Why Bonnie Franklin Called ‘One Day at a Time’ the ‘Worst Title’ for a TV Show

Dave Sundstrom August 14, 12:00 pm

ONE DAY AT A TIME, Bonnie Franklin, 1975-84. — Everett Collection

What To Know

Bonnie Franklin disliked the show’s title.
Despite challenges with the show’s name, Franklin maintained strong, positive relationships with her castmates and was dedicated to the series throughout its nine-season run.

The original One Day at a Time centered around a recently divorced mother, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), who was raising two teenage daughters independently with a little help, of course, from the building superintendent, a wonderfully cheesy fellow named Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.). The show was a ratings hit that, like a lot of CBS sitcoms at the time, was funny, but also addressed real-life problems that families face.

As the star of the show, Franklin, was very proud that they were making a quality program that TV audiences truly enjoyed watching. However, even though the show was doing well, Franklin was very unhappy about one very specific thing, and it wasn’t what one might think.

Speaking about One Day at a Time in a Des Moines Register article by TV Editor Mark Haney dated Sunday, January 25, 1981, Franklin said, “I think it’s perhaps the worst title any show has ever had, unless it was a soap opera, because that’s exactly what (the name) sounds like.”

Franklin went on to say that the show’s name caused her a lot of trouble when she met fans on the street. People would see her and try to remember the show that she was on, but they would often think that she was a daytime soap actress working on something like All My Children or One Life to Live.

Franklin also discussed what it was like to be a star way back then. In the same article, she told a story about a fan actually sliding a piece of paper under a bathroom stall door to get an autograph. Some people might get a little bit upset by such an intrusion on their privacy, but not Franklin. She just signed the paper and slid it right back under the door.

ONE DAY AT A TIME, Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, 1975-84

Everett Collection

If there was anything that life as a star made more difficult for her, it was probably when magazines wrote stories that weren’t true. In the article, Franklin said she was once very upset about a picture that made it look like she and her costar Valerie Bertinelli were fighting. She wanted everyone to know that the picture was a fake, made by putting two different photos together.

Despite those concerns, Franklin had a great relationship with everyone involved in the show. She loved them and they loved her right back. She never missed a taping and appeared in all 209 episodes of the program, which aired for nine seasons from 1975 to 1984. It is worth noting that after Season 9, CBS wanted to renew the series for two more years, but Franklin felt that nine seasons were plenty.

Getting back to her relationship with Bertinelli, when Franklin died in 2013, this is what she told Roger Friedman over at Showbiz 411, “My heart is breaking. Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me. The years on “One Day At A Time” were some of the happiest of my life, and along with Pat and Mackenzie we were a family in every way. She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself. I will miss her terribly.”