Of Norman Lear’s classic sitcoms, One Day At A Time is arguably one of his least revered. That makes it ripe for reinvention, and the Netflix remake appears similar only in the sense that it’s about a single mother raising two children. And even that premise has been altered: In the original the kids were two girls; Here, Justina Machado’s Penelope has a daughter (Isabella Gomez) and a son (Marcel Ruiz).
The new version focuses on a Cuban-American family led by Penelope, a nurse and a veteran. That latter title adds a layer of drama to the first trailer, which otherwise is filled with lighthearted familial conflicts and an ”Unbreak My Heart” singalong. ”I went to war, I got hurt, and when I came back there was an organization set up to help me and other veterans get the help we need,” Penelope says in the footage. But that seriousness is not to discount the many goofy multicam moments here. After all, there’s the legendary Rita Moreno in the role of Penelope’s mother, making a big entrance. One Day At A Time premieres January 6.