Very full house Two sisters reconnect over hard times in new CBS comedy

By Sarah Passingham TV Media

What would you do if your estranged sibling showed up on your doorstep out of the blue, expecting to move in? What if they brought with them their better half and their eager personal assistant? And what if, the last you heard, they were very, very well off? That is the premise of CBS’s new sitcom, “Broke,” premiering Thursday, April 2.

Longtime “NCIS” star Pauley Perrette is Jackie, a single mother to Sammy (Antonio Raul Corbo, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) and manager at a local bar. Jackie is shocked when her older sister, Elizabeth (Natasha Leggero, “Another Period”), surprises her with a visit, a posh new accent and a mountain of her expensive luggage. Elizabeth has also brought her warm-hearted husband, Javier (Jaime Camil, “Jane the Virgin”), and their loyal assistant, Luis (Izzy Diaz, “Telenovela”).

It has been five years since Jackie last saw her sister Lizzy, who now insists she goes by Elizabeth, and Javier. In that time, resentment toward her older sibling has clearly been simmering, as Sammy reveals that Jackie has been referring to the two as his Aunt Hoity and Uncle Toity. Elizabeth soon breaks down at Jackie’s bar and reveals that she and Javier have burned through his family money and are completely broke. They’ve left their extravagant life in Mexico City behind because, without a penny to their names, they had nowhere else to go besides Jackie’s.

The two sisters, once separated by class as well as distance, are now reunited in the close quarters of Jackie’s humble home. They quickly bond over a bathtub talk, when Jackie admits to Elizabeth that she was initially jealous that her sister “found the love of [her] life,” while she only found “the lead singer of a Van Halen cover band.” The honesty appears to help scrub away some of the mess from their relationship.

Though Jackie eventually agrees to help her sister and brother-in-law get back on their feet, it is clear that they will only be housed under some specific conditions. With everything Jackie has going on, Elizabeth and Javier are going to have to pull their weight around the house, without just handing it all off to poor Luis. Surprisingly, Javier takes it upon himself to start helping out Jackie and attends a meeting at Sammy’s school with Luis. Unfortunately, he does so without informing Jackie. Javier and his eternally sunny demeanor are at odds with Jackie’s anger, and amusing misunderstandings ensue.

Camil’s Javier is impossible to not like with his unbeatable optimism, and, despite the blood relation between Jackie and Elizabeth, his character is the heart of “Broke,” the one who really bonds everyone together. Luis seems to put it best in the series trailer when he shares with Jackie why he genuinely loves working for and spending time with Javier: “Javier sees you the way you wish you saw yourself. He sees the best version of you.” While he may step far beyond his bounds at times, it is always with the best intentions.

Camil is not only one of the stars of “Broke,” he is an executive producer of the series as well. He may be familiar to you from his time starring as Rogelio De La Vega in all five seasons of CW’s “Jane the Virgin.” He is probably best known for starring in popular telenovelas for nearly two decades, but he’s a man of many talents. In addition to his on-screen acting career, he has done voiceover work for Spanish-language editions of animated movies such as “Bee Movie” (2007) and “Open Season” (2006), and gave voice to Jorge Chavez, Todd’s stepfather, in Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman.” Camil began his career in entertainment on the radio, and then as a host of talent and game shows in Mexico.

He is an award-winning stage actor and has performed on Broadway as well as in productions in his home country of Mexico.That is truly just a condensed version of Camil’s illustrious career. He, of course, also lends his talents to the big screen, and during the promotion of his latest film, “Las Pildoras De Mi Novio” (or “My Boyfriend’s Meds”), a comedy about a

Coda

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