One Day at a Time is the perfect embodiment of this week’s them on #CurrentlyWatching – sitcoms with depth. As I’ve mentioned quite a lot now, I am not really the type to watch sitcoms and after posting this, there is really only one left that I haven’t talked about on here and that’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Anyway, that’s not why we are here today.

One Day at a Time is technically a remake of a TV show from the 70s, but I have never seen it. According to others, the show pays homage to the original sometimes, but I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about it. At this point in time, there are two seasons available for streaming on Netflix!

The show revolves around three generations of a Cuban-American family who lives in the same apartment together.

I don’t even know where to start, because there is nothing not to love about this show. From what I’ve seen around social media, everyone is talking about the show and rightly so! One Day at a Time is fast paced, with SO much heart. While it may only follow the everyday life of the family, it manages to integrate so many different and very important topics, I am still amazed this show is real.

Penelope, divorced mother of two teens, seems like an actual superwoman. She is ex-military and now a hard-working nurse who handles the stress of raising two kids, having an old-school diva as a mother and battling with PTSD and mental health issues like a champ. Nothing she goes through is ever discarded, it is talked about and therefore easier to understand for people who might not have to deal with the same stuff. It is so very important to normalise things like therapy or needing medication to help with mental health as to make it less of a stigma.

Elena, Penelope’s daughter, is a feminist badass who has one of the best coming out stories I have ever watched. Seen as she is from a pretty conservative and religious family, it was interesting to watch how each of the other family members reacted to her revealing that part of herself.

Also, Ariela Barer plays her best friend and I love that girl (you may recognise her as Gert from Runaways). They face way more than teens should when immigration, deportation and long-distance friendship comes into play.

Alex, Penelope’s son, has traits that might be categorised as seeming feminine, but he is never made fun of for that. Also, I adore his relationship with his grandmother, Lydia. She is such a strong personality and together they are super sassy. Lydia in general is a dream come true. She shows that you can be religious and still accept the LGBT+ community in their entirety.

Lastly, there is Schneider, their landlord and friend. He adds the goofy element to the story and often helps to educate on topics such as “mansplaining” or white (male) privilege. In all of this, he never comes off as the bad guy. He genuinely wants to learn and just be part of the family. One of my favourite parts of the show is his friendship with Penelope. While a lot of shows would have tried to pair them off, it hasn’t happened yet and I am so glad about it! I personally only see them as being in a platonic friendship. I’d even go so far as to say that she sees him as a brotherly kind of figure in her life.

I am still amazed that the show managed to pack so much in those short 13 episodes per season. The second season was just as intense as the first one, but still had moments where you could simply laugh out loud. I can only recommend it to everyone out there!

Do you watch One Day at a Time? What are your thoughts on it?