‘One Day At A Time’ Stars Justina Machado & Isabella Gomez Gush About The Fan Response To Season 2

One Day At A Time might be the most charming show on Netflix. The sitcom, a loose reboot of Norman Lear’s 1975 – 1982 comedy classic, casts Justina Machado as Penelope, a single mom struggling to raise two teens in Miami, all while dealing with her own depression and PTSD. Isabella Gomez plays the eldest child, Elena, an opinionated millennial coming into her own as an independent woman, and stage and screen legend Rita Moreno is Penelope’s mother, a loving, if not also overbearing, force.
Season Two just dropped on Netflix last weekend, and it’s already is being heralded by critics and fans alike. Decider caught up with stars Justina Machado and Isabella Gomez at a recent Netflix press event and both stars said that they’ve noticed a huge leap in the show’s popularity between seasons one and two. “People finished it really quickly!” Gomez joked. “I think when the first season came around, it took a minute for people to find it. And now on the first day, people [said], ‘I’m starting to binge it again because I’m already done the second season!’ It’s insane! There’s been a lot more interaction, and it’s been really cool.”

“They did go through it really quickly,” Machado said with a laugh. “And I think the show, in the second season, is getting its footing. There’s so much content out there that sometimes they’re like, “what is this?” So now they’ve watched the show, and now they understand what an important show it is.”
Gomez added later that she saw that the show had developed a loyal fanbase in the last year by watching its popularity bloom on social media. “There’s a little bit of a cult following. [The fans] really push it out – especially on tumblr. So when it was coming back and Elena was getting a girlfriend and all that was insinuated, people really pushed the message out, which was really nice,” said Gomez.

It’s often said that timing is everything in comedy, and Machado acknowledged that the show benefitted from a better release date this year. Machado told reporters, “Well, I’ll say this: the first season, I couldn’t even really enjoy it. I was so shocked and devastated about the election. And I also think a lot of the world and the country was shocked. We premiered January 6 last year so I don’t think that was a great time. I think we’ve had time to recover and fight and do what we have to do now. January 26 was perfect and 2018 is perfect for our show.”

One Day At A Time manages a tonal tightrope walk. It’s effervescently funny, but can dip into real tragedy with studied nuance. Case in point: Machado’s character’s depression takes center stage in a spellbinding episode that shows Penelope close to rock bottom. “So many people related to that depression episode and it was so important to tell. I didn’t know how important it was to tell that story! That you get debilitated. You feel like this superwoman can go from zero to 100 or 100 to zero. And it’s not her fault! And it’s not like she’s not trying. And it’s not she doesn’t have love around her and people…it’s just this is what she suffers from,” Machado explained.

Gomez’s character doesn’t battle depression, but she is trying to navigate the choppy waters of teen dating. The show manages to also treat Elena’s journey as a young lesbian with tremendous amounts of honesty and kindness. Gomez says that her experience playing Elena has been “overwhelmingly positive.” She explained, “The LGTBQ community is fiercely loyal and I think it’s because they lack representation so much so that the first time they see themselves onscreen they want to hang on to it so bad and they’re so passionate. And they tweet us everyday and they update us on everything! I have tons of followers whom I’ve known since they came out and a year later they message me and update me on how they’re doing. And it’s so beautiful to not only entertain people but also to resonate in a way that actually affects their day-to-day life.”

When we asked both actresses what it takes to balance all the comedy with the drama, Machado gave credit to the show’s writers. “I think it has everything to do with the writing. Of course, we’re the vehicle, we’re the vessel and everything, but they give us that and they’re just really wonderful in crafting it like that. And then, it’s also just very classic Norman Lear. If anyone’s ever studied his shows, that’s what it was like. He talked about social issues, but he did it with humor and also it would tug at your heartstrings.”
Machado added, “I think our show is a little more emotional than any of his shows ever were, but it’s also really wonderful to work with people who aren’t afraid of that. Because so many times, people try to touch it, but all they do is touch it (lightly) because they’re afraid it’s comedy and they don’t want anybody to run away.”

The new One Day At A Time is different from Norman Lear’s original in another obvious way. In the ’70s, the show followed a white single mom struggling to get by and the Netflix version is about a Latino immigrant family in 2018 America. The Latino population is underrepresented in TV and film and Machado and Gomez are fully aware of the impact that their show has on the cultural conversation. Machado said that the success of Jane the Virgin had opened the door for them, and that One Day At A Time was in turn opening doors for the new Party of Five reboot, but she said that Hollywood still has a lot of work to do when it comes to representation.

“I’m happy to finally see a few shows like that on TV, but we still have a very, very long way to go. I think when we use the word ‘diversity,’ we should understand that it’s not just black and white. There’s a whole lot in the middle, and when I start to see that more often, I’ll be a whole lot happier,” Machado said when she was asked about what the show was doing to promote “inclusion.”

Gomez said, “Yeah, I think we’ll know we’ve gotten there when we don’t have to ask this question anymore.”

“Inclusion is important. It is. But we have to be included, do you know what I mean?” Machado continued. “So that’s a beautiful idea, once it starts happening. Because I don’t get the same opportunities that a Caucasian actress gets, you know? Not yet! When I start getting those opportunities, then we can talk about inclusion. Right now I think it’s diversity that will lead to that beautiful world of inclusion where it happens on both sides.”
Gomez says the show has helped her understand that there are still taboos that she, as a young millennial growing up in Los Angeles, hadn’t encountered before. She laughed as she recounted how her Colombian grandmother was shocked to discover that Elena was a lesbian. “My grandma called me and she was like, ‘You’re gay on the show?!? Like what are people gonna say? They’re gonna think you’re gay!’ And I’m like, ‘Grandma! Grandma, listen!’ So it is interesting and I’m glad we’re talking about it.”
Gomez went on to say that her Grandmother finally relented in a rather cute way. “I went, ‘Grandma, what does it matter? And she said, ‘Bueno! Whatever! I’m just saying if they choose a girlfriend, make sure she’s cute, okay?’”

Of course, the show already has one rather “cute” castmember: Marcel Ruiz plays Penelope’s preening teen son Alex, and apparently fans are noticing that Ruiz is growing up to be rather handsome.

“He’s pretty adorable this year!” Machado said, gushing. “He keeps getting cuter and cuter!”

Gomez mock sneered, “The fans keep saying, ‘Marcel is getting so hot,’ and I’m like, ‘Ugggh. Stop saying that!’”

“He is kinda hot!” Machado said with a laugh, which only made Gomez squeal in horror.
Seasons 1 & 2 of One Day At A Time are now streaming on Netflix.
 

Watch One Day At A Time on Netflix