Plot
The basic setup of the show underwent many convoluted twists.
After her divorce, Ann Romano (formerly Cooper; she resumed use of her maiden name, while her children kept their father's) and her daughters move from Logansport, Indiana, into an Indianapolis apartment building and Ann gets a job as an account executive at the advertising firm of Conners & Davenport (Mr. Conners was played by John Hillerman, Mr. Davenport by Charles Siebert). In the beginning of the second season, David proposes to Ann, but she turns him down; David leaves to work as a lawyer in Los Angeles. That same year, a wisecracking neighbor is added, Ginny Wrobliki (Mary Louise Wilson), as Schneider's love interest; however, she lasts only one season (it was later reported that Bonnie Franklin had Wilson fired from the show, blaming her for being upstaged).
During the fifth (1979–80) season, Julie gets married and later moves to Houston with her pilot husband Max Horvath (Michael Lembeck); this plot device was written in so that Mackenzie Phillips could undergo drug rehabilitation. This season also sees the introduction of Ann's mother, Grandma Katherine Romano (Nanette Fabray).
In the sixth (1980–81) season, Ann leaves her advertising job, rather than relocate to another city, and starts a freelance business with Nick Handris (Ron Rifkin). They become romantically involved, but Nick dies in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, at which point Ann starts raising Nick's teenage son, Alex (Glenn Scarpelli).
During the seventh (1981–82) season, after hitting some bumps in her business, Ann goes into business with her ex-nemesis from Conners & Davenport, Francine Webster (Shelley Fabares - the real life niece of co-star Nanette Fabray). Alex moves back with his remarried mother, Felicia (Elinor Donahue). Actress Mackenzie Phillips returns when Julie and Max move back to Indianapolis. Barbara marries her new dental student boyfriend Mark Royer (Boyd Gaines).
During the eighth (1982–83) season, Ann marries Mark's divorced father, Sam (Howard Hesseman), Julie gives birth to a daughter named Annie (named after her mother), and the two daughters and their husbands move into a house together.
The show ends in its ninth (1983–84) season, with the family moving off for different reasons. Actresses Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli announced that they were going to leave the show at the end of that year. After Mackenzie Phillips was fired a second time for using drugs, she was written out of the show, with the character of Julie deserting her family and disappearing. Ann and Sam move to London after she accepts a job offer. This episode, titled "Off We Go", is effectively the series finale, in which all the main characters go their separate ways, and Ann exits and closes the door of the Indianapolis apartment for one last time. One more episode was taped, however. The final episode, "Another Man's Shoes", is a backdoor pilot, in which Schneider moves to Florida to take care of his orphaned nephew and niece. This episode features only Harrington from the show's main cast; neither Franklin, Bertinelli, nor any of the other regulars appear. The pilot for this spin-off was not picked up.
Read more about this topic: One Day At A Time
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