Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Worthy Latino reboot of 1990s classic has drinking, sex.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Party of Five
What's the Story?
Based on the family drama of the same name that ran from 1994 to 2000, PARTY OF FIVE the reboot shifts the story's action from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where the Acosta family is ripped apart when ICE raids the family's restaurant. When Javier (Bruno Bichir) and Gloria (Fernanda Urrejola) emigrated to the United States from Mexico, they didn't exactly do it legally. So now they've been deported, leaving their five children to fend for themselves until the family can find a way to be together again. In his early 20s, Emilio (Brandon Larracuente) has to step into his parents' shoes to run the restaurant, while teen twins Lucia (Emily Tosta) and Beto (Niko Guardado) have to pick up the slack at home for 12-year-old Valentina (Elle Paris Legaspi) and their infant brother, Rafael.
Is It Any Good?
The original remains a 1990s classic for its silly-yet-sincere plotlines and crush-worthy leads, and the reboot has the same appeal and a modern spin with the immigration setup. And since the elder Acostas are still alive (unlike the Salinger parents in the '90s version), there's plenty of drama to be milked from their absence: Will the family be able to live together again? How? And how will it affect the kids to be living basically on their own, but have Mom and Dad peeking in via Skype to check their work? Still, though the scenes of Mom and Dad Acosta being torn from their kids are rightfully heartrending, this series would go nowhere if everything else wasn't up to snuff, but thankfully it is.
It probably helps that original creators and writers Amy Lippman and Christopher Keyser are returning for this Party of Five; they've still got it, and viewers will find themselves gripped by storylines that would read as manipulative in less sure hands. Fans can expect a lot of the same complications to be found on other teen-heavy dramas (love triangles, conflicts at school, arguments about parties and late nights), but the sweet interplay between the Acosta family members and the great weight of what their younger members have agreed to take on add emotional heft to the proceedings and make the show connect with new fans and the already-converted.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why parents are often absent in stories about teens and young children. What types of storytelling would the presence of parents inhibit? What types of dilemmas do children and teens find themselves in when they must act as their own authority? Does Party of Five make its situation look challenging? Glamorous? Both?
Did you watch the original Party of Five? How is this version different? What changes were made to the setting, storylines, characters? How did that change what we see on the screen? Why would the creators have made these changes?
Families can talk about how the Acostas show teamwork and self-control in Party of Five. Why do you think these are important character strengths?
TV Details
- Premiere date : January 8, 2020
- Cast : Elle Paris Legaspi , Emily Tosta , Niko Guardado
- Network : Freeform
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Character Strengths : Self-control , Teamwork
- TV rating :
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : October 21, 2025
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