When the reboot of Norman Lear’s iconic 1975 tv collection “One Day at a Time” aired in 2017, audiences throughout the nation fell in love with the premise and its solid, who stored us laughing and crying with their candid (but comedic) portrayal of a Cuban-American household navigating life in Los Angeles. The present stars Justina Machado as Penelope Alvarez, a single mom and armed forces veteran who juggles elevating her two children with the stressors of day by day life. Aided by her mom Lydia — portrayed by the fabulous Rita Moreno— Penelope grapples with the duty of sustaining a family of three generations on two shoulders, although along with her charisma and wit, the job would virtually appear straightforward.
Nevertheless it’s not and “One Day at a Time” by no means shields from that reality. The sincerity with which the collection showcased the Alvarez household’s struggles garnered the sitcom a cult on-line following. Via Penelope, audiences noticed an sincere portrayal of the challenges of navigating single parenthood, despair, sexism, and extra. Extra broadly, the present sensibly tackled matters of immigration, psychological well being, habit, homophobia, racism, and extra. Not all Latinx communities are the identical nor will we all share the identical experiences, however these are all acquainted points. “One Day at a Time” gave Latinx communities good illustration by shining a light-weight on that actuality by Penelope and her household, with out ever shedding its attribute comedic and good-natured tone.
Regardless of all it did when it comes to on-screen illustration, the present confronted a number of battles to maintain operating. It was finally canceled by Netflix in 2019 after which canceled once more by Pop TV in 2020, after being picked up for a fourth and last season. Followers had been understandably upset, taking to social media to voice their disbelief and disapproval. The present formally ended after no new networks revived it. Whereas we dearly miss Penelope’s wit, Lydia’s melodic laughter, Elena’s passionate rants, and Alex’s schoolboy appeal, we won’t assist however marvel — the place is the solid of “One Day at a Time” now? When you could not get sufficient of this solid when the present was airing, this is what our beloved Alvarezs are to this point.
