There are plenty of superstars on television, but only a few icons. Let’s make it clear: Rita Moreno is one of those icons. My generation first knew her as the lady who screamed “Hey you guys!” at the start of PBS’ “The Electric Company.” My parents, of course, knew her as the spitfire in 1961’s “West Side Story.” My kids know her as Lydia, the outspoken grandmother on Pop’s “One Day at a Time.”
I’ve known Rita Moreno as a legend since the moment I knew what the word meant. Yet that didn’t prepare me for the raucous phone call I had with her early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can’t get out of the f—ing kitchen,” the actor, quarantining at her home in the Bay Area, proclaimed. “I’m not a neat cooker. I always leave a trail of spots and stains. And I’m one of those people who loves a beautiful, bright, clean kitchen. So I’m in the f—ing kitchen constantly!”
Moreno should be celebrating an Emmy nom for her supporting role on “One Day at a Time,” but that recogniton sadly didn’t come. EGOT winner Moreno actually already has two Emmys — one for individual performance in a variety or music program for “The Muppet Show” in 1977 and for drama guest actress on “The Rockford Files” in 1978. But Moreno hasn’t been nominated for a Primetime Emmy since 1983, when she was in the lead comedy actress race for the brief TV adaptation of “9 to 5” — and that’s a shame.
But it goes beyond that. The new “One Day at a Time” has been virtually ignored by Emmy voters, save an annual nomination in the multi-camera picture editing category (where the competition is limited anyway, since there aren’t many multi-cam shows out there). The Television Academy Honors at least smartly recognized the show in 2018 with its “television with a conscience” award. Critics have bestowed much love on the series, and fan support kept the show alive when Netflix canceled it, spurring the move to Pop.
“One Day at a Time” boasts a predominantly Latinx cast, and sadly such shows still aren’t getting their due at the Emmys. In a year in which Black performers saw a boost in nominations, there weren’t similar strides among Latinx, API and other groups. Such omissions are a bit mystifying, particularly as the Imagen Awards, which also just announced its nominations, demonstrated there’s no shortage of Latinx contenders.
In comedy, this year that included “One Day at a Time,” “Vida,” “Gentefied” and “Little America,” and stars such as Justina Machado (“One Day at a Time”), Mishel Prada (“Vida”) and, yes, Moreno. According to Imagen, this year’s awards submissions increased by 55% from 2019.
And although it wasn’t nominated this year at Imagen (as it has in the past), among the comedies I would add to that list is the always-funny “Superstore,” starring America Ferrera, who is also a co-executive producer. “Superstore” consistently impresses me as one of the most well-crafted workplace comedies, perhaps ever. And much of that has to do with the cast of characters, all of who are well-defined and come with unique, original stories. In particular, characters I don’t see enough anywhere on TV such as Nico Santos as Mateo, a Filipino American whose status as an undocumented immigrant was a plot line on the show; and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra, a very rare example of a Hawaiian/Pacific Islander character on a TV show not set in Hawaii.
Such comedies as “One Day at a Time” and “Superstore” shouldn’t be overlooked by TV Academy voters if they’re serious about improving representation. And let’s start by getting Rita Moreno out of her f—ing house and back on an Emmy stage.