Welcome Back, Mr. Iglesias

Gabriel Iglesias (no relation to Enrique Iglesias) is a plus-sized comedian ("I'm not fat, I'm fluffy") who has apparently been popular for 26 years.  He's got 40 acting credits on IMDB dating all the way back to 1993.  A very eclectic assortment: Magic Mike, Cristela, Family Guy, Annoying Orange, and Narcos

Plus 14 producing credits, including: Aloha Fluffy, The Fluffy Movie, Hey It's Fluffy, Fluffy's Food Adventures, and The Fluffy Shop.

Of course, his social media presence is much more important these days: 14 million followers, 370 million views of his youtube videos.

Not homophobic.  In his stand-up routine, he's thrilled that a gay man made a pass at him: "I turned on a man!  I called my girlfriend and said 'You'd better be careful. I've got options."

After all that, it seems rather a let-down to star in a Netflix sitcom, especially a copy of Welcome Back Kotter : a caring teacher tries to reach a class of underachievers (the blurb says overachievers, but it is mistaken).

Mr. Iglesias even teaches the same subject, American history.

The main difference seems to be:
1. A  mostly black and Hispanic cast.
2. An emphasis on the teachers rather than the students

The two main male teachers are Tony (Jacob Vargas, left) and Carlos (Oscar Nuñez, who played a gay guy on The Office)

3. The students seem much younger than the 20-something hunks who pretended to be 16 on Welcome Back, Kotter. The three main male students are Walter (Tucker Albrizzi), Mikey (Fabrizio Zacharee Guido, left), and Lorenzo (Coy Stewart, below)

Gay characters:  Not that I can tell.

Gay references:  The new inclusivity guidelines have proper terms to use for "gender and orientation."  Weirdly closeting the term "sexual orientation."

Beefcake: No

Annoyances:

1. Mr. Iglesias' lectures are oddly superficial.  The first was a riff on powdered wigs.  The second, on Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer.

2. The teachers spend a lot of time flirting with each other.

3. The boys spend a lot of time being hetero-horny.  In Episode #2, Mikey can't do his oral report properly because the female teacher evaluating him is too hot. Mr. Iglesias advises "Concentrate on what's up going on up here (points to his head), and forget about what's going on down there (points to his crotch)."

What's the Point:

Well, at least there are a lot of anti-Trump jokes.