Just two weeks after Netflix canceled LGBTQ-inclusive series One Day At A Time, the GLAAD Media Awards honored the beloved Latinx series at its 30th Annual gala last night in Beverly Hills.
While the series was axed on the giant streaming service, the viral explosion of support from the fans has cast members of the show feeling optimistic for the show's future.
"The day we got canceled, it was shock," Todd Grinnell, who plays Schneider, told PRIDE. "Everybody's stomach dropped to their feet. But then [the cast] went on Twitter and it was like the craziest, most amazing outpouring of love. This is a moment. This isn't just a tv show, it's something that matters to a lot of people."
The rally cry has become a movement of sorts. Fans are still fighting to get the show picked up by another network, and some petitions have garnered nearly 100,000 signatures.
So why does this show that Netflix alleges not enough people watched have such a loyal and vociferous fanbase?
"We tell stories that represent a lot of different groups of people," Grinnell explained. "There are a lot of people who say, 'this is the first time I saw myself on TV. This is the first time I saw my family on TV. Oh my god, I never thought somebody would make that joke but they made it.'"
He continued:
"We're 100% fresh on rotten tomatoes. We're right on our peak. We've got so many stories to tell. We had 700,000 tweets the other day, trending worldwide. Obviously, there's a huge audience. Any network who knows that, it's easy to say, 'yeah let's put them on,' so I'm holding out hope."
Isabella Gomez, who plays lesbian character Elena Alvarez, echoed that sentiment.
"[The cancellation is] so bittersweet, especially because of the [fan] support. There's still hope! Because fans rallied, we might find a new home."
"It's actually been a really beautiful thing, to see how much the show meant to people and that it meant to people as much as it meant to us. If this is the end of the line for the Alvarez family, we got to tell these incredible stories for three years and we're so lucky to have been able to do that, but maybe we get to do more? And we get to put these stories in an even wider arena, and that'd be lovely too."
Gomez and Grinnell both told PRIDE that they have no idea what current talks about the show might sound like, but we all have our fingers tightly crossed.