A recap of where characters left off and what season two looks like.
Familia is a piece of work, and Vida season two will show us just that.
The critically acclaimed bilingual Starz series returns this week, picking up right where it left off, with Lyn (Melissa Barrera) and Emma (Mishel Prada) getting down to business on the family bar.
The first season saw the sisters returning to Boyle Heights, their childhood neighborhood in East Los Angeles, to deal with their mother's sudden death. With a slew of ups and downs, grappling with grief, loss, sexual orientation and not fitting into the predominately Mexican neighborhood, Lyn and Emma have now decided to stay and run the family business. So what does that mean for them?
"We knew exactly where we needed to go [for season two] and what was a misstep and what was the right step, by then these characters were in me, they were a part of my DNA," series creator Tanya Saracho told ET last December about the next chapter in these characters' lives. "It was something that unhinged and just flowed out, and it was a great feeling. It's like, trust that the characters are speaking to you... that you know where the story needs to go."
Before you begin watching the 10-episode second season, here's eight things to know about where the characters stand and some new faces that fans will be introduced to -- with a little help from artist Mike Alfaro and his Vida-inspired Lotería.
1. El Bar
After years of being named "La Chinita," the family bar has now been dubbed "Vida" in honor of Lyn and Emma's late mother, Vidalia. While many are worried that the sisters will take over and gentrify the location, Emma is ready to tackle the family debt and restore the bar back to its heyday.
"Does this mean we're businesswomen now?" asks Lyn as they watch the sunset in the season one finale.
2. Las Sisters
Reuniting after many years apart, Lyn and Emma are strangers in each other's lives. However, season two will delve into their relationship and see them working together as a team.
"First of all, they do not know each other, they don’t, so they’re going to go into business with one another," Saracho explained to ET. "They’re going to live under the same roof... That is rough. Imagine when you don't even know your sister, you have to do double the work of getting to know her as an adult now because you left each other as kids. So, there's the labor of that in this new season."
3. La Hot Mess
"Lyn, like many millennials, is trying to find direction in her life while juggling a lot of new responsibilities," Alfaro tells ET about the character's journey and giving her the title of "La Hot Mess." The season one finale finds Lyn breaking things off with Johnny (Carlos Miranda) and shifting her focus on being a businesswoman.
"[In] season two, there's a little bit of insight into why Lyn is the way that she is and how her mother was with her," Barrera told TVGuide, adding that viewers will also see how she uses "her defense mechanisms that she's built to survive and to just continue to be the nonchalant, carefree party girl that she is. But she's definitely trying to be useful in season two. She's really trying hard to be of service to her sister and make her proud and to make her see that she's not useless."
4. La Boss B**ch
Emma is the fearless family leader who takes control and isn't afraid to go after what she wants. Viewers last saw a softer side of Prada's character, breaking down and confessing how much the bar really means to her. The new episodes will explore her life as she continues to grapple with where her life is going and where she wants to be, as well as continuing to explore her sexuality.
Of course, Emma will also continue to butt heads with her late mother's widow, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui), but she may have a change of heart after Eddy goes through a near death experience.
5. La Wifa
Eddy sustained life-threatening injures in season one's finale. It all unfolded when Eddy and a group of friends went to another local bar they don't often frequent. Eddy was upset after being accused by Emma of "mismanaging the bar" and "single-handedly drinking the place to the ground." While at the bar an argument ensued causing Eddy to standup to a group of men. That scene was a turning point in the series, which at that point hadn't addressed issues of homophobia.
"This last episode is how we really deal with [homophobia in the Latino community]," Saracho previously told ET. "In a sort of surprising way, because in the first five episodes you might be thinking, 'Oh, everything is fine. This neighborhood completely embraces Latino queerness,' but then you realize that those are pockets of safe havens, because outside of that in our traditional machistaculture, and we can't deny that it's a reality, queers might not be safe."
"The season finale was a huge conversation," she explained, adding that in the second season they will be "dealing with the repercussions of that [final act]."
6. La Incondicional
Get ready to meet a handful of new faces this season, starting with Roberta Colindrez as Nico. As the sisters begin to rebrand the bar, Emma hires Nico as the new bartender, who quickly becomes a valuable asset and a mediator between Lyn and Emma.
"Nico comes in with an outside perspective on what's going on with the bar and the changes that it’s going through," Colindrez told Knockturnal earlier this month. "And also becomes involved in managing the bar and helps navigate the relationship between Lyn and Emma and Eddy with each other."
7. El Homeboy
Also joining the cast and helping remodel the bar is Raúl Castillo as Baco. The actor co-stars as the new handyman with a questionable past that will clash with Emma.
"Pride doesn’t begin to describe the sense that I had last night. Destiny? Alchemy? Magic? This is history, hermana," Castillo passionately wrote on his Instagram about joining Vida. "We’ve been doing this together, maybe in other lives, maybe in other universes. But we’re locked into this for eternity. I’m so f**king proud of you @tanyasaracho and the whole @Vida_starz familia. The show is BEAUTIFUL. I could go on. But I’ll say last night was a dream we dreamed so many years ago. Love to all the people who came out last night and supported. Gracias mil!!"
8. El Politician
Looks like Lyn will have a new love interest in Adrian Gonzalez's Rudy Marquez. The heartthrob is a Los Angeles city councilman whom she meets at a gym class. There's no doubt that things will definitely get interesting between the two, as Lyn deals with her recent breakup and can't resist a cutie.
Season two of Vida is now streaming on the Starz app and Starz On-Demand. Starz will also air weekly episodes starting Sunday, May 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Get more Latinx news on ET MÁS, ETonline's new section featuring the latest celeb, film, TV, music and style news.
RELATED CONTENT:
