Netflix has long been a treasure trove of television series, but with so much content, it can be hard to pick your next favorite binge. That’s why each month, the Watch With Us team recommends a beloved show you shouldn’t skip. This June, I’m sharing a personal story about why this show hits so hard for me.
When the pandemic first shut everything down in March 2020, I was staying at home with my parents. With my father spiking a COVID-19 fever of 103 and little to no information yet available about the virus, my mother and I were one piece of bad news away from a panic attack. Hoping to unwind, we turned to Netflix and hit play on One Day at a Time.
From the very first notes of the theme song, sung by Gloria Estefan, we knew we were in for something great. The hilarious sitcom—a reboot of the 1975 series of the same name—became our nightly ritual. No matter what stressors the day had brought, we’d wind down with an episode—and every time, we danced around the living room to the theme song. We sang, we danced and we laughed so hard we couldn’t help but feel better.
But the theme song isn’t the only thing to love about One Day at a Time. Here’s why you should make it your June Netflix binge.
The Premise Is Just as Fresh Today as It Was in 1975
The original One Day at a Time, developed by legendary sitcom producer Norman Lear, was about a recently divorced single mom raising two teenage girls—a very progressive concept for its time. The reboot builds on that idea, centering around a Cuban American family and reimagining the single mother as Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado), an army veteran and nurse raising kids with her own kooky mother, Lydia (the incomparable Rita Moreno).
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The Alvarez family tackles topical issues like sexuality (oldest child Elena, played by Isabella Gomez, is a lesbian), PTSD (Penelope experiences nightmares after her time in Afghanistan and takes antidepressants), guns and more. While the series occasionally veers into preachy territory, it’s always smart and nuanced in its portrayal of complicated issues.
Rita Moreno Is Simply Marvelous
As Lydia, Rita Moreno stops the show every time she’s on screen. Perhaps that’s because she literally makes a grand entrance whenever she walks into a room, but it’s also because she’s such a genuinely lovable character.
The EGOT-winning actress is funny in the comedic moments and emotive in the serious ones. She’s both a hilarious presence and a fully realized character with hopes, dreams and foibles. She’s the grandma we all deserve.
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It’s a Perfect Blend of Old and New
Multi-camera sitcoms — series filmed on a soundstage in front of a live studio audience — are almost entirely gone from TV, but they were once one of the most popular genres on broadcast television. Friends, Cheers, The Jeffersons and so many more brought heart and humor into our lives with simple yet enjoyable stories — true “situation comedies” — that would be resolved in about 23 minutes (not including commercials).
One Day at a Time feels like a callback to a simpler era, but its use of modern perspectives and issues is the perfect way to elevate the multi-cam genre. The comedy relies on witty one-liners, slapstick physical comedy and outrageous misunderstandings, and it’s so easy to just sit back and laugh at the excellent cast’s antics. But the show only ever feels old-fashioned in the most flattering sense. It’s an instant classic that will feel like you’ve been watching it forever.
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One Day at a Time has a whopping 99 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s universally beloved and critically acclaimed, yet it only ran for three seasons on Netflix. (The fourth season ran on Pop TV and was unfortunately cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.) We can all agree the show was gone too soon, but at least it never declined in quality like many long-running sitcoms do over time!
Basically, to see One Day at a Time is to love it — but not enough people know the joys of life with the Alvarez gang. This June, watch seasons 1-3 of One Day at a Time on Netflix. (The 7-episode fourth season is not currently streaming anywhere, but you can purchase it on Apple TV+ if you’re a true devotee.)
