George Lopez Previews Lopez vs. Lopez’s Take on Sobriety, the Personal Message He Hopes to Deliver

Lopez vs. Lopez Season 2 will take a page from star and co-creator George Lopez’s own life by following through on the sobriety storyline teased at the end of the NBC sitcom’s freshman run.

“So many things in my career have come from real life,” Lopez recently shared with TVLine. “I came from a place where alcohol was abused, and then I abused it — but I also abused it around people who didn’t abuse it, and then that’s when it became a bigger and more concerning issue.”

Perhaps most notably, Lopez a little over 10 years ago was arrested for public intoxication after he was found asleep on the floor of a casino in Canada, after having consumed too much alcohol.

“That was very embarrassing for me and for [daughter/Lopez vs. Lopez co-star] Mayan,” Lopez recalled. At the time, “I told Mayan, ‘If it happens twice…,’ but that was just an excuse, because it shouldn’t happen once.”

In Lopez vs. Lopez‘s Season 1 finale, the fictional George’s relationship with alcohol was brought to the fore when in a stupor he fell and cracked his head, resulting in hospitalization and a blood transfusion. George in turn vowed to pursue sobriety.

In the Season 2 premiere, titled “Lopez vs Sobriety” and airing Tuesday at 8/7c (as the first of two new episodes), Mayan discovers that sobriety hasn’t made her father any less annoying, when he challenges the family to give up their own addictions.

Also, as seen in the exclusive sneak peek above, we meet George’s sponsor, Iggy, played by comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias (Mr. Iglesias, The Santa Clauses).

Lopez stands firmly by the choice to tackle such weighty and deeply personal matters on a TV sitcom.

“People say, ‘Hey, man, it’s TV, it’s comedy,’ but [TV episodes] last forever,” Lopez noted, alluding to similar storylines on shows such as Family Ties (where a young Tom Hanks played Alex’s alcoholic uncle). “People say, ‘Oh, you wouldn’t be able to do that today,’ but you can if you want to. If you never push the button, how do you know the button works? If it’s done well, you can get away with it. Or you can not do it and not get away with it.”

Reflecting on his own journey, Lopez said that (especially since the casino incident), “I don’t [drink] like I used to, and I wouldn’t want to. Because you look back and realize, ‘I probably have too many nights that I don’t remember.’

“But as long as you breathe, you’re redeemable,” he says, “and I think that on this show, I would love for that to be a thing.”