'One Day At A Time' Canceled By Pop TV, But It May Find Another Home

The people involved with Norman Lear's TV reboot of the classic sitcom One Day at a Time must be feeling a sense of deja vu, because twenty months after Netflix pulled the plug on the show, Pop TV has now done the same thing.

But just like the last time it was canceled, the showrunners aren't giving up hope. There's still a chance the two-time Emmy-winning series could find a new network home and continue on with a fifth season.

Deadline reports that Pop TV, the network which saved One Day at a Time after Netflix gave it the boot, has decided not to order any more episodes. Season 4 was truncated because of the coronavirus pandemic – the show is typically recorded in front of a live studio audience, but its fourth season came to an end with an unconventional animated episode which directly addressed the 2020 presidential election.

There have been some corporate changes within Pop TV over the past year which contributed to their decision. After CBS and Viacom merged, Pop shifted over to the Viacom side of the company and stopped developing scripted shows (this was its last remaining scripted series). So this cancelation doesn't say anything about the show's quality, it simply no longer fits into the network's larger strategy.

"Much has changed at Viacom in the last year and unfortunately we won't be on Pop anymore," co-showrunner Mike Royce wrote on Twitter. "Guess what? We're still trying for season 5."

There's still hope that it can find new life yet again. Sony Pictures TV, which produces the show, is shopping it around, and the company still has an option on cast members Justina Machado, Todd Grinnell, Izabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rita Moreno until the end of December.

Co-showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett wrote, "I'm not sad just yet, ya'll. We still have some hope for new homes."

But their options may be limited. When Netflix canceled the show, there was reportedly a clause in the contracts stating that a rival streaming service could not pick it up for 2-3 years. Season 4 aired on Pop TV and was simulcast on TV Land, where it performed much better. But TV Land is also owned by ViacomCBS, so one would imagine that if TV Land was interested in picking up the show for a new season, they might have been able to work this all out behind closed doors. This show has a vocal and passionate fan base, and I hope they're able to find a new home quickly, because it would really be nice if people didn't lose anything else they love during this godforsaken year.