Melissa McCarthy has officially unlocked a new career lane. The actress is stepping into exaggerated drama, glossy closeups, and over-the-top emotion as a full-fledged telenovela star in a Super Bowl commercial that leans hard into humor, culture, and spectacle.
The spot, released ahead of the big game, casts McCarthy as “Melisa,” a woman waking up in a hospital bed after a car accident with one very specific problem. She has just one day to learn Spanish before “the big show.” The stakes are high, the lighting is intense, and the emotions are dialed all the way up.
© e.l.f.Inspired by classic telenovelas, the ad pairs McCarthy with actor Nicholas Gonzalez, playing a dramatically serious doctor, and legendary telenovela actress Itatí Cantoral. The premise is knowingly absurd, intentionally heightened, and fully self-aware.
A Joke That Turned Into a Cultural Moment
The storyline cleverly connects to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show and a real-life joke the singer made during his October 2025 Saturday Night Live monologue. At the time, he teased non-Spanish speakers that they had “four months” to learn the language before he took the stage.
That moment resonated far beyond comedy. Bad Bunny used it to underline the importance of the Spanish language and the cultural contributions of Latin communities in the United States, speaking entirely in Spanish as he did so.
© Bad Bunny/IGThe commercial builds on that energy, using humor instead of lectures. McCarthy’s character scrambles to catch up linguistically, guided by her doctor and fueled by one specific beauty product applied with almost comical seriousness.
On-Set Chaos and Perfect Casting
The telenovela tone wasn’t just for the camera. McCarthy says filming was anything but restrained, crediting her costars for keeping the energy high and the laughs constant. She calls the casting “perfect,” singling out Cantoral as “legendary” and admitting she struggled to keep a straight face. “Anything she did made me laugh,” McCarthy says. “It got funnier and more absurd with each take.”
© e.l.f.Gonzalez, meanwhile, delivered each lip oil application with extreme dramatic flair. “Every time he had to very dramatically put the product on my lips, I was at risk of breaking,” she adds. “It was not a very serious day of filming, so that’s always a joy.”
Family Approval and Super Bowl Stakes
At home, the project earned McCarthy unexpected credibility. Her daughters Vivian, 15, and Georgette, 13, are fans of both the beauty brand and Bad Bunny, making this ad a rare intersection of mom’s job and teen approval. “It gave me a lot of street cred at the house,” McCarthy says. “I think to my girls, this may be the most important thing I’ve ever done.”
© Getty ImagesThe teens briefly hoped their mom would be filming with Bad Bunny himself, but McCarthy says she’s still holding out hope of meeting him one day. “He’s so talented and has a real sense of fun about him,” she says.
The Super Bowl spot will air Feb. 8 during the game on Peacock.
