‘One Day at a Time’s’ Justina Machado kept pushing forward until a lead role finally came her way

Justina Machado thought it wasn’t going to happen. Landing a lead role in a TV show about a Latino family was like asking for two TV unicorns to magically present themselves. And when those unicorns showed up — back in the late ’90s when Machado was cast as the lead in the comedy pilot “I Love Lupe� — they vanished as quickly as they appeared.

When “I Love Lupe� wasn’t picked up, Machado said one of the reasons she heard from industry brass was, “They didn’t think America was ready for a Latino family.�

“I was so young back then, it was kind of a shocking thing to hear,� Machado said when she stopped by The Times’ video studio. “I just had to keep hustling. It’s amazing that it’s taken this long to have another lead role. I almost thought it wasn’t going to happen. I have to be real honest… I always knew I’d be a working actress. But I started to believe that that wouldn’t happen.�

But it did.

Machado landed her first leading TV series role as a single mom and military vet on Netflix’s critically acclaimed reboot of Norman Lear’s “One Day at a Time.� The re-imagined series centers on a Cuban American family living in Echo Park.

Machado, until now best known for her role on “Six Feet Under,� said she was confident the show’s Latino family spin would resonate because of Lear’s involvement.

“This was a story that was universal,� she said. “We weren’t the butt of every joke. Our ethnicity wasn’t what drives the show. It was this wonderful story about this family that is a loving family dealing with stuff that people deal with.�

For more on our chat with Machado, watch the full interview below.

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When her first pilot as a lead wasn’t picked up, she was told America wasn’t ready for a Latino family on TV. Things have changed. “It’s about time,� she says.

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