Five Writing Tricks Behind 'Not Really on Purpose'

28 Jul 2025 #writing

I finished watching “Not Really on Purpose” (“Sin Querer Queriendo” in Spanish), a TV series based on the life of Roberto Gomez Bolaños.

If you’ve never heard of him, he was a Mexican writer, TV producer, scriptwriter, and comedian. Best known as “Chespirito,” a nickname after “Little Shakespeare” in Spanish.

Multiple generations from Latin America have watched or grown up watching his shows like El Chavo del Ocho or El Chapulin Colorado.

“Not Really on Purpose” gives a glimpse of Chespirito’s early life and the story behind some of his most famous characters.

I watched it as a writer, and I noticed these devices:

#1. The show starts with the second-to-last scene. Roberto is getting dressed to appear as “El Chavo” at a benefit event in Colombia. He’s tired of the conflicts in his life and career.

#2. The show builds towards one main event: El Chavo and his neighbors visit Acapulco. And a fun fact, that was the last time the original cast filmed together.

#3. To keep us engaged, the shows uses time jumps to show us Roberto’s early life, his romance and marriage, and the Acapulco episode’s production.

#4. We’re shown some scenes twice. Early on, we see some conflict. Roberto is flirting with another cast member while married with kids.

Later, when the story has developed a bit more, the same scenes are replayed with more context.

#5. The show finishes with some flashbacks of early episodes and footage of the real Roberto on TV screens in the streets.

It was funny to see how our favorite characters came to life and how Roberto found inspiration in his own kids. Chespirito didn’t just create TV shows, but a world of characters still alive in Latin America. One we’ll remember forever. Even it was not really on purpose.

For other TV show breakdowns, see Storytelling Secrets from One of My Favorite House M.D. Episodes and What I Learned From Watching Netflix’s Six Triple Eight.