Norman Lear Updates ‘One Day at a Time’ Reboot News
TCA 2015: TV icon addresses his New York Times op-ed, says he loves PBS “well enough to criticize it”
Tony Maglio | August 1, 2015 @ 4:11 PM
Last Updated: August 1, 2015 @ 5:03 PM
Norman Lear
A sharp 93-year-old Norman Lear graced the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour Saturday, when he talked everything from politics (“You will not fuck with my Bill of Rights”), potential reboots of his classic shows, to PBS, which is honoring the TV icon via an upcoming “American Masters.”
Lear updated reporters on his plans to remake an English-language all-Latino version of “One Day at a Time,” a reboot that was first reported in January. Lear told reporters on Saturday that he’d like the single mother to have a son and a daughter this time as opposed to two daughters, which the original version featured in Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips.
Lear also wants a grandmother on the show “so there will be three generations of women,” he said Saturday. “I love the idea because I don’t see enough of that on the air any place … and I think it’s a rich idea.”
While Lear couldn’t or wouldn’t share any casting details, he said: “It is a possibility and in a couple weeks I will let you know if it’s happening.”
During the weekend panel, a brave journalist asked Lear about an April New York Times op-ed the “All in the Family” creator penned, which was critical of the public broadcasting channel. The timing was interesting if not ironic, as Lear was only in attendance because of PBS’ fawning documentary.
Still, Lear elaborated on the point-of-view expressed in “Is PBS Neglecting Its Mission?” and simultaneously brought his patriotism back into play.
“If you follow me clearly, you’ll find me critical of my country — a lot,” Lear (pictured above) told reporters at the Beverly Hilton. “And if you follow me even more closely, you’ll find out how much I love my country. And it’s because I love it that I take the moment of time — of thought — to deal with it when I think it’s wrong.”
“Same is true of PBS,” he continued on Saturday. “I love what it means for my children and grandchildren. And I love it well enough to criticize it when it’s wrong.”
A few months back, Lear had panned PBS’ move away from documentaries and towards a bit of a ratings chase.
“Unfortunately, PBS is now threatening, for the second time in four years, to downgrade documentaries, which are at the heart of its public mission,” Lear wrote, referring to the launch of “Wolf Hall” behind the success of “Downton Abbey.” “As it chases ratings, PBS risks neglecting the core of its public mission and mandate.”
“It could devastate independent documentary filmmaking,” Lear penned of recent PBS scheduling changes.
His piece concluded: “Diversity, community and accountability are cornerstones of its founding charter. PBS should keep those principles in mind and keep independent documentary films where they belong: in primetime.”
While Lear did generally praise modern television as being in a “Golden Age,” he spoke to one definite lacking that he sees: a dearth of topical TV series. Lear’s many series, which also includes “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times” and “Sanford and Son,” were known for tackling social issues head on.
“My guess is that they’re fully capable of doing it, they just don’t elect to,” Lear said of broadcast channels these days. “Or the … networks you’re talking about don’t elect to have them elect to.”
“They’re doing very well,” he acknowledged. “I love ‘Modern Family.’ It has a lot to say about a lot of situations.”
But again, “It doesn’t talk about some of the things that we dealt with, and I think it’s because they don’t elect to.”
The Scene at TCA: Funny, Frank and Flippant Quotes From Summer 2015 TV Press Tour (Photos)
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“In the tradition of working with Carlton Cuse, I don’t know anything that’s going on.” -- "Colony" star Josh Holloway
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“It’s hard to talk about that without sounding sexist ourselves.” -- "Reign" showrunner Laurie McCarthy on balancing work and home lives during female showrunners panel
“This is simply too much television.” -- FX CEO John Landgraf warning of a television bubble about to burst
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“OK, here she is now. How did she get to where she’s at right now?” -- Lee Daniels teasing an "Empire" prequel following a young Cookie Lyon
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“Bye Felicia.” -- "Empire" creator Lee Daniels shutting down woman suing the show claiming Cookie Lyon was based on her
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“They were terrific, but I’m really happier — I’m going to dare to say that — to be here." -- "Rosewood's" Lorraine Toussaint on her last show, "Forever"
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“It has been an incredible year for minorities, and I’m blessed to be in the forefront of that.” -- "Minority Report" star Meagan Good on TV diversity
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“The Olsen twins cried a lot, so it was hard to get a take, that’s pretty accurate,” he said. “So I said, ‘get rid of ‘em.’” -- John Stamos revealing he almost got Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen fired from "Full House"
“Unlike that girl, who apologized and resigned, we wanted to bring our queen bee character to some sort of awareness about her behavior.” -- "Scream Queens" creator Ryan Murphy revealing that Emma Roberts' character was inspired by viral sorority email
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“Every single actor in every single scene at some point is given one direction, which is: ‘OK, now do the scene as if you’re the killer,'” -- "Scream Queens" star Jamie Lee Curtis on the plan to reveal the killer
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“It’s a little bit of an odd result.” -- Fox CEO Gary Newman on "Empire's" Emmy Snubs
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“I was really excited about getting involved in TV again, and it was great to get a call from Don.” -- Former "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford on returning to TV with "Blood & Oil"
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“It’s a lovely thing that you’re saying, but I’m not answering that.” -- Shonda Rhimes refusing to answer a question about her legacy in television
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“You could send him over to Meredith and I could cut his vocal cords out.” -- "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo on how Shondaland would deal with Donald Trump
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“We’re crashing cars and we’re doing the whole thing — it’s gonna be awesome,” "The Goldbergs" creator Adam Goldberg on the series' "Risky Business" episode
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“That’s kind of how I grew up on ‘Community,’ where it’s all about the ensemble.” -- "Dr. Ken" star and EP Ken Jeong on the show's ensemble
“Any actress in the world would want to play Alex Parrish ... She’s the female Jason Bourne.” -- "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra on her first TV role
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“She’s a star. She’s an iconic ABC star. We think the entire world will be talking about [her].” -- ABC President Paul Lee on "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra
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“It can be tough to work with your ex … Especially when your ex is a pig.” – Kermit the Frog after announcing his split from Miss Piggy
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“We won’t be getting into arguments over politics and current events, but we might be getting into debates about the politics of hair.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on how the show differs from "The View"
“You can’t be the dirty Oprah.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on the difficulties of her last daytime talk show
“I love the idea because I don’t see enough of that on the air any place … and I think it’s a rich idea.” -- Norman Lear on his plans for a reboot of "One Day at a Time" featuring three generations of Latina women
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“I think what’s going on is outrageous. It’s absolutely terrible and wrong and ill conceived.” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on BBC's potential for pulled government funding
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“‘The Muppet Show’ to me, and ‘Sesame Street’ … they’re in the same world as ‘SNL.'” -- "Nature Cat" star Bobby Moynihan
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“As a Chinese-American kid growing up here, there was not many role models I could look up to on the big screen.” -- "Into the Badlands" star Daniel Wu
“There’s going to be plenty of encounters of the Walker type." -- Showrunner Dave Erickson on "Fear the Walking Dead"
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"Everything that I portrayed during filming has happened to me as far as dancing, or everyday life. It’s completely authentic. There’s no frills to it.” -- "Flesh and Bone" star Sarah Hay on the series' depiction of ballet
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“It’s not a cop show, a doctor show, or a lawyer show. Those shows make me want to hang myself as a viewer.” -- "Ash vs. Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell on Starz series
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“One of the pleasures of my career is to connect people of whom I am a fan, and I’d been a fan of Patrick’s for a number of years and of Jonathan’s [Ames] work.” -- "Blunt Talk" creator Seth MacFarlane on star Patrick Stewart
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“I can’t really tell you [much], but I think when you see what she’s up to in the show, you’ll appreciate what a clever idea [it is].” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on Maisie Williams' role
“A cross between Machete and Marcia Brady.” -- Danny Trejo describing his "From Dusk Till Dawn" character
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“We’re not about violence and we’re not about gore. And if any torture is involved, we don’t show that. What we do show, is the consequence of the crime.” -- Sara Kozak, Senior Vice President, Production of Investigation Discovery
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“I think the beauty of the bravery of Nat Geo is actually that they’re letting us de-sanitize the story of Thanksgiving and that whole part of our history." -- Actor Raul Trujillo on his TV movie "Saints & Strangers"
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“Let me put it this way. If a person has 9,000 tweets and five of them are not to your taste. What I heard is, ‘This person has 8,995 tweets that weren’t offensive.'” -- New 'Daily Show' Host Trevor Noah on his Twitter controversy
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"“MTV brought us up and said ‘Hey, it’s lunchtime.’ We had no idea what to do! They gave us a lunch break and everyone was freaking out, like ‘We can’t sit down. We can’t take lunch.'" -- YouTube star Todrick Hall on his new MTV show "Todrick"
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“My own community ostracizes me and thinks of Nelly Fags and Butch Lesbians are sort of the pariahs of the community.” -- Lea DeLaria comparing her life story to that of her "Orange Is the New Black" character
“A million dollars an episode is kinda ridiculous ... Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money.” -- "Grace and Frankie" showrunner Marta Kauffman on "Friends" cast's $1 million per episode
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“I don’t think anyone else needs to hear me bitch about E!” -- Chelsea Handler, host of an upcoming four-film Netflix documentary series
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“Playing a trans character on a show being shepherded by Lana Wachowski, I knew I would be protected and represented in a way that trans people have never been represented before on TV,” -- "Sense8" star Jamie Clayton
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"We don’t need dragons, we’ve got cocaine!" -- "Narcos" star Pedro Pascal on similarities between new show and "Game of Thrones"