Pan Y Circo

This talk show-like series uses food and drink as a way to bring together people from different walks of life and encourage them to participate in open and honest discussions about controversial social issues. With the exception of an episode produced during the global COVID-19 pandemic (in which gourmet meals were delivered to guests and consumed during a video chat), the act of having a diverse group of guests physically sit around a table and find common ground by sharing a meal serves as a powerful metaphor for what needs to happen if Mexico, or any other country, wants to find real solutions to very complicated problems.

It's an interesting concept, but the edited conversations fail to go beyond the superficial aspects of each subject. This is not surprising, given that within each 50-minute episode, guests enjoy a three-course meal service, briefly talk to the chef, and talk to each other in between the presentation of archival footage. Watching people eat and getting their water glasses refilled throughout is also distracting. But Pan Y Circo does touch on some important topics, the conversations about which sometimes lead to interesting and heated moments. Overall, it's a good recipe for a series, but the execution of it can certainly use some work.