Netflix cancels ‘One Day at a Time,’ prompting immediate calls to save it

By Nardine SaadStaff Writer

March 14, 2019 12:25 PM PT

Netflix is canceling its “One Day at a Time” reboot after three seasons because “not enough people watched to justify another season,” the streaming service said.

And, perhaps predicting the campaign that swiftly ensued to save the Latinx sitcom, the streaming giant recognized what the cancellation means for diverse representation.

“To anyone who felt seen or represented — possibly for the first time — by ODAAT, please don’t take this as an indication your story is not important,” Netflix tweeted Thursday. “The outpouring of love for this show is a firm reminder to us that we must continue finding ways to tell these stories.”

Not surprisingly, #SaveODAAT took shape on Twitter almost immediately, along with glowing support from celebrities such as Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“This was a very difficult decision and we’re thankful to all the fans who’ve supported the series, our partners at Sony, and all the critics who embraced it,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said in a statement to The Times. “While it’s disappointing that more viewers didn’t discover ‘One Day at a Time,’ I believe the series will stand the test of time.”

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The subscription entertainment titan, which rarely reveals its viewership data, said that it spent several weeks trying to make another season of the multi-camera sitcom work, but to no avail.

Netflix instead thanked legendary sitcom producer Norman Lear, who brought the reboot of his 1970s original “back to television” in 2017, as well as showrunners Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce. The duo developed the series for Netflix and put a Latinx, Echo Park-dwelling family at the center and attached boldface names such as Justina Machado and EGOT winner Rita Moreno to star in it.

Calderón and Royce have been vocal about not knowing the show’s fate for weeks, and have been campaigning on social media to increase viewership for the critically beloved comedy.

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A 2017 set visit to "One Day at a Time," featuring, from left, Todd Grinnell, Justina Machado and Rita Moreno.

Following Netflix’s announcement, the creators took to Twitter to discuss the series’ future and said they “will be exploring other places ‘One Day at a Time’ can live.”

“I can’t believe it but it happened. The show I love just got canceled. This happens. This is part of the gig,” Calderón wrote in a Twitter thread. “Luckily, I believe in miracles. So, maybe we’ll find a home somewhere else. I hope we do cause @mikeroyce & I have a lot more for these wonderful characters to do.”

Miranda, of “Hamilton” and “Moana” fame, was among those who opposed Fox’s cancellation of “Brooklyn Nine Nine,” then guest starred on the series when it ultimately landed on NBC. He appealed to the peacock network to do something similar for “One Day at a Time” on Thursday, tweeting, “I hear you like comedies with built-in fan bases that do even better on YOUR network than at their previous homes...#saveODAAT ”

The series’ star, Justina Machado, tweeted Thursday that she is grateful to have played Penelope Alvarez, a former Army nurse and war veteran, and a mother of two.

“Truly, I am so honored that we got to tell our stories,” she wrote. “Yes it was a Latinx family but it was a universal story about family and love. An American Familia”

Here are some of the other prominent reactions to the cancellation: