Barcelona’s housing shortage and the struggles of single motherhood are central in “I Always Sometimes,” an bold new drama series that debuted on Movistar Plus+ on 23 April before making its international debut at Canneseries on 25 April. Created by writers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza, the six-part half-hour series follows Laura, a woman navigating motherhood whilst attempting to secure reasonably priced accommodation in a rapidly gentrifying city. Produced by renowned directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama presents a tender yet honest exploration of current economic hardship and the emotional turbulence of young adulthood, rooting its narrative in the genuine challenges facing lone parents across contemporary Spain.
A Tale of Love That Commences At the Point Where Blissful Finales Diminish
The series begins with a whirlwind romance that feels destined for success. Laura, a festival organiser from Berlin, encounters Rubén, a Barcelona bar owner, at the city’s renowned Sonar music festival. Their connection is instant and captivating—they pass evenings wandering Barcelona’s streets, quoting Rilke to one another, going to raves on Montjuïc, and sharing intimate experiences in chic venues. When Rubén suggests that Laura relocate to live with him, the future appears promising and brimming with potential, the kind of storybook start that audiences recognise from countless romantic narratives.
However, the narrative shifts dramatically and soberly turn in the second episode. Laura learns that she is pregnant just one week after meeting Rubén, a development that profoundly transforms everything. What initially seemed like a romantic partnership quickly falls apart when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man struggling with alcohol addiction and unreliability. Forced to abandon her new life, Laura retreats to her parents’ house, where she finds herself caught between thankfulness for their help and overwhelmed by their involvement. The dream has crumbled, leaving her to confront the difficult truths of single parenthood alone.
- Laura meets Rubén at Sonar festival in Barcelona
- She falls pregnant a week after their first meeting
- Rubén turns out to be an unreliable, alcohol-dependent partner
- Laura goes back to her parents’ home with infant son Mario
Barcelona’s Gentrification as Character and Crucible
As Laura attempts to create a future for herself and Mario, Barcelona itself transforms into far more than a mere backdrop—it emerges as a character both captivating and antagonistic, beautiful yet fundamentally hostile to those without considerable wealth. The city that once fascinated her with its artistic charm and creative spirit now shows its genuine nature: a metropolis transformed by aggressive gentrification, where reasonably priced housing has become a commodity out of reach for regular working people. Every episode name cites a separate neighbourhood where Laura and Mario squat, a ongoing reminder that home remains perpetually out of grasp. The series illustrates the harsh irony of a city awash with riches and tourism, yet utterly indifferent to the plight of those struggling to afford fundamental housing.
The economic realities Laura encounters are neither exaggerated nor exceptional—they reflect the day-to-day reality of countless single parents across modern-day Spain and Europe. “Rent here is absolutely ridiculous,” she laments to an artist friend. “It’s virtually impossible to locate anything suitable.” His optimistic response—”Nothing’s impossible”—is greeted by her weary, vehement reply: “Flats in Barcelona are.” This conversation captures the series’ unflinching approach to financial difficulty, refusing to soften the blow or provide quick reassurance. Barcelona transforms into not a destination of possibility but a gauntlet through which Laura must navigate, juggling her urgent requirement to earn money with her wish to stay involved for her young son.
The Urban Area’s Paradoxes
Barcelona’s metamorphosis serves as a microcosm of broader European city challenges, where traditional districts are progressively reshaped into destinations for high-spending travellers and global capital. The city that once delivered cultural vibrancy and genuine community life now prices out the residents who shape its essence and soul. Laura’s situation is positioned within this setting of conflict—immersed in prosperity yet locked out of it, based in one of Europe’s most sought-after urban centres whilst facing homelessness. The series refuses to romanticise this tension, instead showing it as the harsh, demanding reality it genuinely constitutes for individuals affected by gentrification’s aftermath.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” distinctly powerful is its foundation within particular, identifiable Barcelona places that have themselves evolved as representations of the city’s shifting character. Each episode’s setting—from artist squats to informal living situations with supportive companions—maps the terrain of struggle, showing how the city’s most disadvantaged people are driven to its peripheries and overlooked spaces. The distinction between Barcelona’s polished surface and Laura’s fragile situation highlights the series’ central theme: that modern cities have become increasingly inhospitable to everyday individuals, regardless of their ability, commitment, or perseverance.
Developing Episodes Like Short Stories
The structural brilliance of “I Always Sometimes” resides in its method of handling serialised narrative, with each of the six episodes serving as a self-contained narrative whilst advancing Laura’s overarching journey. Spanning 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes eschew traditional television pacing in favour of a literary approach, akin to short stories that explore different facets of the challenges of single parenthood and urban instability. This structure allows filmmakers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to craft character moments with subtlety and complexity, transcending the superficial resolutions that often plague modern TV drama. Rather than hurrying along narrative devices, the series lingers on the emotional texture of Laura’s daily existence.
Each episode’s title references a different setting where Laura and Mario live briefly, turning geography into narrative form. This geographical mapping becomes a compelling narrative tool, mapping Laura’s social descent through Barcelona’s landscape whilst simultaneously revealing the concealed systems of solidarity and desperation that support those on society’s margins. The intimate scale of these episodes—neither wide-ranging nor pressured—allows authentic examination of how monetary concerns seeps into every dimension of life, from intimate partnerships to maternal instinct. Bassols and Loza’s inaugural screenplay reveals a developed comprehension of how structure and substance can merge together to create something deeply resonant.
- Episodes named for Laura’s transient residences chart her unstable living circumstances
- Running times vary between 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Episodic format allows more profound character exploration and emotional impact
- Geographic locations function as representations of financial instability and social marginalisation
- Series combines intimate moments with wider commentary of contemporary urban life
Narrative Through Visuals Across Six Worlds
The visual language of “I Always Sometimes” anchors its narrative in the distinct character of Barcelona’s overlooked spaces. Rather than highlighting the city’s iconic landmarks, the camera work captures cramped flats, creative communes, and the ordinary neighbourhoods where necessity prevails over sightseeing. This deliberate aesthetic choice transforms Barcelona from holiday hotspot into a protagonist—one that is simultaneously alluring yet unwelcoming, inviting yet rejecting. The cinematography captures the claustrophobia of shared living arrangements and the weariness visible in Laura’s face as she manages motherhood lacking proper assistance. Every frame underscores the series’ central tension between the city’s promise and its failure to fulfil.
Shot across various Barcelona settings, the series uses its visual palette to document Laura’s emotional and financial situation. Lighter, more expansive environments intermittently break up darker, confined interiors, capturing moments of possibility amid persistent despair. The visual construction precisely crafts each transient living space, rendering them realistic and worn rather than simple functional spaces. This attention to visual detail encompasses costume and styling, where Laura’s appearance subtly shifts to capture her shifting circumstances—a understated but powerful narrative decision that speaks to how financial struggle reshapes identity. The series demonstrates that personal narratives about ordinary struggles can attain visual sophistication without sacrificing emotional authenticity.
Transforming Motherhood on Screen
“I Sometimes Always” arrives at a time when broadcast depictions about motherhood are increasingly cleaned up and romanticised. The drama removes such idealistic portrayals, portraying single parenthood as a grinding economic reality rather than a wellspring of motivational triumph. Laura’s arc rejects the traditional narrative of struggle-to-triumph, instead offering a raw, unflinching portrait of what it means to care for a child whilst struggling to pay for housing or food. The drama accepts that affection for one’s child exists alongside genuine resentment towards the institutions that leave parenting so precarious. By focusing on Laura’s exhaustion and frustration combined with her warmth, the drama offers a more honest representation of maternal experience—one that viewers rarely encounter in mainstream television.
The creative partnership between Bassols and Loza lends particular authenticity to this portrayal. Both creators grasp the particular nuances of Barcelona’s contemporary struggles, having worked within the city’s creative environment. Their writing avoids the traps of condescending portrayals of poverty, instead allowing Laura agency and complexity within limited conditions. The series respects its lead character’s intellect and determination without requiring she perform gratitude for basic survival. This layered treatment extends to supporting characters, who emerge as complete, developed people rather than mere obstacles or helpers. By treating single motherhood as deserving serious artistic focus, “I Always Sometimes” questions the hierarchies that have historically favoured certain stories over others in European television.
Economics and Authenticity
The dialogue sparkles with specificity when Laura discusses Barcelona’s lettings sector, converting economic frustration into compelling character moments. Her cutting comment—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—encapsulates the series’ refusal to offer false hope or hollow encouragement. Rather than treating poverty abstractly, the writing grounds it in concrete details: the exact figure of rent demanded, the landlords who prey on vulnerability, the precarious gig work that scarcely meets childcare costs. This focus on economic realism sets apart “I Always Sometimes” from stories that depict hardship as metaphorical or spiritually enriching. The series recognises that financial precarity influences every choice in Laura’s day.
Authenticity extends beyond dialogue into the series’ narrative framework. By titling remaining episodes after the locations where Laura briefly resides, the creators prioritise housing as the primary concern of her life. This formal decision transforms geography into narrative structure, making displacement apparent and inescapable. The episode titles function as a countdown of sorts—each new location representing another provisional arrangement, another near-miss, another reminder of systemic failure. This approach sets apart the series from conventional drama, which typically subordinates economic concerns to emotional or romantic plotlines. “I Always Sometimes” insists that survival itself constitutes the dramatic core, that the hunt for affordable housing is as compelling as any traditional narrative conflict.
- Episode titles capture Laura’s temporary accommodation circumstances across Barcelona
- Rental costs and economic barriers create the central dramatic tension of character progression
- Writing emphasises tangible lived experience over sentimental narratives about motherhood