US sitcom about Latino family takes on new resonance in Trump era

President Donald Trump. Over 90 Somali nationals were deported from the United States on January 25, 2017. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • One Day at a Time is a reboot of a TV series of the same name that ran between 1975 and 1984. That show focused on an unmarried mother with two children living in the Midwestern city of Indianapolis.
  • In the new version, the three-generation family is Hispanic and based in Los Angeles.
  • The grandmother, played by Puerto Rico-born actress Rita Moreno, arrived in the United States as a child from Cuba in the 1960s.

A new Netflix sitcom focused on a US Latino family touches on hot-button social issues like sexism, racism and immigration — entertainment that's particularly topical as Donald Trump transitions into the White House.

The 13 episodes of the first season of Netflix's One Day at a Time, recently released online, were filmed months before Trump — who has offended many Latinos with his harsh rhetoric and tough stance on immigration — won the US presidential election.

With his victory, however, the show's engagement with provocative social issues is now taking on new resonance.

In one episode focused on illegal immigration and expelling undocumented migrants, lively discussion pits those tolerant of immigration against others with a hardline stance — a controversy voiced in the show by a septuagenarian Cuban immigrant and a young conservative white man.

At the centre of the show is Penelope, an Afghanistan war veteran and mother of two who is in the midst of divorce.

"I think it will be very relevant, more relevant than we even thought," said Gloria Calderon Kellett, the series cowriter and co-producer, mere weeks before Trump's shock victory.

As the CEO-turned-world-leader prepares for Friday's inauguration ceremony, Calderon Kellett's words are perhaps more prescient than even she could have predicted.

HISPANIC ACTORS 'IN A BOX'

One Day at a Time is a reboot of a TV series of the same name that ran between 1975 and 1984. That show focused on an unmarried mother with two children living in the Midwestern city of Indianapolis.

In the new version, the three-generation family is Hispanic and based in Los Angeles. The grandmother, played by Puerto Rico-born actress Rita Moreno, arrived in the United States as a child from Cuba in the 1960s.

Calderon Kellett said that her own upbringing served as inspiration in developing the show.

She believes that the show offers a chance to open opportunities for Latino actors in the United States, who are often typecast in secondary roles.

"We're always in a box," said Justina Machado, the actress who portrays Penelope. "The sexy, fiery girl or the smart-ass best friend or the tough cop. It's like there's nothing else."

"What I like about Penelope is that she's so layered."

One Day at a Time is one of several English-language TV shows focused on Latino families.

These include Jane The Virgin, which also portrays a three-generation family living in Miami and East Los High, a show about Latino teens in Los Angeles. Two main characters in the Netflix series The Get Down about the birth of hip-hop are also of Latin American descent.

Immigration is just one piece of the current socio-political conversation covered in the show.

Racism, as embodied by the clumsy behaviour of some of the white characters, shows how deeply ingrained stereotypes are embedded in US society.

Penelope deals with sexism on the job as a nurse, prejudice she also faced while serving in the military.

Calderon Kellett said she wanted to remind viewers that many Latinos joined the military to take advantage of the GI Bill, which helps former soldiers finance their university education.

The show also hits on issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, aging and questioning faith.

But "we don't hit you over the head with it," said Machado, who added that "I hate that."