For Lucifer's Kevin Alejandro, the future is bright for Latinx storytellers and performers in Hollywood.
On June 6, his Netflix series was renewed for a fifth and final season, offering the show a chance to give Hell's fallen angel the ending he deserves. Just days prior, Alejandro spoke with ET about the show's transition from Fox to the streaming platform, the broadening of opportunities in the industry and much more.
"There's something going on with this Netflix thing," he said over the phone with a laugh. "It feels a little different, you know …there's a certain class to it that subconsciously seeps its way into whatever it is that they got going on, you know. It feels so cool to see that show on that platform now."
Like Arrested Development and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lucifer was saved from cancellation by the sheer enthusiasm of its fanbase, getting a new lease on life at Netflix.
"It was so cool so to see, first of all, after we got canceled, how big the reaction was to it," he added. "The audience pulled together and the fans pulled together and they saved us, right? Now that we have aired, they've banded together even stronger."
The 43-year-old Texas native admitted that working with Netflix was an eye-opening experience in a number of ways. First and foremost, they are able to get a bit more risqué nowadays on the show.
"[Season four] stays true to the style but we're just edgy enough in a cheeky sort of way," he stated of moving from Fox's mandates to the streaming platform's more lax restrictions. "It's like, 'We're staying true but look at this little extra we can do, wink wink wink, I hope you like it.'"
He added that creatives involved are given a bit more latitude to explore their work and fine tune any issues along the way as well.
"You know what, this might sound strange but it kinda felt a little more relaxed," he admitted of creating the show with Netflix. "It felt like there was a different pressure to be... I don't know if it's time constraints or whatever... The classic directors that they brought on, it just kinda feels like they had room to breathe."
The latest season included some ambitious and poignant moments for Alejandro's character, Detective Dan, who finally shared a kiss with fellow crime-solver Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia) after seasons of fiery chemistry -- begging lots of questions in terms of where this relationship might end up.
"I don't know honestly where they're going to take that," he admitted. "I feel what made that so critical for that season is that you had two lost souls who relied on each other for this amount of time and I think they both guided each other and helped each other come to some sort of realization about themselves."
"And I think it would be kind of beautiful if they left it at that," he continued. "That in itself strengthens the relationship as friends."
The season finale also included a particularly dazzling opening scene in which the show's cast performed an elaborate dance routine to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright." During which, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) manages a lift with Alejandro that hilariously harkens back to Dirty Dancing. The actor explained that, like many previous moments in the show, this scene allowed the fun-loving cast to really stretch their legs.
"Just in general, we have a great f**king time on that show," he gushed. "People are always messing with each other, we're pranking each other... Now you put in a giant musical number? I think the majority of us are theater kids, right? So, it's almost like we're going back to our roots of like, 'Of course we can do that!'"
Alejandro also discussed witnessing a sea-change around him in Hollywood allowing more and more minorities to tell their stories and get exposure that might not have been possible just a few years ago.
"I can see it changing all around me," he explained of how coveted roles both in front and behind the camera going to members of the Latinx community more often. "I just feel that it's opening up some windows to give other cultures the confidence to step up."
"This whole shift has given me a different confidence too of saying 'I can do it,'" he added. "With everything that's happening and the influence that's going on and people's ears are opening up and their ideas are expanding. I'm honored to be right in that part of the world where people are starting to take notice of that shift. And it's not just for Latinos, it's for everybody. And it's interesting to see everyone just get a different confidence about themselves of like, 'You know what, dammit, it's mine too.'"
However, he added that with these opportunities comes the heady responsibility to deliver excellence, which helps pave the way for more stories and successes.
"It's cut and dry, man," he stated. "We have an opportunity but be prepared to succeed in that opportunity. So do everything you can to present yourself, your work, our story and your intention at the highest level possible. Because good is good and bad is bad... At the end of the day, the doors are open but you better do a damn good job because you're gonna be judged."
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