Hit or Miss: La Máquina
Hulu will be premiering their first ever original Spanish language series titled La Máquina which follows an aging boxer, Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna played by Gael Garcia Bernal (Y tu mamá también, Werewolf By Night), after a devastating loss puts him at a low point in his career. Lucky enough for him however, his crafty best friend and manager Andy Lujan, played by Diego Luna (Y tu mamá también, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), is determined to get him back on top. While preparing for his next fight, Esteban and Andy become the targets of a nefarious organization where the stakes of this upcoming brawl could mean life or death. Esteban must also grapple with his issues and protect his family, including his ex-wife Irasema, played by Eiza González (3 Body Problem, Baby Driver), a journalist who finds herself encountering the dark side of the boxing world.
The most recent trailer for this six-episode series released by Hulu on Sept. 4th depicts Osuna in the limelight and glory of his boxing career. We see him training as a young boy with a transition around the boxing bag showing an older Osuna practicing in the gym. We then get to see his loud and rambunctious entrance into the ring showing that he is a fan-favorite fighter based on the roar of the crowd. In the next scene, we get a look at Osuna’s agent and best friend, Andy Lujan, featuring some off-putting prosthetic makeup to represent his Botox addiction. Lujan wants to convince Esteban that he needs to launch a comeback and push for a rematch. All of this sounds like pretty basic sports drama, however, La Máquina takes a twist when a mysterious caller insists that Osuna should throw his next fight or he faces an imminent threat toward his life and his family’s, including Eiza González’s Irasema.
“If we’re doomed, we’re doomed together” could not have been said any better to represent the relationship between Garcia Bernal and Luna throughout their career-long partnership which extends to the screen. This duo's camaraderie bleeds through to the audience alongside the show's elaborate set designs and the vibrancy of Mexican boxing culture. After the trailer shows us Lujan receiving the mysterious phone call, we jump to a montage of action, mystery, and intrigue about the shadowy cabal that is threatening Osuna and Lujan. The trailer truly leaves us with several questions, the biggest of which is, who is this mysterious figure that is trying to threaten Osuna and Lujan?
Garcia Bernal and Luna, who first worked together on Y tu mamá también in 2001, will star and produce La Máquina for the streamer, with Marco Ramirez (Daredevil) serving as showrunner and Gabriel Ripstein (600 Miles) will direct. Garcia Bernal and Luna first worked together on Y tu mamá también in 2001 and then went on to create two production companies together, Canana Films in 2005 and La Corriente del Golfo in 2018. The pair then went on to make 2008’s Rudo y Cursi about step brothers with dreams of soccer fame, more than ten years later the two are back with La Máquina producing under the La Corriente del Golfo banner. The series is produced by Searchlight TV, the Disney-owned television division of Searchlight Pictures, and marks its third series for Hulu following The Dropout and History of the World, Part II. Starring alongside Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Eiza González are Jorge Perugorría (Habana abierto, Strawberry & Chocolate), Andrés Delgado (Pedal to Metal, An Unknown Enemy), Karina Gidi(The Eternal Feminine, Demasiado amor), Dariam Coco (Money Heist, Welcome to Eden), and Lucía Méndez (Colorina, Forever Queens). La Máquina will premiere on Hulu on October 9th.
