*SEASON ONE SPOILERS AHEAD*
Most people nowadays watch Netflix; this popular platform is always adding new shows and movies that cater to everyone’s interests. I dabble in Netflix myself-I tend to watch television shows ranging from Friends to Criminal Minds. One show that has caught my attention and is now my favorite show of all time, is One Day at a Time. It’s sort of a spinoff/remake of the 1975 version with the same title; this version is a little different though. This version follows a Cuban-American family, the Alvarez’s, who are trying to navigate life. There is Penelope, the matriarch of the family-she’s a single mother who’s studying to become a nurse practitioner. Also, she’s an army veteran who served before being discharged because of an injury. Penelope is the mother of Elena, a beautiful 15-year-old who is discovering her sexuality and is a hardcore feminist. Penelope’s youngest child, Alex, is a spunky teen who constantly has witty comebacks and is quick on his feet. The glue holding the family together is Lydia, Penelope’s mother. She is a Cuban immigrant who is very proud of her Cuban heritage and constantly flaunts her love for her home country and her family. Lydia lives with the Alvarez’s and keeps them on their toes. There’s also Schneider, the landlord of the building the Alvarez’s live in, and the audience can tell that Schneider is more like family, and not just their landlord. Schneider in the Alvarez house constantly and is loved by the whole family. This show follows each character and their coming of age stories. Each episode dives into important topics that are being discussed in society today.
In the first season alone (there’s currently three), they touch on immigration, sexuality, post-traumatic stress disorder, homophobia, feminism, alcoholism, and even religion.
In the first reason, Elena has a friend whose parents were deported, so she’s been staying in the Alvarez home every night without Penelope knowing. The Alvarez family discusses the negative impacts immigration could have on families, and the struggles a young child must face when their family is taken from them.
Multiple episodes follow Elena and her struggles to figure out her sexuality. Throughout the first season, she’s constantly questioning herself, and trying to find out who and what she likes. When she finally comes out as a lesbian, her father has very negative views on his daughter’s sexuality. Elena then struggles with being accepted by her father. During Elena’s Quinces, she has a father-daughter dance, and her father ends up leaving when he sees his daughter dressed in a suit rather than a dress. Elena must cope with the homophobia her father clearly has, and at the same time deal with the loss of her father in her life because of her sexuality.
It is very apparent to the audience that Lydia is extremely religious. She believes in going to church every Sunday and praying every night, and she raised her daughter to be the same way. One episode explores Penelope’s questioning of God and whether he’s real or no; it also explores into Penelope’s faith in herself rather than a God. Lydia discusses how God was the only thing that got her through her daughter’s deployment in Afghanistan. This show accurately describes the differences in family faith, while at the same time exploring the bonding a family goes through.
This is just the topics that were presented in season one, and there are three glorious seasons of this show in total, with each episode different than the next. It’s a family friendly show that’s educating it’s audience while at the same time entertaining them. One Day at a Time has a LatinX based cast, and the director is also Latina. This show is a beautiful and fun television show that should be played on screens everywhere. Please watch One Day at a Time. Trust me, you wont regret it.
XOXOHC,
Sarah