Barcelona’s housing shortage and the struggles of single motherhood form the focus in “I Always Sometimes,” an ambitious new drama series that premiered on Movistar Plus+ on 23 April before premiering internationally at Canneseries on 25 April. Created by writers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza, the six-part half-hour series follows Laura, a woman balancing motherhood whilst attempting to secure affordable housing in a increasingly gentrified city. Produced by renowned directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama presents a poignant yet candid study of contemporary financial struggle and the emotional turbulence of early adulthood, rooting its narrative in the authentic challenges facing single parents across present-day Spain.
A Love Story That Starts Where Happy Endings Fade
The series opens with a whirlwind romance that seems bound for success. Laura, a festival organiser from Berlin, encounters Rubén, a Barcelona bar proprietor, at the city’s prestigious Sonar music festival. Their bond is immediate and intoxicating—they pass evenings wandering Barcelona’s streets, quoting Rilke to one another, going to raves on Montjuïc, and enjoying intimate moments in stylish locations. When Rubén suggests that Laura relocate to live with him, the future appears bright and full of possibility, the kind of fairy-tale beginning that audiences recognise from numerous love stories.
However, the narrative shifts dramatically and soberly turn in the second episode. Laura discovers she is pregnant just one week after meeting Rubén, a development that fundamentally alters everything. What initially seemed like a romantic partnership quickly unravels when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man battling alcohol dependency and unreliability. Forced to abandon her new life, Laura retreats to her family home, where she finds herself caught between thankfulness for their help and overwhelmed by their involvement. The dream has collapsed, leaving her to grapple with the stark realities of single parenthood alone.
- Laura meets Rubén at Sonar festival in Barcelona
- She becomes 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 baby boy Mario
Barcelona’s Gentrification as Backdrop and Catalyst
As Laura struggles to build a existence for both herself and Mario, Barcelona itself evolves into considerably more than a simple setting—it emerges as a character both captivating and antagonistic, aesthetically stunning yet deeply hostile to those lacking significant financial resources. The city that once captivated her with its bohemian charm and artistic energy now exposes its reality: a city reshaped by unrelenting gentrification, where decent housing has become a commodity out of reach for regular working people. Every episode title references a distinct area where Laura and Mario squat, a constant reminder that home remains forever out of reach. The series portrays the bitter irony of a city brimming with wealth and tourism, yet utterly indifferent to the plight of those struggling to afford essential accommodation.
The economic realities Laura faces are neither exaggerated nor exceptional—they reflect the lived experience of numerous single parents across modern-day Spain and Europe. “Rent here is bloody insane,” she complains to an artist friend. “It’s impossible to locate anything suitable.” His hopeful reply—”Nothing’s impossible”—is met with her weary, vehement reply: “Flats in Barcelona are.” This conversation captures the series’ unflinching approach to economic hardship, declining to soften the blow or offer easy consolation. Barcelona becomes not a destination of possibility but a gauntlet through which Laura must navigate, balancing her urgent requirement to generate income with her desire to remain present for her young son.
The City’s Contradictions
Barcelona’s evolution serves as a microcosm of larger-scale European city challenges, where established communities are deliberately converted into destinations for wealthy tourists and foreign investment firms. The city that once promised cultural vibrancy and authentic living now excludes through cost the residents who define its identity and spirit. Laura’s situation is positioned within this context of paradox—surrounded by prosperity yet locked out of it, living in one of Europe’s most sought-after urban centres whilst experiencing homelessness. The series resists sentimentalising this tension, instead depicting it as the relentless, draining truth it actually represents for individuals affected by gentrification’s aftermath.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” especially compelling is its grounding in particular, identifiable Barcelona places that have themselves become symbols of the city’s shifting character. Each episode setting—from artist squats to informal living situations with sympathetic friends—maps the terrain of struggle, demonstrating the city’s most disadvantaged people are pushed to its margins and forgotten corners. The juxtaposition of Barcelona’s polished surface and Laura’s precarious existence emphasises the series’ core premise: that modern cities have grown progressively unwelcoming to everyday individuals, notwithstanding their capability, dedication, or resolve.
Writing Episodes Like Short Stories
The structural brilliance of “I Always Sometimes” resides in its approach to episodic storytelling, with each of the six episodes serving as a standalone story whilst advancing Laura’s broader arc. Running between 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes reject traditional television pacing in preference for a literary approach, akin to short stories that examine various aspects of the challenges of single parenthood and urban instability. This structure allows filmmakers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to craft character moments with nuance and depth, transcending the superficial resolutions that frequently affect contemporary television dramas. Rather than rushing towards plot mechanics, the series dwells upon the emotional texture of Laura’s daily existence.
Each episode’s title draws from a different location where Laura and Mario stay for a time, converting geography into storytelling framework. This geographical mapping becomes a powerful storytelling device, mapping Laura’s economic decline through Barcelona’s urban terrain whilst at the same time revealing the unseen connections of mutual aid and hardship that sustain those on the margins of society. The close focus of these episodes—neither expansive nor rushed—enables genuine exploration of how financial stress permeates every facet of daily living, from intimate partnerships to maternal instinct. Bassols and Loza’s inaugural screenplay exhibits a developed comprehension of how structure and substance can merge together to generate something truly moving.
- Episodes titled after Laura’s transient residences document her precarious housing situation
- Running times range from 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Short story structure enables deeper character development and emotional resonance
- Geographic locations become representations of financial instability and social marginalisation
- Series combines intimate moments with broader critiques of modern city living
Narrative Through Visuals Across Six Worlds
The visual language of “I Always Sometimes” anchors its narrative in the specific textures of Barcelona’s overlooked spaces. Rather than highlighting the city’s iconic landmarks, cinematography focuses on cramped flats, artist squats, and the ordinary neighbourhoods where survival takes precedence over sightseeing. This intentional visual strategy reimagines Barcelona from tourist destination into a protagonist—one that is simultaneously beautiful and hostile, inviting yet rejecting. The camera work conveys the claustrophobia of communal spaces and the exhaustion etched into Laura’s face as she manages motherhood lacking proper assistance. Every frame underscores the core conflict between the urban potential and its failure to fulfil.
Shot across multiple Barcelona venues, the series uses its visual palette to trace Laura’s emotional and material circumstances. Airier, more spacious areas occasionally punctuate dimly lit, cramped rooms, capturing moments of possibility amid persistent despair. The production design carefully builds each temporary home, rendering them lived-in and authentic rather than simple functional spaces. This focus on visual elements applies to costume and styling, where Laura’s appearance subtly shifts to capture her shifting circumstances—a small but profound storytelling choice that speaks to how economic hardship redefines identity. The series proves that intimate dramas about everyday hardships can attain visual sophistication without undermining emotional genuineness.
Redefining Motherhood on Screen
“I Always Sometimes” comes at a time when television narratives about motherhood have grown sanitized and sentimentalized. The drama strips away such romantic notions, portraying single parenthood as a harsh financial struggle rather than a cause for uplifting inspiration. Laura’s journey rejects the standard trajectory of struggle-to-triumph, instead providing a honest, unsparing depiction of what it involves to raise a child whilst struggling to pay for housing or food. The show acknowledges that affection for one’s child coexists with genuine resentment towards the structures that render parenthood so precarious. By centring Laura’s weariness and exasperation together with her warmth, the series presents a more authentic portrayal of motherhood—one that audiences 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 current challenges, having worked within the city’s cultural landscape. Their writing steers clear of 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 resilience without demanding she perform gratitude for basic survival. This nuanced approach extends to secondary figures, who stand as fully realised individuals rather than simple hindrances or helpers. By approaching single motherhood as worthy of serious artistic focus, “I Always Sometimes” questions the power structures that have historically favoured certain stories over others in European television.
Economic Factors and Authenticity
The dialogue brims with specificity when Laura explores Barcelona’s lettings sector, transforming economic frustration into compelling character moments. Her sharp remark—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—embodies the series’ resistance to false hope or empty reassurance. Rather than treating poverty abstractly, the writing roots it in concrete details: the exact figure of rent demanded, the landlords who take advantage of need, the precarious gig work that hardly pays for childcare costs. This focus on economic realism distinguishes “I Always Sometimes” from accounts that frame hardship as figurative or transcendent. The series recognises that financial precarity shapes every decision in Laura’s day.
Authenticity extends beyond dialogue into the series’ structural choices. By titling remaining episodes after the locations where Laura temporarily squats, the creators foreground housing as the primary concern of her life. This formal decision transforms geography into storytelling form, making displacement visible and inescapable. The episode titles serve as a countdown of sorts—each new location representing another provisional arrangement, another close call, another reminder of systemic failure. This approach distinguishes 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 reflect Laura’s transient housing situations throughout Barcelona
- Housing expenses and financial obstacles create the central dramatic tension of character development
- Writing emphasises tangible lived experience over sentimental narratives about motherhood