Parents' Guide to Alternatino with Arturo Castro

Fans of Narcos and Broad City have known for some time that Arturo Castro is outrageously lovable, but it may come as a surprise that he also has a sharp, sly comic sensibility. Alternativo with Arturo Castro could have skewed shrill, or preachy, or esoteric. But as Castro cycles through a delightful variety of characters from telenovela stars to Che Guevera to a father with traditional values trying to give the sex talk, he nimbly captures both the indignities of living within a marginalized culture in America, and the absurdity of being a thinking human in the world at all. Castro's sketches are rich, and inspired -- a faux "Visit Guatemala" travel ad is an early highlight, but the interlinked segments when he plays himself are even better. As he riffs on his own life, we're treated to ridiculous scenarios such as a party in which every guest attempts to turn the conversation to Latinx topics, and a look at two dates with a woman who has a "thing" for Latinx men. There will be many newly minted Castro fans after word about this show gets out.