Carmen Armendáriz of TelevisaUnivision: “Una Familia Complicada Is A Powerful Story That We Could Only Tell On Streaming”

ViX premieres its new original series Una Familia Complicada Friday June 26th. The 20-episode drama blends touches of humor and suspense. Its producer, Carmen Armendáriz, spoke about the project, which was filmed over five months in real locations in Orizaba, Veracruz, and the state of Morelos.

The project required three years of development, from structuring the scripts by Carlos Pascual to assembling its large cast. Armendáriz emphasized that streaming platforms allow for the exploration of complex and disruptive narratives that would be difficult to fit into traditional broadcast television.

“All the characters have a degree of craziness, which is how we are. That’s how people are today. All the characters—that’s what’s great about it—they’re different, but very current. Maybe this couldn’t happen on Televisa, on Las Estrellas, because it’s strong. But on ViX it can. With this platform I can make it bigger, I can go deeper into strange stories.”

The producer also emphasized that the way Alzheimer’s disease is portrayed in the story aims to move away from pure tragedy and instead offer a hopeful perspective on living with the condition.

“You’ll see that you can live with Alzheimer’s if you catch it early, if you treat it early, if you’re happy, if you have a functioning marriage, if you’re content. You’ll see that everything can be fixed. It’s truly a very difficult, very hard topic to handle on television, but it happens.”

NATURAL LOCATIONS AND PRODUCTION LOGISTICS

The series was directed by Mafer Suárez, who used a cinematic approach supported by real locations. For the producer, using natural settings provides essential symbolic weight to the story and enriches the visual texture of the series.

“I like it because I think Mexico has wonderful places that we don’t always get to know because of time or whatever, but they are places that should be used because they exist. So if you need an old house with humidity, don’t build it—find it, because it exists. That gives you much more flexibility and adds much more weight to your story,” she said.

The logistics in Orizaba involved close collaboration with the local hotel infrastructure to keep the crew based in one place during the long filming period. Armendáriz confirmed that the project was conceived as a closed structure and concludes definitively in this season.

Una Familia Complicada

Una Familia Complicada features an all-star cast led by Adriana Barraza, Marcus Ornellas, Marisol del Olmo, Mayra Batalla, Eduardo Maruri, Oka Giner, and Marco Treviño.

The storyline follows the Navarro family after the death of its patriarch. Doña Telma, played by Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza, takes over the family business while quietly facing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.