Dear Netflix

Dear Netflix,

The next thousand words will be dedicated to getting you to renew One Day at a Time for a third season. And to anyone who reads this, to start watching. I can’t think of a better, more appropriate show to recommend to anyone given the current social and political climate. If you haven’t watched it and would like a synopsis so you know what/who I’m talking about, read it on Wikipedia here.

Now, I’m not Latina, so I will never fully understand the struggles that Latinos/Latinas/Latinxs face or have faced throughout history, but I’m truly grateful for ODAAT teaching me more about it. The under-representation throughout society, the racial slurs Latinxs are subjected to, Operation Pedro Pan, the list goes on. So many of the issues regarding racism towards Latin American people that the show discusses I had embarrassingly little awareness or knowledge of, and what I was aware of came from the big news headlines i.e. Trump’s wall. I’m disappointed in myself for not learning more about them before but watching ODAAT and following its incredible cast has enabled me to do this. I can’t tell you how important that is. I won’t have been the only person to have had these same realisations, which is something that should continue. I want the world to watch this work of art and gain a deeper understanding of these issues. Because it’s so important that they are constructively talked about – in the media, in political situations, in our social groups, everywhere. That’s what this show is doing – it’s creating the conversation. As I said before, I’m not Latinx, but one of the things I admire about ODAAT and its showrunners (Gloria Calderón Kellett, Mike Royce and Norman Lear) is how they’ve managed to communicate the impact that these issues have on Latinos/Latinas/Latinx rather than it being a single headline in the news. It shows us real people. It enables people to empathise and/or sympathise with these people, which in turn, makes people more passionate about helping to raise awareness about these issues and cause change for a better society for Latinos/Latinas/Latinxs to live in. It’s important because we, as individuals and society, should do whatever we can to increase equality for all people. And that’s what this show is doing.

To be honest, all the above is enough to renew ODAAT, but they go above and beyond and tackle the always difficult topic of mental health. With Penelope being a war veteran and suffering from PTSD, it has meant that there have been a number of times throughout both seasons 1 and 2 that the subject has been brought up. I can’t even begin to imagine how challenging it must be to write scenes that focus on mental health, seeing as it is a sensitive subject for many people and is experienced differently by everyone. So, to achieve the right balance and understanding of a particular issue shows how incredibly talented the writers of ODAAT are. I was so impressed by how they managed to get a constructive conversation going between the characters with a range of contrasting views and opinions on several issues within mental health, including medication, acceptance, family’s acceptance, and more. Once again, this show is creating and maintaining a healthy conversation about an important issue affecting millions of people – something that is missing from society. How can you not continue this conversation at a time like this?

Just when you thought they’d achieved enough – nope! They raise the topic of gender and sexuality, and not just raise it – it’s an integral part of the show, due to Elena coming out as gay. It’s another difficult topic to navigate, and a particularly controversial one at that. The challenges that Elena and her family face are ones that many people around the world are dealing with, so here, representation is key. I’ve seen countless tweets where people have talked about how ODAAT has allowed them to come out to their parents because they’ve watched the show with them, where it has enabled their parents to develop that critical understanding of their child/children and to watch another parent experience what they may be experiencing. Or even if they haven’t watched the show together, people have felt more able to come out to their parents regardless, because of the representation on this show. It’s essential that this conversation is allowed to carry on and develop. See here, a tweet by user @whtvrdenise:

And another tweet by @camilaismyart:

In addition, during Season 2, the topic of pronouns is introduced – something that society is only just starting to really talk about. Again, this introduction and discussion of a very difficult topic is so important; it normalises the use of different pronouns according to what each individual feels comfortable with. Because that’s the priority – making people feel comfortable and happy. So, another reason to renew ODAAT.

Now, there are so many other topics that ODAAT brings up (religion, sexism, being a war veteran, to name a few) but this will become a full-blown essay if I write about all of them. I do want to talk about the people involved in this masterpiece, though. This cast is stellar – their talent is untouchable. Justina Machado is effortlessly funny but conveys the most incredible atmosphere filled with emotion and gravity during the scenes that involve serious topics like racism and mental health. Her performance in Season 2’s episode ‘Hello, Penelope’ was unparalleled; it was heart-breaking to watch, yet incredibly important. The talent in this show doesn’t end there – you have Rita Moreno! An EGOT (someone who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony), no less, and always reaching new levels of comedic genius. I need more Abuelita. Last, but by no means least, you’ve got Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz. Both of them are relatively new to the Hollywood scene, yet it feels like they’ve been at it for longer than they’ve been alive. Isabella Gomez’s ability to own a scene is classic, and she never fails to crack me up. Not only is she funny, but she always floors me with her talent in the emotional scenes. She’s so easy to watch and makes Elena someone we can all relate to in some way. That’s talent. The talent doesn’t stop there though, since we can’t forget Marcel Ruiz – a teen actor whose comedic timing is unparalleled but nails scenes dealing with serious issues with such maturity. One last thing – Todd Grinnell’s performance as Schneider? Seriously impressive – he manages to strike this balance between Schneider’s complete idiocy and there being actual problems that Schneider clearly faces so well. I can’t imagine how hard that would be, so to pull it off so effortlessly is extraordinary. What I’m trying to say, is you have an amazing cast with unlimited amounts of talent – don’t let that slip away from you.

Okay, I’m now over 1000 words so I’m going to finish this up. I've made the show out to be a serious show, but what I love about it is that it isn't. It's a family sitcom, a comedy, but the fact that it manages to still include all the issues I talked about before whilst making it an easy watch is what makes it so impressive. I don't get dragged down by it, it lifts me up. I personally don’t know why this show wouldn’t be renewed. Its fanbase is increasing exponentially every day, and its impact on people is clear. I know I’m not some big influential person in business or anywhere else, but surely, it’s the audience that actually matters? It’s the audience that you’re trying to get onboard since they’re where your profit comes from – so listen to your audience. We’re shouting it loud and clear – we need One Day at a Time Season 3.