As I watched Justina Machado’s Penelope Alvarez fail to get her oblivious son to help her with groceries in One Day at a Time, it struck me how relatable the show truly is. The exact scene has played out hundreds of times with my own little brother, headphones in and video game on, oblivious to my mother asking for his help. It was a small moment, but it reminded me of the appeal of sitcoms, of finding humour in the mundaneness of life.
A remake of a 1970s sitcom, One Day at a Time centres around the Alvarezes, a Cuban-American family consisting of a single mother – a veteran struggling with PTSD and anxiety – and her teenage daughter and son. They live with her dramatic, overbearing mother (played by the beloved Rita Moreno) and are often intruded upon by their apartment building’s superintendent and the bumbling doctor who is Penelope’s boss and her mother’s “non-sexual platonic companion.”
At first glance, One Day at a Time seems very much like a typical old-school sitcom, complete with a laugh track.. Episodes revolve around familiar shenanigans such as Penelope’s dating life (or rather, lack thereof), her daughter Elena’s feminist crusades and awkward social skills, and the hilariously miserable life of Dr. Berkowitz. A few episodes in, it felt like a sophisticated Disney Channel original, and I was ready to give up on it. However, it quickly finds its voice with the revelation that Elena is gay.
From there, the show starts to flesh out its biggest appeal: the cast. Each character gets their own storylines and issues that take them from stereotypical to endearing and interesting. These storylines often centre around serious topics such as racism, sexism, mental illness, and addiction.
If I was forced to describe the show in a word, I would choose “heartfelt.” One Day at a Time approaches all of its themes and jokes with the same amount of care. At its core, the show is very much about love, family, and the power of helping one another. Its humour is witty and quick, but never at anyone’s expense. It reminds me of the Mike Schur brand of wholesome humour that has taken over the television landscape.
Still, in my opinion, the show is at its best in its depiction of serious topics such as mental illness. In one episode, as Penelope laments the fact that she has to be on antidepressants, Schneider, the intrusive and privileged superintendent and token white guy, reminds her that it’s no different than him needing glasses to see. It serves as a reminder that mental illness is the same as physical disability. It isn’t something to be feared or suppressed, but something to be acknowledged and dealt with. These topics are never mentioned in one episode and then disappear, but never take precedence over the humour, preventing the show from becoming too serious or preachy.
Shows such as The Good Place have reimagined what sitcoms can be, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to ask huge, philosophical questions while still being funny, while others like Schitt’s Creek have proven that there is a want for gentle, wholesome humour. One Day at a Time is similar, reimagining the traditional sitcom as a way to talk about difficult issues in an empathetic way, while still being genuinely funny.
There are, of course, some gripes I have with the show. Most notably, it has some moments where it seems to glamourize the American military. But the heartwarming moments far outnumber any problems I have with it. Its sincere and thoughtful depiction of Cuban-American life, of LGBTQIA2S+ issues, of mental illness – interspersed with witty humour – makes One Day at a Time well worth watching.