TV REVIEW: Diary of a Future President
On Friday, Disney+ aired the season finale of Diary of a Future President. The show centers around a 12 year old Cuban American girl named Elena (Tess Romero). She lives with her mother Gabi (Selenis Leyva) and her brother Bobby (Charlie Bushnell) and is trying to make it through middle school. She has adventures with her best friend Sasha (Carmina Garay) and gushes over her crush Joey (Tiernan Jones). She's a typical middle school kid.
Gina Rodriguez of Jane the Virgin fame serves as executive producer of the show and also makes an appearance as the grown up Elena who is, by that time, President of the United States.
Now, I am not the demographic for this show, but I found it thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. It's a step up from your Disney Channel fair in terms of both storytelling and quality. Diary of a Future President is on film rather than video giving it a more polished look.
I find Tess Romero to be quite charming as Elena Cañero-Reed. She plays her with an awkward nerdiness that you can still relate to. She's neither popular nor the class clown, but she is always fighting for justice.
I liked the fact that Gabi was dating Sam (Michael Weaver), the first person she sees after her husband dies, and all the complications that can bring up. It's not easy getting out there and resolving your feelings for somebody you lost.
I also loved the storyline with Bobby who finds himself having feelings for his best friend Liam (Brandon Severs). Does he come out? There is a certain reality into his coming out journey that seems more believable than many.
Overall, this show is great and I wanted to write a review about it in case people are looking for things to watch. You can binge the whole program since the show has now ended.