"One Day at a Time" was part of Norman Lear's stable. He had quite the bunch back in the 70's and 80's... "All in the Family," "Maude," "Good Times," "One Day at a Time," "The Jeffersons," and "Sanford and Son."
Lear was and is a staunch defender of the first amendment, and his shows were groundbreaking in that they tackled controversial topics. If you were around at the time, you will remember that sitcoms were generally safe territory. No one took any chances. Most sitcoms were nice, mindless entertainment-- and that's what you want after a long day.
Lear changed the game, and his topics were ripped right from the headlines-- reproductive rights, racism, equality for women, single parenthood, struggling through a bad economy, poverty, divorce, corruption...
Having said all that, and admittedly painting with a broad brush, Lear's shows always seemed to feature unhappy people yelling at each other for a half hour. It wasn't funny. But then again, some of it wasn't meant to be.
I always lost interest, and moved on to other things.
Still, you can't deny the fact Norman Lear's shows lasted for years, and people still talk about them today.
