Jaime Camil is gearing up to host CBS’ upcoming game show “Lotería Loca,” but rolling the project out during the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has been “awkward.”
“It’s super awkward and super difficult,” Camil told TheWrap in an interview ahead of the October 2 release of “Lotería Loca.” “I’ve joined a picket line with my WGA brothers three or four times now [and] I’ve gone to several picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA strike. I really hope they find a solution — not a quick solution — but a fair solution.”
“Lotería Loca,” which expands the popular Mexican version of bingo, is covered under the Network Code, which also covers talk shows and game shows as well as sports, meaning that Camil can film and promote the CBS show without breaking any strike rules.
“It’s a high-energy packed show, with twists and turns, physical challenges and lots of money — $1 million is at stake every single night up until the very end of the show,” Camil said. “It is a show it’s meant for everyone … but definitely the U.S. Hispanic [and] Latin American people will feel very, very proud to see this show on mainstream television.”
The “Jane the Virgin” star also told TheWrap he had been negotiating to participate in a movie based in Mexico after getting SAG-AFTRA approval, which was granted since the film would be covered by the Asociación Nacional de Actores (ANDA), the Mexican sister union to SAG-AFTRA. While Camil was negotiating for the potential project, he came head-to-head with the same issues the unions are dealing with regarding streamers and fair pay.
“It got to the point that I had to negotiate what would happen if the movie went to a streaming service and I had to put my foot down saying, ‘Hey, this is why we’re striking,’” Camil said. “‘If this deal doesn’t make sense, I’m not going to do the movie because this is precisely why we are striking. We don’t have fair deals when it comes to streaming and it needs to stop and it [is] stopped by us setting the example.’”
For Camil, taking a stand against unfair pay and losing a project here or there in the process of getting a fair deal for WGA and SAG-AFTRA members is “the price we have to pay.”
“I really stand by the WGA and, of course, my brothers and sisters of the SAG-AFTRA,” Camil said.
“Lotería Loca” premieres Monday, Oct. 2, on CBS.
