“It's a blend of timeless themes of ambition and power that are almost Shakespearean and, at the same time, a very current timeliness,” Promised Land showrunner and executive producer Matt Lopez said during a TCA press conference for the new ABC drama, premiering January 24th. “It's our ambition to say something about the times in which we're living and, on the most basic level, about the lives of these rich and complex characters.”
(ABC/Danny Delgado)
Promised Land tells the story of the Sandoval family who own and operate Heritge House Vineyard in Sonoma Valley. As a Latinx family of wealth and extravagance, they are in a position where most of their employees are also Latinx and of very different means, some even undocumented. “Every single story in Promised Land is both universal and highly, highly personal,” actress Christina Ochoa said, praising Matt Lopez and his fellow executive producer, Maggie Malina. “The thing that I notice the least normally on camera and on TV, especially primetime, so kudos to ABC for breaking that, is heterodox thinking. Every immigrant is different. Every story is different. Everyone has a personal connection to these characters, but the diversity of thought, the diversity of perspective within an entirely Latin cast or an entirely Latin family and between these little groups, there is such a difference between Lettie's perspective or Joe's perspective or Antonio and Veronica. Everyone has such a different point of view, and seeing that represented, where there's no common denominator, that to me is real diversity. Diversity within a group, diversity within an ensemble, and diversity within a cast.”
One of the things that struck Matt Lopez during the casting process was how many actors would thank him for the opportunity to play a Latinx person who either represented their parents’ story in an authentic way or simply a part that wasn’t a member of a cartel. “I've been lucky enough to be doing this, to making a living at it for 30 years, but this is the first leading role I've ever been offered,” John Ortiz revealed, who plays the patriarch of the Sandoval Family, Joe. “In 30 years of making a living as an actor in this country, this is the first time I've been offered a leading role in a show. And I understand the correlation as to why that's the case, and I always knew it wasn't about my talent… I'm just over the moon with excitement and I'm giddy and I love this show. I love this story. I love these people.”
The best word to describe the cast of Promised Land is familia, which happens to be what they call each other. “This really is shorthand on set,” explained executive producer Maggie Malina. “It is the word on our location signs. It is what we refer to one another onset, offset, on our text chains, and it's an honor to be a part of this familia…. Familia is the code word for all of the Promised Land experience.”
(ABC/Raymond Liu)
The newest member of the familia is Bellamy Young, recognizeable to ABC viewers for her iconic role of Melody "Mellie" Grant on Scandal. “I was added very late to the project, so, I got to watch this pilot; I didn't just read this pilot,” she revealed about her role as Margaret Honeycroft. “You're usually banded together, kind of fumbling in the dark, trying to tell the same story and find it together. I, sadly, got to miss that bonding experience, but I got the pleasure of watching this pilot and seeing this story and seeing these performances… It's been an experience that has been absolutely unprecedented in my life, and I hope you love it as much as I love making it and we love making it for you.”
If you fall in love with Promised Land and Heritage House, there’s good news. “We are shooting at two different wineries as our main sets,” Maggie Malina said about how you can step into this world in real life. The first is Agua Dulce Winery in Santa Clarita. “It's a beautiful place, the wine is delicious and we recommend visiting.” The other is in Thousand Oaks, a newer winery called Mizel Estate. “It's delicious and it's a highly beautiful, manicured riding estate along with their vineyards where they grow the grapes.” Mizel even sells bottle of their wine online, the perfect way to sip and savor each episode of Promised Land.
Promised Land premieres Monday, January 24th, at 10/9c on ABC. New episodes will stream the next day on Hulu and as a special bonus, Hulu subscribers can get an early preview of the second episode beginning Tuesday, January 25th.