Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
46 episodes all that’s left of ‘One Day at a Time’
“One Day at a Time,” the practically perfect Netflix series that reprised Norman Lear’s 1975 sitcom, is no more.
Writer and producer Gloria Calderón Kellett tweeted the lousy news Dec. 8. “It’s officially over,” she wrote. “There will be no new @ OneDayAtATime episodes. But there will always be 46 episodes that we got to make that live forever.
Thank you to this beautiful cast. Our dedicated crew. And to you, our loyal fans. We loved making this for you. Thank you for watching.”
(Sob!)
The show, centered around the Cuban American Alvarez family living in Los Angeles, debuted on Netflix in 2017, where it ran for three seasons before being canceled. A truncated fourth season premiered in March on Pop TV, and news broke in late November that it was again looking for a new home after Pop TV canceled it.
I was late to the show.
I’m late to a lot of shows.
My pre-pandemic life didn’t include much TV. Now I’m catching up on a lot of what
I missed, and “One Day at a
Time” has been, by far, my favorite find.
My 15-year-old daughter and I watched all 46 episodes together during this infernal pandemic and it has been as critical to our sanity and salvation as all the walking, biking, baking, meal- planning, meme- exchanging, brownie-eating and old-photo-scrolling we’ve also done.
Probably more so, if I’m being honest.
The show was smart. And hilarious. And sly. Rita Moreno, who played the grandmother, was perfection. Justina Machado played single mom Penelope with so much heart and grit and honesty I wanted to reach into my screen and hug her. There honestly wasn’t a weak spot in the cast.
Those 46 episodes tackled patriotism, combatinduced post- traumatic stress disorder, gun control, immigration reform, gender fluidity, sexuality, homophobia, masturbation, virginity, sexual harassment, vaping, edibles, white fragility, the stigma around therapy, shifting notions of masculinity, dreams deferred and what defines a family — beyond blood or marriage.
There were moments when the show transcended sitcom status with its deft, nervy handling of sensitive topics, particularly the wildly different ways those topics are perceived by different generations.
Season three, episode two was one example. Alex, Penelope’s teenage son, had been posting some groping photos on his Finsta (fake Instagram). His mom and sister found out and decided it was a good time for a talk about consent. His grandmother decided it was a good time for a talk about swagger.
“Every ‘ no’ is a ‘ yes’ in disguise,” Lydia (Moreno’s character) tells her grandson, before launching into a story about Tía Mimi being blindfolded and led into a cornfield to be “wooed” by Tio Rico.
“That is romance,” Lydia says.
“That is the plot of ‘Taken 2,’” Penelope replies.
The episode wove in somber notes from there, with Penelope and her daughter, Elena, sharing their own experiences with harassment and assault. But none of it was ham- handed. Always, on every topic, you were left with a slightly more nuanced understanding of a given subject.
It really was impressive. And to watch it with a teenager, when time is heavy and school is remote and friendships are strained and lost rituals are piling up and nerves are shot, well, it was nothing short of a gift.
So long, “One Day at a Time.” I really will miss you.
I’m so grateful for what you gave me these last few months — side by side time with my daughter, an opening for tough conversations, so many laughs.
Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Dr. Leslie Berkowitz on the show, also tweeted a farewell.
“I learned a hard lesson a few years ago in New York: There is always a closing night. For the good shows, it transforms into a smile. For the bad shows — it becomes comedy. For ‘One Day at a Time’ — it will be pride and amazement that something wonderful happened in its time.”
And its time — and timing — was impeccable.