By Ben Pearson/March 14, 2019 2:10 pm EST
Hey @nbc…I hear you like comedies with built-in fan bases that do even better on YOUR network than at their previous homes…#saveODAAT https://t.co/5bIQYexpDz
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 14, 2019
Not over by a long shot. #saveODAAT https://t.co/dl8sqyNnT1
We’ll have to see if his passionate pleas can move the needle, or if they fall on deaf ears. Our original article follows.
After three seasons, the Netflix series One Day at a Time has officially been cancelled by the streaming service. But this may not be the end of the road just yet: Sony Pictures Television, which produced the show, is planning to try to find a new home for it.
One Day at a Time, a modern revamp of producer Normal Lear’s show from the 1970s, has a passionate fanbase, and for good reason: it was one of the few shows that finished 2018 with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But it seems as if that base just wasn’t quite big enough, because despite the valiant efforts of celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Busy Phillips to get the word out, Netflix announced that they’ve cancelled the show due to small viewership:
Thank you Norman Lear for bringing this series back to television. Thank you Gloria Calderon Kellett & Mike Royce for always making us laugh and never shying away from bravely and beautifully tackling tough subject matter in a meaningful way
— Netflix (@netflix) March 14, 2019
And 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. The outpouring of love for this show is a firm reminder to us that we must continue finding ways to tell these stories.
With so much to watch in the Peak TV era, I admittedly never made time to check out this show. It’s tough out there for series that are on the bubble when there’s more competition for our eyeballs than ever, but from everything I’ve heard, One Day at a Time connected with its audience in a big way by tackling touchy topics like racism, PTSD, immigration, and mental illness in a thoughtful and intelligent manner. Here’s a description from Variety:
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, released a statement about the cancellation:
The series followed three generations of a Cuban-American family. A newly-single mom and military veteran (Justina Machado) journeys through the triumphs and tribulations that come with raising two strong-willed, mega-millennial children (Isabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz), all the while enlisting the “help” of her old-school mother (Rita Moreno) and her building manager-turned-invaluable confidante (Todd Grinnell). The series also starred Stephen Tobolowsky.
I’m guessing a lot of fans will be wondering if Sarandos is disappointed that more viewers didn’t find the show, why didn’t he help it along by bolstering its advertising campaign? Netflix is notoriously tight-lipped about its internal machinations, but the fact that this show was produced by Sony Pictures Television and not in house by Netflix themselves may have something to do with it.
But the fact that Sony isn’t willing to let this die yet is a good sign. Could another company pick it up? It would be the first time that happened to a Netflix show – American Vandal was cancelled last year and was searching for a new home, but as far as we know, it never ended up finding one.
Here are some tweets from the showrunners reacting to the news:
💔 pic.twitter.com/pm3H8ev4Yu
— Mike Royce (@MikeRoyce) March 14, 2019
This is where the REAL test occurs. Where your resilience is tested. Luckily, you’ve had years of hustle. Years of fighting. So, you got this. Be Heartbroken. Feel that. Send your love emails. Call the people you are so grateful to have worked with. Cry. Go for a walk.
— ♥ Gloria Calderón Kellett ♥ (@everythingloria) March 14, 2019
So, yeah, that was more a self-pep talk. But I wanted to share it with you. 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.
But we go on. We sit in the gratitude of getting to do the thing. And we keep going so that we can hopefully do it again & again. This is the gig. Heartbreak is part of it. But believe in miracles. I do. Good luck!
