LOS ANGELES — John Leguizamo had been pitching a docuseries about Latinx excellence in America for two years before MSNBC finally picked up the idea, which became the six-part show "Leguizamo Does America." The series premiered Sunday and is also streaming on Peacock.
Latinx representation matters to Leguizamo, and he says the reason the show got picked up in the first place is because in 2020 Cesar Conde was named chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group. Conde's father is an immigrant from Peru, and his mother is an immigrant from Cuba.
"A Latinx man who looks like me, who understands my culture, greenlit this show," Leguizamo, 62, says during an interview at the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood. "We pitched it to other people, but he's the one that bought it and gave us this opportunity."
