George Lopez, coming soon to Tacoma, got a ‘second bite of the apple’ with new sitcom
You can call comedian George Lopez’s current success a second act, or maybe a career reboot. Lopez describes it in near miraculous terms.
“I never thought I would get a second bite of the apple,” he said.
His current NBC sitcom, “Lopez vs Lopez,” comes two decades after his first, “George Lopez,” was aired. In between, there’s been stand-up, movie roles and TV appearances. It’s his stand-up that brings him to Tacoma’s Pantages Theater on Friday, June 14.
Lopez spoke with The News Tribune in a telephone interview on June 3, a day before his 45th anniversary as a stand-up comic.
“I still enjoy it,” he said of his long career on stage. “But I could see the light at the end of the tunnel potentially.”
Renewed
“Lopez vs Lopez” features his real-life daughter, Mayan Lopez. It follows Lopez and Mayan in a fictionalized version of their father-daughter relationship. The family sitcom has been renewed for its third season.
“There’s not a better summer you can have knowing you’re gonna go back to work,” Lopez said.
Before he returns to the studio, he’s on a stand-up tour. The comic hasn’t slowed the frenetic pace of his act, but as he’s matured, so has his comedy, he said. He includes plenty of getting old jokes but admitted he’s in denial about his age. As an example, he said he refuses to increase the size of text on his phone.
“I’m not giving in, and I’d rather not see and not hear than give in, which I’m not sure is going to benefit me well,” he said. “I’ve seen guys that have their font on their phone so big, it’s just almost two letters at a time.”
A touch of gray
Lopez has let his flowing mane go gray because it wouldn’t look natural if he dyed it, he said.
When TBS was showing his original “George Lopez” show in the mornings, the contrast between his present visage and his younger self was striking, he said.
“I’d be 42 in the morning and 62 at night,” he said. “I have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds that’s 50 years old. So if I ever really want to see where all the time has gone, I’ll just go over there and stand next to that.”
Some refer to the “George Lopez” show, which ran 2002-2007, as the Chicano “Cosby Show.” Lopez takes that a compliment. He purposely named his 2009 stand-up comedy special “Tall, Dark and Chicano” because some people thought “Chicano” was a militant or derogatory term and he wanted to dispel that notion.
Chicano refers to Mexican-Americans, largely the children and grandchildren of Mexican immigrants, who embrace their heritage.
Lopez didn’t set out to change social acceptance of Latinos in America with his sitcoms. He just wanted to make people laugh. But as “George Lopez” was being written, he changed the focus from adult to family humor. The epiphany came when his then-wife confronted him.
“She said, ’Are you going to (expletive) make a show that your daughter can’t watch?’ I get criticized a lot ... that might have been one of the only ones I took.”
Working with family
“George Lopez” ran for 120 episodes. After it ended, Lopez missed the multi-camera format of studio TV production.
“I don’t think I ever felt as alone as when the show was over, and I was in there trying to pitch new shows,” he said of the demise of his first sitcom. “You really feel like you’ve been locked out of this party that continues to go on and you’re just not in there.”
Compounding his situation was a divorce and estrangement from Mayan. The pair eventually attended therapy sessions together.
“There was one point in our mutual therapy that — forget about a television show — I never thought we’d much less even have a personal relationship as father and daughter.”
Then, came the pandemic and social media. The pair reconciled as Mayan’s TikTok videos chronicled, among other things, her father-daughter relationship. That led to the creation of “Lopez vs. Lopez.”
Despite the social media start for Mayan, Lopez is quick to point out that his daughter has long been interested in the entertainment world and has been acting since she was 12.
Changes
Lopez said the new show reflects his personal journey along with changes in society.
“Parents have to be accountable,” Lopez said. “I don’t think you can get by with being adequate parents, you have to really strive to be a good parent. I think that’s where maybe the show has found an audience with younger kids, but also watching with their parents.”
“Lopez v. Lopez” isn’t afraid to delve into some serious moments before returning to comedy — all in the same episode. As he did in real life, Lopez’s character struggled with sobriety in a recent episode.
“I don’t mind putting my past in this show and, especially for Latino families, make a show that would not normally pick this tone,” he said.
If you go
What: George Lopez
When: 7:30 p.m. June 14
Where: Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma
Tickets: Starting at $50
Information: tacomacitytheaters.org
