With everything that is coming to Netflix this season, it is easy to get lost among all the new films and TV series that seem to appear each day. For a regular viewer, it can be hard to decide what to watch (or binge watch) among the many highly-publicized and critically-acclaimed TV series that Netflix has to offer.
But perhaps one of the best shows to watch is also one of the most underrated. With a smaller budget and far less media attention than other Netflix originals, One Day at a Time is a hidden jewel in the ocean of new releases that seems to grow more each month.
A reboot of the 70s sitcom of the same name, One Day at a Time tells the story of the Alvarez family, composed of Penelope, the mom; Elena and Alex, the kids; and Lydia, the grandmother. We see real people with real problems who are portrayed in an extremely relatable way. They face difficult situations at home, at school and at work, and they work together to solve them.
The series shows the family’s daily lives in a domestic setting while tackling political and social issues, but manages to never lose its humor.
These issues are at first woven within a seemingly tangential plotline, but they gain more importance throughout each episode and in the end, lead to a certain degree of character growth for each of the persons involved.
We see Penelope quitting her job because her less-qualified male coworker has a higher salary than she in one episode, and we see Elena’s best friend being forced to live in the Alvarez house because her parents have been deported in the next installation.
The show also explores gender roles, family dynamics, mental health, LGBT+ issues, and religion (or lack thereof) in a relatable and sensible manner. And while these issues temporarily make the tone of the series more serious, the show remains lighthearted overall with regular bursts of humor and happy endings in each episode.
The series also plays with stereotypes commonly seen in representations of Latino characters. There’s the salsa-dancing grandmother with the heavy accent and the daughter who doesn’t seem to fully appreciate her Cuban heritage. There’s drinking of Café Bustelo and an exploration of gender roles and expectations common in Latino families.
While an important part of the story, these references to Cuban-American culture enrich the plot without taking over the storyline. The characters are not defined by their heritage. Rather, they are made more human because of it. The show attempts to recreate the experiences and personalities of immigrant families while making fun of the certain stereotypes that have become mainstream in TV representation of Latino characters. The show, then, is about a normal family with normal problems that happens to be Cuban-American rather than relying solely on this identity to create stereotypical and cliché situations.
The series falls short, however, when the characters remain one-dimensional. Each character has defining qualities that allow for interesting relationships among them and a certain level of dramatic tension.
Penelope is hardworking, but very strong-headed, Elena is a fierce activist, Alex is vain and selfish and Lydia is rather superficial and outspoken. Yet, the insistence that these characters stay within their strictly defined roles keeps them from having altogether authentic interactions.
Of course, the clash of personalities creates very interesting dynamics within the family, and there seems to be some minor character development in at least two characters by the end of each episode, mostly regarding whatever social issue the series explores. This minuscule change, however, seems to disappear by the next installment, and the family encounters similar situations and problems between them because nothing, apparently, has changed.
In this way, the series can come across slightly repetitive, since, even when plotlines differ, interactions between characters have not changed much. The series is at its best when these conventions are challenged and when the characters realize their own flaws and seem to leave their confining traits to become more complex characters temporarily.
Alex, the youngest son, exemplifies this trend. His superficiality is staggering, and while his vanity and selfishness certainly have a comedic purpose, his lack of character development throughout the series as a whole makes him flat and unappealing.
He is redeemed briefly at the end of some episodes when he realizes how his selfish actions can affect the rest of his family and takes a compensatory action in order to make things right again. During the next episode, however, he’ll fall back into his defining traits as though nothing had changed.
Nonetheless, the series as a whole is a heartwarming family comedy, and its smart treatment of contemporary social issues definitely makes it worth watching.
