One Day at a Time Season 4 Is Coming Soon, and Here Are Some Things We Want to See

We've been lucky enough to watch Elena (Isabella Gomez)'s evolution over the course of three seasons of the show, from sheepishly coming out of the closet to fully embracing her identity, now complete with a loving partner at her side. Her brother Alex (Marcel Ruiz)'s romantic storylines have been relatively limited, with much of his thoughts about girls rooted in classic middle school-boy narcissism. As Alex progresses through high school in the show's fourth season and beyond, we'd love for him to find someone who makes him as happy as Syd (Sheridan Pierce) makes Elena.

On season one of One Day at a Time, Elena's friend Carmen (Ariela Barer) was a mild-mannered teen whose parents unexpectedly get deported back to Mexico, leaving her to rely on friends like Elena for support before eventually having to move in with family in another state. In the years since then, the immigration crisis in the United States has gotten much worse, and One Day at a Time has been busy exploring other plot points besides immigration, leaving the door wide open for an update on Carmen in the show's upcoming season. Bringing Carmen back for a guest appearance would allow the show to humanize the very real tragedy of family separation for many viewers, all in the name of Latinx empowerment that the show is built on.

The most recent season of One Day at a Time finally gave viewers a look into the family life of lovable annoying landlord Schneider (Todd Grinnell), and it wasn't pretty: Schneider's father is emotionally abusive to his son, leading him to act out in ways he never otherwise would have. The episode ends with Schneider accepting that the Alvarezes are his real family now, leaving him with no tangible connection to his birth family. It would be a fulfiling full-circle moment for Schneider's father to see the error of his ways in how he treats his son, even if it takes longer than one season to do so.

All the issues that the Alvarez family face are obviously dealt with through a Latinx lens but for the most part are things that every American family encounters regardless of race or ethnicity. However, there are many topics specific to Latinx people that the show has barely explored (if at all), such as the rampant problem of anti-Black racism in the Latinx community and the generational debate for gender-neutral language in Spanish. If the show were to highlight some of these themes in future episodes, it would put a mirror in front of viewers of all demographics — not just Latinxs — and help them reflect on the various issues that their respective communities struggle with.