Who is Mateo Liwanag in Superstore?

Show

Superstore

Played by

Nico Santos

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired November 30, 2015

Role

Main cast

Network

NBC

Occupation

Sales associate, then assistant to the store manager

Show run

2015 to 2021

Also known as

Mateo, Mateo Fernando Aquino Liwanag

Mateo Liwanag is the ambitious, dramatic, and very funny Filipino sales associate at the Cloud 9 superstore in St. Louis. Played by Nico Santos, he turns every shift into a contest he plans to win, even while carrying a secret that could cost him everything.

On Superstore, Mateo Liwanag's story runs through Cheyenne Thompson (Best Friend), Jonah Simms (Rival), Amy Sosa (Boss and Future Sister-in-law), Glenn Sturgis (Boss), and Garrett McNeil (Coworker).

Who is Mateo Liwanag?

Mateo is hired at Cloud 9 in the pilot, on the same day as Jonah Simms, and he treats that coincidence as the start of a lifelong rivalry. He comes from the Philippines and from a modest background, and he works hard because he genuinely wants to get ahead: raises, awards, Employee of the Month, anything that proves he is the best person on the floor.

He is also one of the store's openly gay employees, and his closest friend is Cheyenne, his partner in gossip, schemes, and snack-fueled break room commentary. Under the attitude, Mateo is loyal to the people he loves, and the show slowly reveals how much he has riding on keeping his life in St. Louis steady.

Personality and comedy

Mateo is the store's resident drama queen in the best sense. He flatters the bosses shamelessly, competes with Jonah over everything, and turns small chances at power, like being handed the shift chart, into opportunities for revenge on anyone who has crossed him. Nico Santos plays him with a sharp, fast delivery that makes even his pettiest lines land.

What keeps Mateo lovable is that the show lets the armor crack. When his secrets come out, the competitive streak gives way to real fear and real gratitude, and his friendships with Cheyenne, Jonah, and eventually Amy turn into some of the warmest relationships in the series.

Key storylines

In the season two premiere, Mateo and Jonah stumble onto the discovery that Mateo is undocumented, something he never knew. From then on he quietly works around his status. That same season he begins a secret romance with district manager Jeff Sutton. When Mateo goes after a promotion at a Cloud 9 signature store, his status becomes a roadblock, and because he cannot bring himself to tell Jeff the truth, he ends the relationship and gives up the promotion.

The secret follows him for two more seasons, including a scheme to claim asylum by staging a rally against the Philippine president. In the season four finale, corporate learns his status and sends immigration agents to the store, and despite his coworkers' efforts to hide him, Mateo is taken away by ICE in front of everyone.

After detention and legacy

Season five follows the fight to keep Mateo in the country. His coworkers gather testimonials for his deportation case, and once he is released, wearing an ankle monitor, he takes an eye care job and then becomes the store manager's assistant, the one job he can hold without corporate getting involved. He works first for Amy and later for Glenn. Amy also sets him up with her brother Eric, the two get engaged in season six, and the finale's flash-forward shows them with wedding rings.

Mateo's immigration story was one of the clearest examples of Superstore mixing big laughs with timely subjects. Nico Santos received two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations for the role and won a Hollywood Critics Association TV Award for best supporting actor in a broadcast or cable comedy.

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