her work as a woman of Latinx descent. “There is so much talent out there, there’s so many stories to tell, at the end it’s up to who really needs to tell their story,” she said.
As the series progresses, Ana paints a tapestry of hijinx and story that includes animated bathroom antics, her overbearing Mexican mother, botched auditions, among other scenarios in Hollywood’s hyper competitive industry. The series also dives into Ana’s bisexual dating life and was commended for including two bisexual leads – which is rarely seen on TV as well as one lesbian character. This speaks to de la Reguera’s own journey of sexual identity.
“I was a super late bloomer, so I started to question myself and my sexuality,” de la Reguera tells Ramos. “I learned so much about myself, being with a woman for example… I was like ‘I’m not gay but it was incredible to be with a woman because I learned so much about me!”
In addition, Papasito’s (Carlos Miranda, season 1; David Palacio in season 2) bisexuality is a move forward in intersectionality on screen as Latinx bisexual men are rarely seen because of cultural and social barriers.
“I love that it was never an issue, especially for Latin America, that the lead guy was bisexual,” said de la Reguera. “No one even thought about that, they just wanted us to be together.”
In episode 4 from season 2 titled “Jarana” from the new season, Ana goes on a trip with her lover Chock (Paulia Davila). Identity is always an interesting topic to navigate in series and in this particular episode, de la Reguera uses comedy to tell the story.
“I go to try and have this spiritual journey with [Chock] and since it’s a comedy, everything goes wrong,” explains de la Regera. “Everything goes wrong but at the same time she gives me answers that the character needs, and I give her the answers that she needs. I think it’s a beautiful episode.”
De la Reguera is excited to know that audiences are connecting Ana and are able to have difficult conversations they wouldn’t normally have with their parents. “That’s exactly why I wanted to tell this story,” she said.
As for what to expect for season 3, de la Reguera can’t wait for the audience to watch it.
“This second season is a big mess for her,” she said. “This season she makes so many mistakes and in the third season she learns from them. Then she will finally discover who she really is and what she really wants.”
Season 2 of Ana is available to stream in the US and Puerto Rico on Pantaya and in other countries on Amazon Prime Video.