With Donald Trump recently announcing the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, there’s no better time than now to release content with a different narrative. Latina star Gina Rodriguez is now taking on the role of director and producer for a show she sold to CBS about an immigrant doctor in Miami.
The show, which is an adaptation of Germany’s Dr. Illegal, goes by the name of Have Mercy. Rodriguez, along with Jane the Virgin co-star Rafael Agustin, also created a show called Illegal, based on Agustin’s life as an immigrant in the United States. The pair is currently keeping busy producing these two shows for the Latino audience.
The German show follows an Iranian doctor who, after clerical errors, can’t get his license to practice in the country. He steals supplies from the hospital and treats refugees at asylums. Like Dr. Illegal, Have Mercy features a doctor who starts a home clinic after being demoted to a nurse due to her legal status.
No date has been announced for the release of the show, or even for when production will begin. Both Rodriguez and Agustin are currently awaiting Jane the Virgin’s fourth season, premiering October 10th on the CW. Rodriguez is also working with CBS on L.A. Story, a remake of Steve Martin’s fantasy drama.
With so much on her plate, including voice overs for the animated movies Ferdinand and The Star, it’s amazing that Gina Rodriguez takes the time to produce shows highlighting the problems Latino communities face in America today.
Nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants who identify as Americans face deportation by March of 2018. If Congress doesn’t implement a new measure to secure their futures in this country within that time frame, the United States will live some of its darkest days in recent times.
Even though we have seen countless of characters portraying immigrants, these shows will have much more of an impact on the conversation because the show’s focus is living in America as an immigrant. The timing is also perfect since Donald Trump’s bigotry has spread and given like-minded Americans the audacity to publicly harass foreigners. Many times, however, those facing the hate are citizens of this country.
The silver lining in this terrible situation, though, is celebrities raising awareness of this country’s most important issue: immigration. Creating a conversation is the first step to solving a lifelong dilemma. With shows like Have Mercy and Illegal available to the mainstream consumers, the U.S. can see a wave of change in thought much faster than anticipated.