Vida

The series could go anywhere, but it’s off to a good start in the first hour.

Every actor on Vida is great; Barrera’s performance in particular blooms with searing clarity as Lyn is forced to face her own reckless choices. But it’s Prada’s Emma who becomes both the backbone and the beating heart of Vida as she grapples with her mother’s truth and the painful reality of learning it too late.

Vida accomplishes a lot in only six episodes, more than some shows that loiter and linger for 13-plus hour-long installments. It establishes a strong sense of place and self--the dialogue frequently hopscotches between Spanish and English without ever feeling the need to translate--while provocatively poking at the hornet’s nest of feelings stirred up by home, grief, cultural identity, and the fear that as a society we are purging and rehabbing away the things that should be considered precious.

At typical drama length, this series might have been bogged down with plot digressions and expansions. As it is, it sometimes slips into melodrama, but the lapses pass quickly. Life may be too short, but Vida is just right.

The show is definitely more adventurous in theme and subject matter than visual storytelling.

Despite the hardly surprising plotting, Vida excels as a series with a notably different look and feel.

It feels authentic, save for one calculated-to-take-advantage-of-premium-cable scene in the premiere (characters on TV seem more prone to engage in grief-fueled sex at funeral receptions than people do in real life).

Vida clips along nicely thanks to strong performances, including Chelsea Rendon’s fierce and funny portrayal of guerrilla activist Marisol, and Prada’s composed intensity as Emma. The momentum only starts to wane when the story turns to Lyn’s romantic entanglement her neighborhood ex, Johnny (Carlos Miranda). What’s interesting here are the relationships between Lyn and Emma and the other women in their lives.

A confident yet dawdling new dramedy.

In many ways this first season feels like one long first act in a much bigger story about learning to define and embrace your identity. ... Still, thanks to Vida’s strong cast, no matter where things go, it makes us want to follow.