Posted on 03/17/2019 12:13:55 PM PDT by Jyotishi
The cancellation of "One Day at a Time" hurts in a way the diversity numbers can't fully convey.
In Netflix's Cuban-American family sitcom, "One Day at a Time," Rita Moreno's punchy one-liners are a complete delight. Justina Machado, who stars as single mom Penelope Alvarez, triggers a sobfest every time she delivers an utterly vulnerable monologue. The series tackles issues from homophobia to colorism with sensitivity and insight, and offers Latinos -- members of a woefully underserved demographic -- the chance to see ourselves, warts and all, while still reliably delivering laughs and earning rave reviews.
Aside from being a joy to watch, it is a rare example of a television show about the United States-born children and grandchildren of Latin American immigrants. That's why its cancellation is more than just the loss of a critical darling -- it's an egregious erasure of Latinos at a time when anti-Latino rhetoric floods our political discourse, and it's a reminder of Netflix's tepid support for our stories, just when we need them the most.
While the advent of streaming platforms has ushered in an uptick in the overall number of series produced, the promise of increased diversity has not changed much for Latinos. Despite being the largest ethnic minority in the United States and making up nearly 18 percent of the population, Latino roles in digital scripted series constitute a measly 7.2 percent, a figure that's even lower for broadcast and cable.
"One Day at a Time," the reboot of Norman Lear's 1975 sitcom of the same name, launched in 2017 as Netflix's first foray into U.S.-Latino programming. Not long after season three debuted in February, co-showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett took to Twitter to share grim news.
In a meeting with the streaming giant, executives affirmed that -- despite holding a perfect
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I don’t care about your plight Vanessa
The original version was a crappy story
I recent saw Roma on Netflix. I enjoyed it.
Yeah if every “latino” watched this, it would be a huge hit.
I guess this person didn’t think about that.
And why the hell is diversity so important
America was supposed to be a new and improved Europe.
Not a haven for 3rd world stragglers.
But I’ll take LEGAL immigrant Hispanics over muslims every day.
They’ve been trouble to this country since day one.
Raiding our ships.
When are they going to have a show featuring Albanians?
Now if only netflix would turn its back on fag movies.
Well, there's your problem. How many latinos want to sit and watch shows about homophobia and colorism?
I had Netflix for free and cancelled it.
Good, let them go back to their home countries and good riddance to them all. Bye!
Why do so many reboots REPLACE whites with minorities instead of coming up with their own shows?
The best thing any “latino” can do is, given the chance, go live in a latin country for a little while, where people simply do not have the hang-ups about being latin. It changes their perspective entirely.
I Love Lucy was the original Cuban-American sitcom almost 70 years ago and we loved it. Doesn’t fit the author’s “narrative.”
What will we do? This has never happened before!
Drivel: Grade AAA
Ding, ding, we have a winner.
I used to like “Chico And The Man.” Whatever happened to that show?
Freddie Prinze killed himself.
What crap. Netflix is full of Spanish language movies.
I felt the same pain when “Chico and the Man” got cancelled.
Damn! That’s a buzzkill.
You get tne double-entendre of-tne-month award for tnat post.
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