Los Espookys

a wonderfully weird and inventive show that inspires exactly that kind of thought at least once an episode, embracing bizarre characters, off-kilter humor, and a heady dose of magical realism where the impossible can, and often does, happen. It’s also hilarious.

The jokes are fast-paced and tinged with absurdity; at its best, Los Espookys can feel like a half-hour telenovela assembled in the 30 Rock writers’ room. ... For all of its fantastical foolishness, Los Espookys is, at its heart, a comedy about friendship, following your passions, and fighting the urge to fit in.

With so much being communicated through the subtitles, the storytelling has to stay relatively simple. But as the show starts playing up its characters and playing down their paranormal hijinks, a tidy fable about the nature of collaboration emerges, underlining the critical role each individual Espooky plays in the operation.

Clocking in at six episodes, the first season moves well, gets the details right, and packs in the laughs at every turn. It’s never scary, and even its appreciation of a good scare, which leads to a gross-out gag or two, keeps the focus on the craft talent who made it happen.

It’s funny and occasionally freaky as the pilot introduces the characters who form a team that concocts horror scenes, whether at a quinceanera celebration or a will reading.

Torres and Ciangherotti are magnetic, and Velasco is a treat as the bubbly Renaldo. But it’s Fabrega, as Tati, who feels like the true original. Her performance evokes weirdos like Reverend Jim, on “Taxi.”

With its light touch and affection for its characters’ foibles, “Los Espookys” is refreshing, different, and best, of all, funny.

No matter how dryly weird things get, there’s a sense of camaraderie and optimism among the title characters that’s infectious. The line between comedy and horror is often so blurry as to be non-existent, and the two subjects match up in a very appealing way throughout Los Espookys.

It’s really the wry comic tone, lived-in comic performances, and quotable dialogue that make the series worth watching.

With its purposefully odd rhythms and blunt turns, “Los Espookys” won’t be for everyone — but it doesn’t have to be. Just as Renaldo found people who revere the art of the bizarre as much as he does, I have a feeling “Los Espookys” will find its audience that appreciates the same.

Fortunately, the reasons for amusement with Los Espookys extend well beyond the title. The half-hour series, from creators Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega and Fred Armisen, is a droll delight, a low-key and absurdist romp in that Baskets or What We Do in the Shadows vein of shows that absolutely won't tickle everybody but will probably generate fierce devotion among the audience able to communicate on its strange wavelength.