‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Stars ‘Proud’ to Embrace Political Themes in CW Reboot

Roswell, New Mexico may draw you in with alien romance, but The CW‘s new show isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to portraying very human issues.

The Carina Adly MacKenzie-led reboot of The WB and UPN’s original Roswell changed the game for the characters first inhabited by actors like Shiri Appleby, Katherine Heigl, and Colin Hanks by aging them up, taking away the high school drama, and placing the Roswell residents firmly in the world of adult problems.

Talking with ComicBook.com on the New Mexico set of the reboot ahead of its January 15th premiere, Jeanine Mason and Nathan Parsons, who play star-crossed protagonists Liz Ortecho and Max Evans, explained how that change allowed the world of Roswell, New Mexico to make a strong sociopolitical statement in turbulent times.

Mason, a Cuban-American actress who has appeared on shows like Bunheads and Grey’s Anatomy, says she was drawn to Liz from the start due to the boldness with which she, as a Mexican-American woman, tells her truth.

“She had a line where … somebody said, ‘Why are you being so combative?’ She was speaking her truth to someone,” Mason recalls. “And she said, ‘I’m a Mexican-American woman in 2018, I engage in combat just by getting of bed in the morning.’ And I was like, ‘Fuck yeah, I’ll do that show. That’s the one I want to fight for.’”

With the encouragement of MacKenzie and CW favorite Julie Plec, who directed the pilot, Mason says she’s been trying to work with the Mexican-American women in her life, “trying to find moments everywhere to honor [them] because I know how much it means. I know how much it means to see it fully and to see it represented fully.”

Part of Liz’s journey in Roswell, New Mexico is her father’s undocumented status, which in today’s political climate, is a prescient story to tell, she argues.

“I’m hoping that we get to do that even more as the series progresses and maybe get to meet other undocumented characters that Liz feels kindred spirited with, because it’s part of her story and her dynamic,” Mason explains. “But, yeah, I’m very proud and I’m working my ass off to do it well. I think we all are. We’re all just trying to make it feel like New Mexico and make it feel like small town people who are fighting to be decent.”

Max’s story is also that of an outsider. One of three aliens that crash-landed in Roswell years prior, Liz’s high school crush is simply trying to blend in alongside siblings Isobel (Lily Cowles) and Michael (Michael Vlamis) when she returns to town to stir up old feelings — and new trouble.

“Obviously the whole alien thing, you’ve got to compartmentalize a little bit because you can’t just go around being like, ‘What’s up? I’m an alien.’” Parsons quips, adding. “You have to keep all these secrets and you are always on guard with ‘Who can I tell?’ and ‘How can I protect this person from that?’ There’s always that aspect of it in every scene.”

Hinting that Michael is “probably the worst” at keeping their alien secret at bay, The Originals alum teased some serious secrets that his character is hiding from the girl he’s loved for more than a decade.

“Once Liz comes back she starts digging, and all these things start coming up, and it’s like, ‘Nope, they were buried for a reason,’” he explains. “But it’s really, really fun to play with all that.”

Working with Vlamis and Cowles to create this new family wasn’t tough, Parsons added, as the three actors have a very natural chemistry that really sells their close bonds.

“It’s just this very playful dynamic that you really can only have off the bat with family, where you can give people a hard time, you can hate someone, you can punch them in the face, and the next day you’re like, ‘I love you, brother,’” he recalls, adding, “When it’s your brother or your sister you can tell each other the truth that you can only hear from them. They know you that well, they know you’ll forgive them and they know you know it comes from a place of love even when you’re wrong or they’re wrong. So that’s been such a fun little trio to develop.”

Roswell, New Mexico airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.