After Pop saves One Day at a Time Season 4, Justina Machado will have a new role in the series aside from being the leading star. The 46-year-old star will not only play the role of Penelope Alvarez but will also produce and direct one episode.
Details about Machado-directed episode are yet to be revealed, but the actress herself confirmed the news on Twitter. She even thanked showrunners Mike Royce and Gloria Calderón Kellett and producer Norman Lear for making her wish come true.
Thank you @everythingloria @MikeRoyce #BrentMiller and @TheNormanLear for making so many of my dreams come true.. eternally grateful https://t.co/w4XmaYnaT5 — Justina Machado (@JustinaMachado) June 29, 2019
CBS owned television network Pop saved the show after Netflix canceled it due to low ratings. One Day at a Time Season 4 will also have 13 episodes, and each episode will be out weekly compared to Netflix that drops everything at once.
In an interview with Deadline, Calderón Kellett and Royce revealed the new season would delve into politics, as it would be out on the election year. The transition from the streaming platform to a basic cable network will also affect the series when it comes to budget.
Sony TV President Jeff Frost revealed the gap in the budget's production part was made insignificant. However, there would still be a reduction.
"It's a lower budget, we all made sacrifices, we all came up with compromises in order to keep the show going but nothing to prevent us from making the show that we wanted to make," Calderon Kellett explained. "That's one of the things about Pop that made it really exciting for us -they made very clear that they wanted to keep making the show we want to make; that's all you want to hear as a creator."
One Day at a Time Season 4 will continue exploring the characters' storylines. Elena (Isabella Gomez) is now in her senior year and talking about college, Alex (Marcel Ruiz) is older, Penelope becomes a nurse practitioner, Lydia (Rita Moreno) left in Cuba, Schneider (Todd Grinnell) is finally sober and has a new relationship, and Victor (James Martinez) is newly-married, and it will affect the family.
Royce, on the other hand, revealed the move to Pop from Netflix would help the show to be more "timely and topical." Instead of watching the entire episodes at once, the release each week would let the show to be closer to the time when things are currently happening.
Although they will still produce the episodes ahead of time, it will be a new experience for them to have the timing of it. One Day at a Time Season 4 will be out in 2020 on Pop.
