Prime time gets a Spanish flair – Latino characters are increasingly featured on TV, and many speak Spanish (or at least try).

Oye, have you noticed? All over the TV dial, se habla español. Si. Si. It’s true. Many of your favorite TV characters are speaking in Spanish. Sometimes it’s just a line of dialogue sprinkled in to add a dash of authenticity. Sometimes it’s a full-blown conversation with or without subtitles. Sometimes it’s even that (lazy? or is it naughty?) bicultural hybrid, Spanglish.

As Latinos have grown into the nation’s largest minority, the culture has surfaced ever so slightly on our TV programs. To be sure, the TV networks still have their work cut out for them when it comes to all-around diversity. But more and more, Latino characters on television are resembling the full U.S. Latino experience: from the working-class families of “The George Lopez Show” and “Ugly Betty” to the middle-class professionals of “Scrubs” and “Dexter,” to the wealthy elite of “Cane.”"*

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