One Day at a Time reboot adds a Latino twist to plot line

If I had watched the new One Day at a Time without knowing the title, I’m not sure I would have made the connection. Besides the fact there’s a character named Schneider. Yes, that’s a dead giveaway.

But the original One Day at a Time was a very long time ago, airing from 1975 to 1984. I’ve been struck by how many of my younger colleagues in the TV world have never heard of it.

Even the star of the new One Day at a Time, Justina Machado, understands just how many decades have passed. “By the time I was even old enough to watch it, I think it was toward the end of the show,” Machado recalled. “The Mackenzie Phillips character was already married.”

Nonetheless, whether One Day at a Time rings a bell for you or not, the new version debuted Friday on Netflix. It’s still the story of a single mother raising two kids, but this time it’s a Cuban-American family.

“We’re not a remake and it’s also not a continuation of the original story like Fuller House and Gilmore Girls are,” explained Gloria Calderon Kellett, who produced the show alongside Norman Lear, Mike Royce and Michael Garcia.

“But I feel like Norman and the original title is what made Netflix take notice. For us, ultimately, I think that’s the reason it sold.”

Lear, now 94, created the original One Day at a Time.

“He’s the one that came to me, so that was the path,” Calderon explained.

“Norman wanted to do a remake of the original series with a Latino cast. So when it came to me, it already was going to be One Day at a Time.

“They said, ‘What is your take on this?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s a very different experience and if it’s going to be a Latino show, it has to be authentically Latino.”

Machado’s character is an army veteran and nurse named Penelope Alvarez. She’s navigating a new single life while raising rebellious teen Elena, played by Isabella Gomez, and quirky tween Alex, played by Marcel Ruiz. Also on the premises is Penelope’s mom Lydia, played by Rita Moreno, and ever-present building manager Schneider, played by Todd Grinnell.