Trivia / One Day at a Time (1975)

• Awesome, Dear Boy: In the reunion special, Mackenzie Phillips said once she got the call from Norman Lear, there was no question in her mind that she would sign on: "Norman Lear is the man who changed the face of television."
• Creator Backlash: In FOX's special The Truth Behind the Sitcoms, Bonnie Franklin and Pat Harrington Jr. admit that none of the episodes of the first season were very good, and in fact, Bonnie Franklin threatened to quit if the script quality didn't improve at the end of the season.
• Dawson Casting: Averted as Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli were 16 and 15, respectively, when the series debuted. While it was never established how old the Cooper sisters were, the age difference between Phillips and Bertinelli is only five months.
• Fake Nationality: Actually fake ethnicity in this case. The Romanos are supposed to be an Italian American family. Although Valerie Bertinelli is of Italian descent, Bonnie Franklin and Mackenzie Phillips are not.
• Hostility on the Set:
  • Ginny Wrobliki eventually left the series without a trace, or any explanation. Apparently, Bonnie Franklin felt upstaged by Mary Louise Wilson, causing critical rivalry between the two actresses.
  • Valerie Bertinelli claims Mackenzie Phillips was very mean to her during the first season. Mackenzie admits this might have been due to jealousy and ego on her own part. Eventually the two became very close, and Valerie was one of very few people in Hollywood who stood by Mackenzie after High on Arrival, Mackenzie's shocking tell-all autobiography, detailing incest and sexual abuse, came out.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: During season five, Mackenzie Phillips was dealing with substance abuse and erratic behavior. Her character, Julie, married Max, and moved to Houston. In real-life, Phillips was given a six-week vacation to go to rehab. In fall 1981, Phillips returned as a guest in a two part episode when Julie and Max have marital troubles. In the final season, Phillips collapsed on-set. Associate Producer Patricia Fass Palmer woke her and asked Phillips for a urine test, and Phillips told Palmer not to bother. Phillips was quietly fired again and written out of the series.
• Wag the Director: Bonnie Franklin nearly quit after fifteen episodes, because she was not pleased with the show's direction. She agreed to stay after being allowed more creative input into the series.
• What Could Have Been: Originally, there were plans to spin Schneider off onto his own show after the series went off the air, but those plans never came to fruition. One of the spin-off characters would have been Schneider's nephew, played by Corey Feldman in the final episode.
• Working Title: All About Us.
• Write Who You Know: In an interview with Glenn Scarpelli, Mackenzie Phillips said that Julie and Barbara were loosely based on different aspects of Norman Lear's real daughters.

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