Mario Diaz is the showrunner of the two-night special event, The Chicano Squad, premiering September 2 at 9/8c on A&E. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, his passion for film brought him to New York University to study film, but an early job producing news segments put him on the path to documentary filmmaking and an Emmy Award win.
Diaz spoke with A+E about the joy of immersing yourself in a subject, the challenge of creating a compelling narrative and the importance of reaching out to audiences from underserved communities.
As the showrunner of ‘The Chicano Squad,’ what were some of your day-to-day responsibilities?
My job is mainly to oversee the show’s creative direction and manage the entire team throughout production and post-production. That means making sure that all departments are communicating with each other effectively and that they are guided by a clear vision.
I am also the director of the series, so I have additional creative responsibilities like outlining and writing the episodes, designing the overall look of the show, conducting the bulk of the interviews and supervising the edit. Fortunately, I don’t do this alone. I’ve had the good fortune of working with the same dedicated team of talented professionals for years now who contribute tremendously to every project.
What inspired you to work in this field?
The initial impetus came from being obsessed with films as a teenager. I was your typical movie nerd with no social life to speak of. I worked at video stores, wrote awful screenplays and made even worse home movies. Naturally, I ended up in film school, dead set on being a scripted film director. But then in college I started taking journalism courses and I began to gravitate toward the one thing that combined both my obsession with cinema and journalism: documentaries. Once I got hooked there was no turning back for me.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
I love the very beginning stages of a project when you immerse yourself in the subject matter—the research, conducting pre-interviews, familiarizing yourself with the history and the characters, etc. I really enjoy learning and thinking about how to put the pieces together to create a compelling narrative. At this stage, you’re just taking in information and letting your mind play with ideas before the other aspects begin to make demands on your attention.
What advice would you give someone who is interested in becoming a showrunner?
This is a tough question because I never aspired to be a showrunner. My goal was to become a documentary director. In the process, I learned to have good organizational and managerial skills, which is why companies began to trust me as a showrunner.
I think the first step to becoming a documentary director is to get lost in the world of nonfiction filmmaking. Study the great masters—Barbara Kopple, the Maysles, Frederick Wiseman, Werner Herzog, Steve James—examine their methods and styles, then pick a topic that you’re interested in and go make a short doc or a feature.
Documentaries are cheap to produce and the more you do it, the quicker you develop a style, a voice, an approach that’s distinctly yours. I’m convinced the best way to get noticed is to just do the work. Life has a way of putting wind in the sails of those who already have some momentum.
There has recently been a push to increase diversity, equity and inclusivity in workplaces across the U.S. Have you noticed any changes in your field?
Yes, I’ve noticed more diversity and the people in power are more aware of the problem, which has translated to increased inclusivity. The problem is that the people in power remain a fairly homogenous group.
What do you think are some benefits of having a more diverse workplace?
The biggest benefit is the effect it has on the work itself. With a diverse workplace you have diverse perspectives and ideas, which in my experience always helps bring more complexity, richness and nuance to the stories we tell.
As a showrunner, what’s a challenge you face that might come as a surprise to viewers?
People are often surprised when I tell them that the one resource I crave most on my projects is time. Time to do more research, time to shoot a little more B-roll, time to tinker more in the edit and add more layers to the story.
In my opinion, time is the most valuable commodity on a film project. It might mean the difference between a good series or a great series. Given the choice between fancy cameras and a longer schedule, I’d take the latter every single time.
What professional achievement are you especially proud of?
Winning an Emmy and becoming a member of the Directors Guild of America are definitely career highlights. In 2022, I was extremely proud to have been invited to premiere Right To Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution at the Tribeca Film Festival. That A&E series was a passion project for me and I’m glad that we got to introduce it to the public on such a big stage.
Where do you hope to be in the next 5-10 years?
I hope to be doing exactly what I’m doing now: showrunning and directing. I can’t picture my life doing anything else.
What excites you about the future of your field?
Despite the constant changes in the industry–mergers, consolidation, new technologies–one thing has remained constant: documentaries are more respected and watched by people today than ever before. They continue to attract audiences in great numbers on streaming and even at the box office.
As I look into the future, I’m excited to discover new filmmakers with unique styles and to see how the artform evolves. There is a great spirit of innovation in documentary filmmaking, with people constantly introducing new storytelling devices and ideas, and I believe that’s what will keep documentaries fresh and vital far into the future.
What can A+E Networks do to help further diversity, equity and inclusion?
It’s been great to see the diversity of A+E’s programming in recent years. They’ve aired ambitious series like Origins of Hip-Hop, James Brown: Say It Loud, Right To Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution, and now The Chicano Squad, which says a lot about their commitment to diversity and inclusion. My hope is that they continue that trend for many years to come so that audiences, especially those from underserved communities, keep coming back in greater and greater numbers.