Exclusive Interview: Gabriela Cartol and Luis Gerardo Méndez Talk The Resort on Peacock

Gabriela Cartol and Luis Gerardo Méndez are two of the stars of the must-see new series, The Resort.

The Resort is a multi-generational, coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Yucatan’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Gabriela and Luis about their characters, what attracted them to this project, how they prepared for their roles, and more!

PC: To start, could you each introduce us to your characters in the series and what attracted you to this project? Gabriela, do you want to kick us off?
Gabriela: My character presents herself as a concierge at the resort, but then you realize that’s not all she is. She has the key to every door and information from the past. That’s her power. She’s kind of a shady character. You don’t know whether she’s going to be involved in this case in a good way or a bad way. That’s what I love about her. She’s not what you think she is. She’s never going to be what you think she is.

Luis: I saw Palm Springs, the first movie that Andy Siara did. I remember I was laughing so hard. When they told me that he wanted me for his show, I was in. I got the scripts and saw how deep and smart this show is. It’s really rare to see a comedy like this that’s so deep and smart and that asks all these questions about time and what it does to the body, to relationships, to the mind, and to the soul with humor. That was very, very appealing for me. Also the cast. I’m a huge fan of Cristin [Milioti] and William [Jackson Harper], and I wanted to work with Gabby. All the ingredients were there.

PC: Gabriela, you were just saying your character is not who we initially think she is. How did you prepare to step into her shoes and create the space for yourself to dive into her arc?
Gabriela: We were extremely lucky. I had this opportunity to time travel because my character is involved in both timelines. That was one of the first keys to my preparation. I had to think of how she moved, looked, and thought and how her mindset would change as time goes on. Luna fifteen years ago is completely different from Luna in the present day. I had a lot of conversations with Andy [Siara] like Luis said. He has such a creative mind. He’s extremely intelligent. That was really easy as well. The whole team was great. We worked with Ben Sinclair. It was amazing because he’s an actor as well. He understands the language, and that was my preparation.

PC: Luis, You’ve done it all in your career. In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of comedic murder mysteries. What is it about blending these two genres together that excites you as a creative?
Luis: The whodunnit is always interesting. When I did murder mysteries, it was a completely different thing. This is way more complex. This is an exploration of human relationships, time, nostalgia, and the golden years of your life. There’s a really good Spanish song that I really like that says you should never go back to the place where you were happy because it’s never going to be the same. Forget about that and try to find a new place to be happy. That is what this show is about. It’s about enjoying the present and the place where you are. You’re never going to recover what you experienced fifteen years ago. You need to let it go and look ahead. It talks about how time destroys everything, how it heals everything, and how it changes things. You can talk about that with comedy. It’s very smart, and that’s very fascinating as an actor and as an audience member. This feels very sophisticated. This show is never what you think it’s going to be. Every episode the show changes.

Make sure to follow Gabriela (Twitter/Instagram) and Luis (Twitter/Instagram). Watch The Resort on Peacock today.