East Los High was one of Hulu’s most popular shows, but will the teen drama return for a fifth season? East Los High premiered its first season in 2013 and was notable as the first original Hulu series to feature all-Latino cast. Set and filmed in East Los Angeles, the show followed a group of Latino teens – played by actors including The Purge’s Gabriel Chavarria and Alicia Sixtos of The Fosters fame – as they navigated through their final years of high school and issues like sex and sexuality, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, and drug abuse.
East Los High was more than just a teen soap opera though. Alongside focusing on a demographic all too often underrepresented in mainstream television, the show also weaved educational messages into its storylines. East Los High executive producer Katie Elmore Mota worked closely with advisers from public health organizations like Planned Parenthood and Advocates for Youth to craft scripts that educated viewers on topics like sexual health and relationships. The result was a teen drama a cut above the rest that focused on issues relevant to its characters and audience.
The show was rightfully nominated for a total of five Daytime Emmys during its four-season run on Hulu, but will there be an East Los High season 5? Unfortunately not – here’s why.
Hulu Canceled East Los High In 2017
To the disappointment of its fans, Hulu announced in May of 2017 it had made the decision not to renew East Los High for season 5. The announcement came almost a year after East Los High’s fourth season which – despite its cancellation – granted the show boasting rights as the longest-running original Hulu series to date.
The cancellation of East Los High was a blow to diversity in mainstream television that prompted the National Hispanic Media Coalition to issue a statement lamenting the loss of a series that “celebrated diversity” and “broke barriers in the entertainment industry.”
East Los High Fans Got A Series Finale Instead Of Season 5
In place of East Los High season 5, Hulu ordered an 83-minute long series finale event that served as a farewell to the show and aired in December 2017 – almost a year and a half after the final episode of season 4 aired.
Set eight months after the end of season 4, the series finale wrapped up several cliffhangers and focused on its characters as they prepared to leave high school and make their way into the world. Still, the consensus among viewers was that East Los High season 5 would’ve been a more appropriate way to wrap up the show rather than the brief series finale they got.
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