Acapulco Boss Talks Season 2's Bigger Dreams, Máximo's New Love Interest And Sara's Coming Out Journey

Trust us, you want to check in to the Las Colinas Resort on Acapulco, if you haven't already watched the underrated Apple TV+ comedy.

The series charms with big laughs and even bigger heart as its follows Máximo Gallardo, a wealthy Mexican man (played by Eugenio Derbez) recounting to his nephew (Raphael Alejandro) about his days as a pool boy at a resort for American tourists in the '80s. Twentysomething Máximo (Enrique Arrizon) finds more than just a job at Las Colinas: he also falls for receptionist Julia (Camila Perez), who's now engaged to Chad (Chord Overstreet), and sees a potential avenue to support his widowed mother and sister by rising up in the ranks at the resort, which is owned by former soap star Diane (Jessica Collins).

Season 2 (whose first two episodes are now streaming) is "all about dreaming bigger," co-creator Austin Winsberg (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) previews. "For Máximo, it's about how can I gain more? How could I strive for more for my family and a better life?"

That aspirational, optimistic tone is present throughout the series as Season 2 finds "a lot of characters at a crossroads, trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be," Winsberg says. Máximo's younger sister Sara (Regina Reynoso) and their very religious mother Nora (Vanessa Bauche), in particular, will face a major turning point in their relationship while Nora tries to come to terms with her daughter's sexuality.

So whether you're new to Acapulco or are a returning fan, read on to find out what makes the show so special and to get more scoop on Season 2 (a new episode drops weekly on Fridays).

In a TV landscape filled with super serious dramas and edgy comedies, Acapulco is a sweet, hopeful show reminiscent of the critically beloved Jane the Virgin and Ted Lasso's feel-good vibe.

"I think Apple was looking for a show that was like Ted Lasso. We were developing this the same time Ted Lasso was being developed," Winsberg shares. That worked out well for the EP, who says he always strives for "some combination of comedy and drama and heart and hope and optimism and empathy" in the tone of his projects, and Máximo's coming-of-age story is no different.

"I just think that there's also so much darkness on TV and negativity in the world," Winsberg adds. Acapulco, on the other hand, infuses its story with "joy and light" because it's especially important "when you're doing a show about predominantly Mexican people and Latinx to not have a show that's about criminals and crime," and that instead paints "a positive picture of communities and culture at the same time."

Telling an authentic story about a Mexican family was "hugely important" to Winsberg, who co-created the series with Mexican-born producer/writer Eduardo Cisneros (and Jason Shuman). "At least half, if not more, of the writers' room both seasons was Latinx. Almost our entire crew is Mexican, the majority of the cast," Winsberg notes. "At every turn, every step of the way, it's about having representation. It's about having authentic voices in the room, and then being accurate in your portrayal."

"Even when we cast actors that weren't from Mexico, like Rafael Cebrián (head pool boy Hector), who's from Spain, or Camila Perez (receptionist Julia), who's from Colombia, we made sure to address in the script that they were not from Mexico, that there's a difference when you're from Colombia or Spain than Mexican," Winsberg continues. "A lot of times, a lot of Latinx culture can get grouped together, but these are different people from different countries. So it was very important to be as accurate in our portrayals at all times."

Given its setting, the series does not shy away from having its characters speak Spanish as they would in real life. "I think over the last few years, shows like Squid Game have shown that people can handle subtitles, and you don't have to play down to your audience," Winsberg says.

As such, "we had a lot of conversations with Apple about the amount of English versus the amount of Spanish. I think in my initial pitch, it was, like, 70-30 English to Spanish or something like that," Winsberg shares. "And the rules that we established very early on in the show were that when our characters were at the resort and they were around American guests, that everybody would speak English at the resort. But if they're in the laundry room or if they're walking down the street or if they're at home, they would talk in Spanish the way they normally would."

One of the show's most touching (but still funny!) storylines features Máximo's teenage sister Sara, who developed feelings for her best friend Roberta in Season 1. But living in a much more conservative time and place in 1980s Mexico, with a deeply religious mother, means that Sara and Roberta must keep their relationship secret while Máximo pretends to be Roberta's boyfriend. The truth, however, can only stay hidden for so long in Season 2.

"Nora's discovery of who Sara is and Sara's sexuality creates a major rift between mother and daughter," Winbergs previews, "and that rift is very much rooted in Nora's beliefs and her religious feelings and what she's been told, and it's a very painful split in the family."

The question in the writers' room was: "How do we respect the story?" Winsberg shares. "[Nora] loves her kids, her kids mean everything to her. But how do you reconcile your love for your children with things that might go against your religious beliefs? We just felt like we had to do some stories within that, too, where we saw Nora struggle... but hopefully being able to come back to a place where she could somewhat accept her daughter for who she is or have some kind of reconciliation, knowing that life is complicated and messy and that these rules and these doctrines and these things might not always hold true."

The Máximo/Julia/Chad love triangle becomes a square in Season 2 with the addition of Isabel (Gabriele Milla), who hits it off with Máximo when she delivers food to the resort. The new gal captures Máximo's attention while Julia and Chad plan their upcoming wedding, but Isabel is "very much rooted in her life in Acapulco with her family and her family's restaurant and her goals aren't, necessarily, bigger than that world," Winsberg notes. "The bigger visions of a life are something that's shared between Máximo and Julia."

"Chad is also struggling a bit with who he is and what he wants," Winsberg adds, "and Máximo is a little bit more strong about what he wants. So that's something that anchors them and ties them together, and there's this undeniable connection between Máximo and Julia."

But now that Julia is engaged, "there's a bumpy path to try to figure out how can they be friends when, clearly, there's feelings there," Winsberg shares.

Meanwhile, viewers shouldn't completely discount Chad. Diane's slightly clueless son/resort general manager might seem ill-matched with Julia, but he's not the stereotypical dude bro jerk.

"One of the things that was built into the design of the show from the very beginning was to play a little bit with some of these '80s tropes and characters that may seem familiar, the Ted McGinley or William Zabka-type character from those '80s movies that I loved, and figure out how can we sort of surprise with that, and how can we add dimension to that," Winsberg says of the Chad character. "I don't love the idea of love triangles where everybody's against each other. It's more interesting and complex when it's actually nice people who are trying to do their best."

One of Acapulco's biggest delights comes courtesy of the resort's pool singers, who regularly belt out popular American '80s songs in Spanish with so much gusto that we're not sure how the hotel guests get any rest.

"It was another way where we thought, 'How do we incorporate Mexico and America into the show together?'" Winsberg says. Being a big fan of music and musicals — Winsberg's credits include not only Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, but also NBC's The Sound Of Music Live! and Broadway's First Date — Winsberg had "a lot of fun" picking each tune and figuring out, "thematically, how does it fit into the episode, and making sure that the songs are recognizable enough that even though they're singing them in Spanish, American audiences know exactly what songs they are."

Plus, Rodrigo Urquidi and Rossana de Leon, who play the dynamic duo, "are so good at coming up with their choreography," Winsberg raves.

And Season 2 will put some "unique spins" on the show's musical tradition with a famous Spanish song performed in English in Episode 3 and a Hawaiian tune in Episode 6, Winsberg reveals.