Watch One Day at a Time, because we can all do with some emo-heavy healing, in these angry times.Executive Producers: Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce
Cast: Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz
For a sitcom, there is sure a lot of crying in One Day at a Time. The sitcom’s third season, uses the trials and tribulations of a third-generation Cuban immigrant family in the US, to some interesting effects. Sitcoms have always been the basis of American TV watching, and subsequently the world’s, right from the 90’s with the Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier. The 2000’s saw the much-watched How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, The Office and 30 Rock, all ground-breaking, if you will. But seldom did we have something in the mainstream that went beyond the usual daily gags, the one-liners and the ‘will-they, won’t they’ trope. Black-ish (2014) was refreshing, and One Day at a Time too is a fresh take on sitcoms.
The previous two seasons dealt with Penelope’s (Justina Machado) attempts to juggle single motherhood, taking care of her eccentric, ageing mother, and making ends meet as the sole-earner of the family. As a United States Army Nurse Corps veteran, she also comes to terms with her struggle with anxiety and depression. There is also a near-death scare with Lydia (Rita Moreno) suffering a stroke. Season three takes these narratives further, and it’s a delightful journey spread over 13 episodes. We see Elena (Isabella Gomez), Penelope’s teenaged lesbian daughter, trying — with comical results — to become sexually active. On the other hand, Alex, the son, who is often reduced to being the lone male quotient in the women-dominated household, experiments with weed. And there are the impending boards for Penelope to undertake, which will qualify her to be a Nurse Practitioner.
From the looks of it, this is enough material for the entire season, but yet the show makes enough effort to comment, recurringly, on issues of migration, mental health, LGBTQ rights and drug and alcohol dependence. There is a direct mention of ‘Let’s make America Great Again’ at a wake, nonetheless, as they are raising the toast to a dead aunt. But issues like sexuality, depression, self esteem are dealt with sensitivity, minus the theatrics — there are no banner waving interventions. When Elena is discovered using her mother’s credit card to rent a hotel room, for some ‘lone time’ with her significant other, the ensuing ‘talk’ between the mother and daughter is one of the most poignant scenes of the show this season. Did Penelope have a full blown freak-out in the process? Yes, of course. But the way she reaches out to her fellow veterans, and seeks their advice and suggestions is stuff right out of a parenting handbook. There is also talk of consent, and in the new world order of the post #Metoo movement, the season makes a strong stand by including young adults in the conversation. A special mention for Justina Machado. She portrays the petite Latina nurse with much aplomb, and one can’t help but get emotional as we watch her hug her daughter, and tell her that she is perfect. “I want you to know.. that you are enough,” she says.
This is what makes One Day at a Time path breaking and heart-warming at the same time. At the core of it, it remains a family show, which in itself is a welcome respite from the otherwise dystopia heavy, quirky and dark shows that currently populate the streaming world. Watch the show if you are struggling with the ‘talk’, that you are about to have with your kids, or if you are not able to deal with the constant hassling of your parents, as they constantly push you to be better. Watch it, because we can all do with some emo-heavy healing, in these angry times.
One Day at a Time is streaming on Netflix
(ektaa.malik@expressindia.com)
