Where Was Isabella Gomez When One Day at a Time Was Saved?

This March, Netflix canceled the beloved series One Day at a Time, saying it was not popular enough to renew. During a panel following a screening of the documentary Queering the Script (about queer female fandom) at Los Angeles’s LGBTQ film festival Outfest this weekend, Isabella Gomez, who plays the lesbian character Elena Alvarez on the series, spoke about fan outcry over the show’s cancellation and its subsequent pickup by another network.

“I think the reason this show hits home with so many people is because we all care about the subjects we’re talking about,” Gomez said about working with her colleagues.

Gomez’s Elena is discussed in Queering the Script as one of the few queer Latinx characters on TV.

Following news of the cancelation, fans and critics alike were devastated, and the hashtag #SaveODAAT began trending on Twitter, with celebrities such as Lin Manuel-Miranda speaking up about their love for the show. However, Netflix remained steadfast despite the outcry, leading showrunners Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce to take their reboot of the ’70s show, originally created by Norman Lear, elsewhere. 

In late June, just in time for Pride Month, Pop TV saved the show for another season. The series has been hailed as groundbreaking for its diverse writers’ room and cast, with the show exploring complex issues such as PTSD, addiction, coming out, and the immigration experience, all from the viewpoint of the Cuban Alvarez family.  

The clip was filmed and edited by Ali Walker.