When I was a kid I remember watching reruns of One Day at a Time on TV and thinking that their family was so different from mine. In the sheltered suburbs, I don’t think I knew anyone who lived in an apartment rather than a house, and most if not all of my friends’ parents were still together, mine included. I remember it fondly though. Bonnie Franklin’s lead character possessed a strength that I didn’t see on other shows. Mackenzie Phillips as Julie pretty much terrified me with her impulsiveness and unpredictabilty. Valerie Bertinelli as Barbara was one of the most beautiful girls I’d ever seen.
I wasn’t sure what to expect in the Netflix reboot. I have to admit I had my reservations, especially since I read that it was a traditional sitcom with a live audience, which I assumed would be unbearably cheesy. Instead, the new One Day at a Time is a lovely and surprising gift.
Updating the characters to a multi-generational Cuban American family in Echo Park, Los Angeles is genius. In today’s world, with the irrational hysteria over immigrants, One Day at a Time brings us the vibrant and irresistible Lydia, played by the irrepressible Rita Moreno, a character so delightfully dramatic that she makes her first entrance by bursting forth from behind curtains. Her daughter, the main character Penelope, played with such warmth and approachability by Justina Muchado, is a single mom of two teenagers who seem to do the impossible on TV—they’re not annoying.
I think that warmth and approachability, combined with excellent writing and acting, is what drew me into the story and made me care about the Alvarez family. Even within the heightened atmosphere of the traditional sitcom they still feel real. Penelope, a nurse and war vet, deals openly with financial strain, bureaucracy at the VA, sexism at work, dating, single parenthood, and raising a wonderfully feminist daughter who is figuring out her sexuality. The stories are told with such affection and authenticity. Rather than play on our cynicism or divisiveness, they tap into our empathy and compassion. I don’t know about you, but given what’s going on in the world right now I needed this more than I realized.
Readerish 