Legendary television visionary Norman Lear may be hopping on the recent TV revival trend with a new, revamped “One Day at a Time” series.
At Saturday’s Television Critics’ Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., Lear who was on hand to promote his PBS “American Masters” special, offered up new details on the potential remake of his sitcom “One Day at a Time,” this time with a Latino cast.
“I just love the idea because I don’t see enough of that representation on the air in any place,” Lear said of Latino families on television. “I don’t mean to say it doesn’t exist — I don’t see it any place. There isn’t enough of it, and I think it’s a rich idea.”
Lear, who has been in talks for the potential reboot as of January of this year, suggested that shooting a pilot is a definite possibility and he would have more information in a couple of weeks. He also said that he has cast members in mind, but would not make mention of any names.
“The kids may be a boy and a girl,” he said, rather than two girls, as seen in the original comedy, which ran on CBS from 1975 to 1984 and starred Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli as the teenage daughters of Bonnie Franklin.
He’d also like to add a grandmother to the family laffer. Alluding to Franklin’s character, Lear added, “I want her to have a mother so there are three generations of Latino women.”
If “One Day at a Time” in fact returns, it would be one of many revival series making their way back to TV including the upcoming “Coach” sitcom on NBC, Netflix’s “Full House” reboot and Fox’s “X-Files” limited series, plus “Xena,” which is being eyed at NBC.
Source: Variety
