Barcelona’s accommodation crisis and the challenges of single motherhood are central in “I Always Sometimes,” an bold new drama series that launched 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-episode half-hour series follows Laura, a woman balancing motherhood whilst working to obtain reasonably priced accommodation in a gentrified city. Produced by renowned directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama offers a tender yet honest exploration of current economic hardship and the emotional turmoil of early adult life, rooting its narrative in the authentic challenges facing single mothers and fathers across present-day Spain.
A Tale of Love That Starts At the Point Where Joyful Conclusions Wane
The series opens with a whirlwind romance that seems bound for success. Laura, a events coordinator from Berlin, meets Rubén, a Barcelona bar owner, at the city’s prestigious Sonar music festival. Their connection is instant and captivating—they spend nights wandering Barcelona’s streets, quoting Rilke to one another, attending raves on Montjuïc, and sharing intimate experiences in chic venues. When Rubén proposes that Laura relocate to live with him, the outlook seems bright and full of possibility, the kind of storybook start that viewers recognise from countless romantic narratives.
However, the narrative undergoes a dramatic and troubling turn in the second episode. Laura learns that she is pregnant just one week after meeting Rubén, a development that fundamentally alters everything. What initially seemed like a romantic partnership quickly falls apart when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man battling alcohol dependency and unreliability. Forced to leave her fresh start, Laura retreats to her parents’ home, where she finds herself trapped between gratitude for their support and suffocation from their presence. The dream has collapsed, leaving her to confront the difficult truths of single parenthood alone.
- Laura encounters Rubén at Sonar festival in Barcelona
- She becomes pregnant one week after their first meeting
- Rubén turns out to be an unreliable and alcohol-dependent partner
- Laura goes back to her family home with infant son Mario
Gentrified Barcelona as Character and Crucible
As Laura attempts to create a life for herself and Mario, Barcelona itself evolves into considerably more than a simple setting—it develops into a character both captivating and antagonistic, beautiful yet fundamentally hostile to those without substantial means. The city that previously enchanted her with its bohemian charm and artistic energy now reveals its true face: a city reshaped by unrelenting gentrification, where affordable housing has become a privilege beyond reach for regular working people. Every episode title references a separate neighbourhood where Laura and Mario reside, a ongoing reminder that home stays perpetually beyond reach. The series captures the cruel irony of a city brimming with wealth and tourism, yet completely indifferent to the situation of those unable to afford fundamental housing.
The financial circumstances Laura faces are not overstated and entirely typical—they reflect the day-to-day reality of countless lone parents across contemporary Spain and Europe. “Rent here is bloody insane,” she laments to an artist friend. “It’s virtually impossible to find anything.” His optimistic response—”Nothing’s impossible”—is met with her exhausted, forceful reply: “Flats in Barcelona are.” This conversation captures the series’ unflinching treatment to financial difficulty, declining to ease the impact or provide quick reassurance. Barcelona becomes not a place of opportunity but a trial through which Laura must navigate, balancing her urgent requirement to generate income with her desire to remain present for her small child.
The City’s Paradoxes
Barcelona’s evolution serves as a microcosm of wider European urban crises, where traditional districts are deliberately converted into playgrounds for high-spending travellers and foreign investment firms. The city that once offered cultural vibrancy and genuine community life now displaces financially the residents who define its identity and spirit. Laura’s situation is set against this backdrop of contradiction—immersed in prosperity yet locked out of it, residing in one of Europe’s most sought-after urban centres whilst experiencing homelessness. The series declines to idealise this tension, instead showing it as the harsh, demanding reality it truly is for those caught in gentrification’s wake.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” particularly resonant is its grounding in specific, recognisable Barcelona settings that have themselves evolved as representations of the city’s evolving nature. Each episode’s setting—from artist squats to temporary arrangements with sympathetic friends—maps the landscape of hardship, showing how the city’s most disadvantaged people are pushed to its margins and forgotten corners. The contrast between Barcelona’s sparkling exterior and Laura’s precarious existence underscores the series’ core premise: that modern cities have become increasingly inhospitable to everyday individuals, irrespective of their ability, commitment, or perseverance.
Creating Episodes As 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 overarching journey. Spanning 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes reject conventional TV rhythm in favour of a literary approach, akin to short stories that explore various aspects of the challenges of single parenthood and urban instability. This structure allows filmmakers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to develop scenes between characters with nuance and depth, transcending the superficial resolutions that often plague contemporary television dramas. Rather than hurrying along narrative devices, the series lingers on the emotional weight of Laura’s everyday life.
Each episode’s title references a different location where Laura and Mario live briefly, converting geography into narrative form. This spatial organisation becomes a compelling narrative tool, charting Laura’s downward mobility through Barcelona’s urban terrain whilst concurrently revealing the concealed systems of mutual aid and hardship that sustain those on society’s periphery. The close focus of these episodes—neither sprawling nor pressured—permits authentic examination of how financial stress permeates every facet of daily living, from romantic relationships to maternal instinct. Bassols and Loza’s writing debut reveals a sophisticated grasp of how form and content can merge together to generate something genuinely affecting.
- Episodes named for Laura’s temporary homes document her unstable living circumstances
- Running times range from 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Short story structure enables deeper character development and emotional impact
- Geographic locations function as representations of financial instability and social invisibility
- Series combines intimate moments with broader critiques of contemporary urban life
Narrative Through Visuals Across Six Different Worlds
The visual language of “I Always Sometimes” grounds 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 survival takes precedence over sightseeing. This intentional visual strategy transforms Barcelona from holiday hotspot into a protagonist—one that is at once 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 navigates motherhood lacking proper assistance. Every shot underscores the series’ central tension between the city’s promise and its refusal to deliver.
Shot across multiple Barcelona venues, the series leverages its visual style to trace Laura’s emotional and financial situation. Airier, more spacious areas periodically interrupt dimly lit, cramped rooms, capturing moments of hope amidst prevailing despair. The set design precisely crafts each temporary home, rendering them lived-in and authentic rather than merely functional sets. This focus on visual elements applies to costume and styling, where Laura’s look gradually changes to capture her shifting circumstances—a understated but powerful narrative decision that demonstrates how financial struggle redefines identity. The series establishes that intimate dramas about common difficulties can attain visual sophistication without sacrificing emotional authenticity.
Reshaping Motherhood on Screen
“I Always Sometimes” arrives at a point when broadcast depictions about motherhood are increasingly cleaned up and romanticised. The series strips away such sentimental ideas, presenting single parenthood as a relentless economic hardship rather than a wellspring of motivational triumph. Laura’s arc refuses the conventional arc of hardship-to-success, instead offering a raw, unflinching portrait of what it entails to raise a child whilst scarcely able to manage housing or food. The series acknowledges that love for one’s child exists alongside real frustration towards the institutions that make parenting so precarious. By highlighting Laura’s weariness and exasperation alongside her compassion, the drama presents a more authentic portrayal of motherhood—one that audiences infrequently find in conventional TV.
The collaborative effort between Bassols and Loza brings distinctive authenticity to this portrayal. Both creators understand the particular nuances of Barcelona’s current challenges, having worked within the city’s creative environment. Their storytelling steers clear of the traps of condescending portrayals of poverty, rather granting Laura agency and complexity within constrained circumstances. The series honours its protagonist’s intelligence and determination without requiring she display appreciation for fundamental necessities. This layered treatment extends to supporting characters, who emerge as complete, developed people rather than simple hindrances or helpers. By treating single motherhood as deserving serious dramatic attention, “I Always Sometimes” challenges the hierarchies 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 gripping character moments. Her sharp remark—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—embodies the series’ refusal to offer false hope or hollow encouragement. Rather than abstracting poverty, the writing roots 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 attention to economic realism sets apart “I Always Sometimes” from narratives that treat hardship as figurative or transcendent. The series understands that financial precarity determines every moment in Laura’s day.
Authenticity extends beyond dialogue into the series’ narrative framework. By titling remaining episodes after the places where Laura briefly resides, the creators prioritise housing as the central preoccupation of her life. This structural choice transforms geography into narrative structure, making displacement apparent and inescapable. The episode titles serve as a countdown of sorts—each new location representing another temporary solution, 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 narrative heart, that the hunt for affordable housing is as compelling as any conventional dramatic tension.
- Episode titles reflect Laura’s temporary accommodation circumstances throughout Barcelona
- Rental costs and economic barriers create the dramatic backbone of character progression
- Writing privileges tangible lived experience over emotional accounts about motherhood