Ray Romano will bring the funny on One Day at a Time Season 4.
Pop TV has announced the beloved comedy actor will appear in a guest stint, reuniting him with Everybody Loves Raymond executive producer Mike Royce.
“The first live taping of the new season is tomorrow AND our friend Ray Romano is joining us as a special guest star for the premiere! Welcome to the fam,” the cabler captioned the following image on Instagram.
The image is a photo of Romano, who is alongside cast members Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Todd Grinnell, Stephen Tobolowsky, Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz, as well as original series creator Norman Lear, director Pamela Fryman and EPs Gloria Calderón Kellett, Brent Miller, and Royce.
Romano is attached to play Brian, “a 2020 U.S. Census taker who comes to the Alvarez household to interview the family,”
And to think, a fourth season of One Day at Time. Netflix swung the ax on the heartwarming comedy in Mach 2019, leading to an outcry from fans to get the series back on the air.
Pop TV swooped in to save the day in June of that year, marking the first time a cable network rescued a streaming series.
“The enthusiastic response from fans since announcing our new season of One Day at a Time has been thrilling,” Brad Schwartz, President of Pop TV, said in a statement.
“The series is more important than ever with its unmatched ability to tackle topical social issues through the lens of a relatable, loving family.”
“The exceptionally talented team behind and in front of the camera make us proud to have One Day at a Time at home at Pop TV.”
The critically acclaimed series kicks off its fourth season Tuesday, March 24 at 9:30/8:30c, out of a new episode of Schitt’s Creek.
Once the latter concludes its six-season run, ODAAT will shift to the 9 pm slot.
Here is the official logline for the fourth chapter:
This season will find Penelope exploring a surprising relationship, her mother Lydia experiencing a religious crisis (as well as revealing the details of her surprise trip to Cuba with Dr. Berkowitz), and Schneider finding his relationship with Avery growing deeper.
Meanwhile, Elena begins to prepare for college and Alex starts to date.
The fourth season will be rolling out weekly as opposed to the binge model adopted by Netflix.
The series will be saying goodbye to its 50-second opening, according to co-showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett, who told reporters that the reimagined version of “This Is It,” by Gloria Estefan will no longer be a part of the show.
The reason for this is that the show has to tackle time constraints in its new cable home, meaning that there simply wouldn’t be enough time to play the song in its entirety. Kellett told reporters that “Gloria Estefan will be OK.”
What are your thoughts on this news?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.