Bordertown Wants to Offend You In a Good Way

For many years, a debate has existed about how the United States should prevent citizens of Mexico from illegally entering the land of the free.

It’s a hot-button topic, especially when one of the most outspoken men discussing the issue is now a front-runner in the United States’ current Presidential elections.

Many people have differing opinions on immigration, and no matter what side of the wall you fall on (no pun intended) Fox’s new animated series, Bordertown, may give you a satirical glimpse of what’s happening on the other side.

From executive producer and Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane, and veteran Family Guy writer, Mark Hentemenn, Bordertown is a new animated sitcom that will focus on two neighboring families living in the fictional town of Mexifornia and hopes to bring a voice to this taboo social topic with humor.

Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) and Nicholas Gonzalez (Sleepy Hollow), who voice the main characters on Bordertown, discussed the upcoming show and their hopes for its impact on culture with reporters during a recent conference call.

Azaria voices the role of Bud Buckwald, a border patrol agent. “He’s not the brightest bulb in the box. Pretty simple guy, and he’s a pretty unhappy guy. Life has not really treated him as he hoped it would,” Azaria said of Bud. He continued, “He takes his job personally and seriously. He really wants to keep aliens out of the country, and he’s extremely upset by it.”

Another thing driving Bud? Azaria said, “He is also living in a town in the world where he’s becoming a minority as a white male. In fact, there’s an episode of the show where there officially is a census taken, and Caucasians are officially a minority in the town he lives in. That drives him insane, and he is not shy about expressing this opinion, and he’s quite tortured by it.”

In contrast to Bud, Nicholas Gonzalez voices his neighbor, the incredibly hardworking Ernesto Gonzalez who he said is, “the heart of the show.”

Gonzalez described Ernesto as Bud’s, “next door neighbor who has a successful landscaping business. He’s good family man. He’s just a really fun, lovable guy that, I think, all the more fun and lovable he is, the more it rankles Bud. There’s even an episode at one point where Bud is a super fan of Ernesto’s. For as much as he doesn’t like him, it really turns out that he just wants to be like him so much.”

While these two will butt heads with regard to many issues on Bordertown, Gonzalez also hinted that, “there’s also a lot of love between Bud and Ernesto.”

Bordertown has been in the works for over two years, and Azaria said that even then, “it seemed timely.” He went on to say, “and now, I mean, happily or unhappily, it’s even more timely. So, it’s fun to have that. When comedy is really relevant to genuine concerns, it’s always interesting.”

Both Azaria and Gonzalez also shared their thoughts on those timely genuine concerns and on the cultural sensitivity that Bordertown will be pushing the boundaries of when it premieres.

“I think what’s nice is that we actually embrace a lot of those things and turn them on their head within the confines of this show.” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez is also happy that, because of where we are politically right now, the conversations about cultural insensitivities and immigration are open. “Conversation is great. I think that’s exactly what this show puts forth, because yes, you’re going to be offended, and you should be offended.”

This is a sentiment that Azaria agrees with as well. He feels that what’s cool about Bordertown is, “we’re maybe returning back to a middle place where we can acknowledge that since racial sensitivity is really important to honor and understand and not be cavalier about.”

Azaria is no stranger to being a part of a television show that pushes boundaries. In fact, he credits The Simpsons, where he is a long-time cast member, as a show that opened the door for one like Bordertown to exist.

“I think The Simpsons, 27 years ago, pushed boundaries and then directly or indirectly or consciously or unconsciously opened the door for shows like Family Guy, South Park, and other great shows.”

He also admitted, “there are some lines I said as Bud that I was glad it wasn’t—it was just my voice and not my face associated with the line. I was, like, wow, this is quite something to say.” Azaria went on to say, “I think that it’s a complicated thing, and that it’s something that the more, I think, it’s discussed and the more that it’s just an open, on-the-table topic of conversation, the better off we all are and the closer we get to people just being judged as individuals and not as color, race, [or] accents.”

Bordertown will definitely be pushing boundaries, starting conversations, and will hopefully teach its audience something about tolerance along the way. As Gonzalez stated, “Be offended and learn something. That’s sort of how I go through life, you know?”

Bordertown premieres on Sunday, January 3rd at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.