Want to learn Spanish? Los Espookys can help.

Los Espookys is a delightfully bonkers concoction that perfectly compliments the effervescent joys of speaking and learning Spanish.

Los Espookys is super fun to say. Just say it out loud. One. Two. Three. Los Espookys! It’s a journey for your lips. The way the two words slide together in an effortless hiss of air kicks it all off. Followed by a calming “ooo” sound, the second word is punctured by a crisp consonant, then back to the original hiss for a satisfying conclusion. Saying Los Espookys is like Pringles. Betcha can’t say it just once.

Of course if you’re familiar with the language, you’ll know that “espookys” isn’t actually a Spanish word, but it does a great job at masquerading. Los Espookys co-creators Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega actually invented the delightful phrase for the show. And thank goodness they did, because Los Espookys has arrived on HBO not a moment too soon as the cable channel’s flagship Spanish series.

Equal parts heartfelt, wacky, and wonderful, Los Espookys charms and calms from start to finish. The story follows four very different friends who start a business bringing horror to the public. The first episode involves a hilarious mock exorcism, and the jobs get wilder and wilder as the show progresses. The horror in the series is never terrifying for the home audience, which nicely showcases a sweet and pure love of the genre instead of aiming for spooks and shocks. And the fact that it’s all in Spanish is a fun added bonus for any viewer looking to brush up on their español.

At a recent press event, Hidden Remote participated in a round table discussion with the talent from Los Espookys. Co-creators Fred Armisen (Uncle Tico), Julio Torres (Andrés), and Ana Fabrega (Tati) were there, along with the two fellow leads, Bernardo Velasco (Renaldo) and Cassandra Ciangherotti (Ursula). They chatted about Los Espookys‘ groundbreaking status as HBO’s first Spanish language series, how Spanish is becoming an integral part of American culture, and how learning other languages can bond us as humans.

It all started with Fred Armisen. Armisen says that from the very beginning of this project, he knew he wanted to do “something in Spanish, it’s almost as if I needed it off my chest… [we] narrowed it down to a couple of places to pitch, and HBO was really receptive. They had no problem with it being in Spanish.”

Armisen felt a cosmic comedic connection with comedians Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega, and the three began to develop a story to showcase the Spanish language. Fabrega stated, “I think any hesitations about it being in Spanish were completely outweighed by the fact that it was [Fred Armisen] that wanted to do it.” Torres backed this claim up, stating, “I think also because he has a track record making such incredible shows that it’s really not a risk to put a Fred Armisen show on TV. It feels nice that his talent ushered in something new.”

Star Bernardo Velasco expressed hope that the introduction of a Spanish language show on HBO could be a catalyst for change in how some people see the language. He said, “I hope that more people can practice their Spanish by watching. There are still many people that are really angry about people not speaking English in the USA, so maybe they can chill out a little bit. It’s just a language.”

How right he is. Torres expressed a similar notion, speaking about how English has been a part of the culture in other countries for so long, and that it’s time for some equality in that equation. Torres said, “The whole world outside of the United States consumes things that are in English, and from a very young age the children learn how to engage in a language that is not their own. […] But now, I think that Americans are learning that like, oh, it should be a conversation that goes back and forth and not one that’s one-sided.” Armisen seems to be hopeful that Spanish has already begun to weave its way into American culture. He said, “There’s something about [Spanish] that feels like a part of American culture. It seems very American to me, like every city I go to, it’s just part of our culture.”

With Los Espookys, Armisen aimed to weave the language into the American culture a bit more, with a show that was accessible to both Spanish and English speakers. Once the creative team was assembled, special care was taken to ensure that Spanish was treated as an integral part of the series, and that meant paying special attention to the subtitles.

As Fabrega and Torres wrote every episode, they expressed that they had “many concerns” over the subtitles accurately conveying information to speakers of both languages at the same time. They were both heavily involved in the process of writing and executing the subtitles onscreen so that the comedic timing was just right.

In good news for anyone looking to brush up on their Spanish or absorb a few spooky vocab words while watching Los Espookys, the subtitles and the action on screen are paired to perfection. Torres explained the painstaking process of getting the subtitles just right, stating, “making sure that you don’t give away a joke before someone said it, or even just making sure that they’re up there for enough time for people to read them. Or just holding onto a word until the person appears. So it feels like people who speak Spanish and English are receiving the information at the same time. We had to be really meticulous about it.”

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The cast and crew expressed real excitement over having a Spanish-language show find an audience on HBO. When asked how she felt about Los Espookys being HBO’s first Spanish language show, Cassandra Ciangherotti lit up. She shared, “I think that it’s a privledge to be pioneers in the search for approaching other people and other languages and the search for representing other people in such an important TV channel. And I think I feel so lucky to be a part of it. I hope that this is an eye opener in terms of how important it is. And I feel sort of a responsibility that it works out because I think that it’s a very important move and a very important moment.”

For Spanish and English speakers to come together and watch the same heartfelt series feels not only groundbreaking, but also like a big warm blanket of togetherness. So in the interest of melding the two together, we asked Velasco and Ciangherotti about some spooky Spanish words that English speakers might want to learn while watching Los Espookys. Their delightful exchange is below in which they introduce a word that might be just as fun to say as “Los Espookys” is.

Bernardo Velasco: “When somebody scares you in Spanish, you would say “anañares.”

Cassandra Ciangherotti: “Ooo! Like spiders inside your body, like goosebumps inside your body. That’s a good one!”

Bernardo and Cassandra, together: “Anañares!”

Los Espookys airs Fridays at 11:30/10:30 on HBO.