“Life is too short,” Penelope (Justina Machado) announces in the trailer for “One Day at a Time’s” third season. “We’re gonna have differences but what does that matter? We’re family.”
The hardworking single mom and veteran is true to her word in the spot: she’s often frustrated, confused, or annoyed by her children and mother (Rita Moreno), but she always puts her love for them above everything else. She even argues with a new beau over who’s the most overprotective of their kids.
Penelope’s also extremely open-minded and supportive — but never sacrifices her wry wit. Her daughter, Elena (Isabella Gomez), is dating someone who identifies as non binary, and wants “to call them by a term that’s more acceptable and inclusive.” When Penelope suggests the term of endearment “better half,” Elena balks: “I don’t want to call Syd half a person. What if I tell people [they’re] my better whole?” “You’re not saying that,” Penelope deadpans, without skipping a beat.
Her sense of humor is what keeps her from losing it when she finds out her son (Marcel Ruiz) has been smoking pot, or vaping, to be exact. Alex argues that plenty of extraordinary people — Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Oprah — have smoked weed. “Unemployed, dead, and Gayle just said that to get ratings,” Penelope snaps.
A contemporary reimagining of Norman Lear’s beloved ’70s series, “One Day at a Time” was created by Gloria Calderon Kellett (“iZombie”) and Mike Royce (“Everybody Loves Raymond”). Season 3 drops on Netflix February 8.
