The wilderness of Anna Pigeon may be about to get a little more Cuban. With USA Network renewing the mystery drama for a second season just ahead of its October 9 finale, actor Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz has a few ideas for his character, Manny Lopez, and they involve salsa, Cuban music, and a cultural identity that has yet to be fully explored on screen.
The Cuban-born actor, who plays a recovering addict turned park ranger in the series starring Tracy Spiridakos, told this reporter in an exclusive interview that he believes Manny is Cuban, even though the writers have never officially established his nationality.
"I think he is Cuban. We don't really talk about that. We never discussed it," Rodriguez-Saenz said. "He's definitely Latino. I have my accent, and I built him using my accent. I changed a few things about the way he speaks, but nothing specifically tied to a nationality."
The conversation took a playful turn when the possibility of Manny embracing his Caribbean roots in a second season came up. Why not have him dance salsa? Or listen to Celia Cruz? Better yet, introduce some Cuban timba into the American wilderness.
"If there's another season, he has to dance salsa or something," Rodriguez-Saenz laughed. "I'm going to keep that in mind. I'm going to ask for it. Guaranteed."
At the time of the interview, the renewal was still uncertain. Now, with USA Network confirming Season 2, the actor's suggestions suddenly have a better chance of reaching the writers' room.
The network has not confirmed whether Rodriguez-Saenz will return, but the renewal comes after a strong first season for the adaptation of Nevada Barr's bestselling mystery novels. According to USA Network, Anna Pigeon delivered its highest-rated original scripted series premiere in nearly eight years, drawing 2.35 million viewers within seven days. The network also reported that the show has reached 18 million viewers.
For viewers who have followed Anna's journey from a grieving New Yorker to a national park ranger investigating crimes in some of America's most spectacular landscapes, the finale arrives with the promise that her adventures are far from over.
But for Rodriguez-Saenz, the show has also offered an unexpected opportunity to bring pieces of his own life into Manny's story. The actor explained that he and Melanie Scrofano, who plays his character's wife, worked on small details that would make their relationship feel more authentically Latino.
"We added little things, like having her call me 'mi amor' or 'mi corazón,' the kinds of things we say in Spanish," he said.
Those details came naturally to Rodriguez-Saenz, who was born and raised in Cuba before immigrating to Canada, a move that exposed him to a very different kind of wilderness.
He arrived with good weather, which, he jokes, was something of a trap. "I came in the summer, in my defense," he said, laughing. Canada's winters eventually taught him to ice skate and snowboard, although his daughter apparently finds his technique less than graceful.
"She laughs at me. I look like a robot doing those things," he admitted. "But I don't fall."
His experience filming Anna Pigeon was considerably more romantic. "We would arrive very early in the morning, sometimes while it was still dark," he recalled. "Then the sun would begin illuminating the mountaintops. I can tell you about it, but I really can't describe it. It was something magical."
The cast spent time around horses, rode through remote mountain trails and worked in locations that seemed almost untouched by civilization. For Rodriguez-Saenz, whose character has found a new purpose after struggling with addiction, the setting added another dimension to Manny's story.
The experience was not entirely peaceful, however. During the filming of a scene involving Anna's disappearance, actor Cooper Levy, who plays Jesse, slipped while running toward another character and began tumbling downhill.
"He started rolling down the mountain," Rodriguez-Saenz recalled. "He had some injuries, but he came out of it fine."
The production briefly rearranged its schedule, but the incident did little to dampen the camaraderie among the cast.
"It was love at first sight," Rodriguez-Saenz said of their first table read. "Going to work with that scenery and that team wasn't really going to work. It was going to have fun with your friends."
The actor's affection for his adopted home in Canada has not diminished his connection to Cuba, or to Miami, where he says he discovered something surprising: traditional Cuban foods he had never encountered growing up on the island. "Miami is a hybrid. It's not really Cuba, but there are so many Cubans, and Cuban culture is so deeply rooted there that it's like going home," he said.
He also spoke candidly about his mother, who still lives in Cuba, where worsening conditions have made everyday life increasingly difficult. "She has a huge community around her," he explained. "I try to keep her as comfortable as I can, but the situation in Cuba is going from bad to worse."
Rodriguez-Saenz has other projects on the horizon, including the animated film Julián, which follows a young boy who dreams of becoming a mermaid. The story holds special meaning for the actor because of the relationship between the boy and his grandmother.
"My grandmother raised me," he said. "This movie looks me in the eyes and speaks directly to me."
As Anna Pigeon prepares to close its first season, USA Network has yet to announce when Season 2 will premiere or which supporting actors will return. Rodriguez-Saenz, however, has already volunteered one creative contribution. If Manny Lopez makes it back to the national park, there may finally be room for some salsa, a little timba and perhaps Celia Cruz somewhere among the pine trees.
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