Parents' Guide to One Day at a Time

Sweet and fitfully amusing, this sitcom redo could have been a painfully awkward throwback, but appealing actors and good writing give it new life. Fans of the original One Day at a Time may get a bit nervous during the show's theme song, same as the original but given Latin instrumentation and played while images of salsa dancers and rosaries show on-screen. Uh-oh—is this going to be stale, sitcom jokery where its Cuban American characters are turned into stereotypical sub-ins for essentially White characters?

Thankfully, no. Though many of the lines have old-sitcom beats (and are punctuated by the laugh-track-ish giggles of the live studio audience), solid performances and a diverse writers' room imbue them with enough heart and authenticity to make them land. When Penelope has a tough couple of days arguing with her daughter over her upcoming quinceañera and with her son over school clothes, she rants to her mother about how miserable she is without her husband: "Sometimes you just need someone to give you a hug and say 'I got you.'" Her mother, a priceless Moreno, holds out her arms. "I'm very strong," she tells her daughter. "I've been doing my yoga." Even cynical viewers might find themselves misting up a little. The dilemmas and lines in One Day at a Time may be sitcom-y, but the family togetherness is sweet, making this update great whole-family fare with both laughs and feeling.