The TV Series Popi

In the early to mid-Seventies there was a cycle on American television towards ethnic comedies that included such shows as Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, The Montefuscos, and others. Among these ethnic comedies was Popi, which starred Héctor Elizondo as Abraham Rodriguez, known to his sons as "Popi." Popi was a widower living in New York City with two sons, Junior (Anthony Perez) and Luis  (Dennis Vasquez). Their neighbour and Popi's romantic interest was Lupe (Edith Diaz). Popi only ran for 10 episodes, but it was historic as one of the first shows to centre on a Puerto Rican family.

Popi was based on the 1969 movie of the same name starring Alan Arkin as Popi and Rita Moreno as Lupe. If it seems odd that Alan Arkin played a Puerto Rican, during that era, it was not unusual for non-Latinos to play Latino roles. In contrast, Héctor Elizondo is Puerto Rican, although he grew up in New York City. Like Rita Moreno, Edith Diaz was also Puerto Rican.

There would be one change from the pilot for Popi to the TV series. In the pilot, Lupe was played by Liz Torres Who had already been a regular on the sitcom Phyllis and had guest starred in such shows as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Love, American Style. Her replacement, Edith Diaz, had guest starred on such shows as The Name of the Game and All in the Family. Héctor Elizondo was already a well-established actor by the time Popi debuted. He had appeared on stage in The Great White Hope and The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and in the film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974).

Popi received positive, if not overly glowing reviews upon its debut. Jay Sharbutt, television writer for the Associated Press, wrote of the show, "Popi is a well-written, endearing, warm, and human comedy." On January 27 1976 in the column TV Key, it read, "Don't overlook this engaging little comedy starring Puerto Rican  Héctor Elizondo. Columnist Buck Biggers (also known as the co-creator of Underdog) was much less impressed with the show, writing a somewhat negative review of Popi, "Although the concept for Popi was sufficient to support a 1969 movie of the same name. It does not appear strong enough to support a series, especially without benefit of much, much stronger scripting. (and in spite of the fine talent of Héctor Elizondo)."

Regardless of what critics thought, Popi would not be a success. It had the misfortune of debuting opposite Welcome Back, Kotter on ABC, which ranked no. 18 for the year. Matters would be made worse when ABC moved Welcome Back, Kotter to Thursday and debuted a new show in its place. Laverne & Shirley was a spinoff from Happy Days and the very first show to ever hit no. 1 in the Nielsen ratings upon its debut. Laverne & Shirley would ultimately rank no. 3 for the year. Popi's competition on NBC was Movin' On. While the show did not rank in the top 30 for the season, it was still somewhat popular. Ultimately, Popi did poorly in the ratings. Debuting on January 20 1976, it ended its original run after only 10 episodes. It was rerun in the summer, where its ratings were also poor. It ended its network run on August 24 1976.

Today if Popi is remembered at all, it is as a footnote in the history of the movie Popi (1976). While the show did not prove to be a success, it was a pioneering show. It was one of the very first shows ever focused on a Puerto Rican family, something that is still rare today.