Barcelona’s accommodation crisis and the difficulties of single motherhood take centre stage in “I Always Sometimes,” an ambitious new drama series that premiered on Movistar Plus+ on 23 April before launching internationally at Canneseries on 25 April. Created by writers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza, the six-episode half-hour series follows Laura, a woman managing motherhood whilst attempting to secure reasonably priced accommodation in a increasingly gentrified city. Produced by renowned directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama delivers a poignant yet candid examination of contemporary financial struggle and the emotional turbulence of young adulthood, anchoring its story in the very real challenges facing single mothers and fathers across present-day Spain.
A Tale of Love That Starts At the Point Where Blissful Finales Diminish
The series opens with a passionate affair that feels destined for success. Laura, a events coordinator from Berlin, meets Rubén, a Barcelona bar proprietor, at the city’s prestigious Sonar music festival. Their bond is immediate and intoxicating—they pass evenings strolling through Barcelona, quoting Rilke to one another, attending raves on Montjuïc, and sharing intimate experiences in chic venues. When Rubén proposes that Laura move in with him, the outlook seems bright and full of possibility, the kind of fairy-tale beginning that viewers 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 profoundly transforms everything. What initially seemed like a romantic partnership quickly deteriorates when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man battling alcohol dependency and unreliability. Forced to relinquish her new beginning, 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 grapple with the stark realities of single parenthood alone.
- Laura meets Rubén at Sonar festival in Barcelona
- She becomes pregnant a week after their initial encounter
- Rubén proves to be an unreliable and alcohol-dependent partner
- Laura goes back to her family home with baby boy Mario
Gentrified Barcelona as Setting and Test Case
As Laura attempts to create a existence for both herself and Mario, Barcelona itself evolves into considerably more than a mere backdrop—it emerges as a character both seductive and hostile, beautiful yet fundamentally hostile to those without substantial means. The city that once captivated her with its bohemian character and creative vitality now exposes its reality: a urban centre altered by relentless gentrification, where reasonably priced housing has become a commodity out of reach for ordinary working people. Every episode name cites a separate neighbourhood where Laura and Mario occupy, a persistent reminder that home stays perpetually beyond reach. The series captures the cruel irony of a city awash with riches and tourism, yet wholly unconcerned with the plight of those struggling to afford fundamental housing.
The financial circumstances Laura faces are neither exaggerated nor exceptional—they represent the lived experience of countless lone parents across modern-day Spain and Europe. “Rent here is bloody insane,” she laments to an creative acquaintance. “It’s impossible to locate anything suitable.” His optimistic response—”Nothing’s impossible”—is greeted by her exhausted, forceful reply: “Flats in Barcelona are.” This conversation captures the series’ unflinching treatment to financial difficulty, refusing to soften the blow or offer easy consolation. Barcelona becomes not a place of opportunity but a trial through which Laura must contend, balancing her urgent requirement to earn money with her wish to remain present for her young son.
The City’s Contrasts
Barcelona’s evolution serves as a microcosm of wider European metropolitan problems, where established communities are deliberately converted into playgrounds for wealthy tourists and global capital. The city that once delivered cultural vibrancy and genuine community life now displaces financially the individuals who create its character and soul. Laura’s struggle is framed by this backdrop of contradiction—surrounded by affluence yet locked out of it, residing in one of Europe’s most coveted metropolises whilst facing homelessness. The series refuses to romanticise this conflict, instead depicting it as the relentless, draining truth it genuinely constitutes for those caught in gentrification’s wake.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” especially compelling is its foundation within particular, identifiable Barcelona locations that have themselves evolved as representations of the city’s shifting character. Each episode’s setting—from creative collectives to temporary arrangements with supportive companions—maps the terrain of struggle, showing how the city’s most vulnerable inhabitants are pushed to its margins and forgotten corners. The juxtaposition of Barcelona’s polished surface and Laura’s fragile situation highlights the series’ core premise: that modern cities have become increasingly inhospitable to everyday individuals, notwithstanding their ability, commitment, or perseverance.
Developing Episodes As Short Stories
The structural brilliance of “I Always Sometimes” resides in its method of handling episodic storytelling, with each of the six episodes functioning as a standalone story whilst advancing Laura’s broader arc. Running between 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes eschew conventional TV rhythm in preference for a more literary sensibility, akin to short stories that explore different facets of the challenges of single parenthood and urban instability. This structure allows creators Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to develop character moments with subtlety and complexity, transcending the surface-level conclusions that often plague contemporary television dramas. Rather than hurrying along plot mechanics, the series dwells upon the emotional texture of Laura’s daily existence.
Each episode’s title alludes to a different setting where Laura and Mario stay for a time, turning geography into storytelling framework. This spatial organisation becomes a powerful storytelling device, mapping Laura’s downward mobility through Barcelona’s landscape whilst simultaneously revealing the unseen connections of mutual aid and hardship that maintain those on society’s periphery. The close focus of these episodes—neither expansive nor rushed—permits authentic examination of how monetary concerns permeates every dimension of life, from romantic relationships to maternal instinct. Bassols and Loza’s writing debut demonstrates a mature understanding of how structure and substance can intertwine to generate something genuinely affecting.
- Episodes named for Laura’s transient residences chart her precarious housing situation
- Running times range from 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Episodic format allows 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
Visual Storytelling Across Six Different Worlds
The visual language of “I Always Sometimes” grounds its narrative in the distinct character of Barcelona’s forgotten corners. Rather than highlighting the city’s postcard vistas, the camera work focuses on cramped flats, artist squats, and the unglamorous streets where survival takes precedence over sightseeing. This intentional visual strategy reimagines Barcelona from holiday hotspot into a character itself—one that is at once alluring yet unwelcoming, welcoming and exclusionary. The cinematography conveys the sense of confinement of communal spaces and the weariness visible in Laura’s face as she manages motherhood without adequate support systems. Every frame underscores the series’ central tension between the urban potential and its failure to fulfil.
Shot across diverse Barcelona locations, the series uses its visual palette to document Laura’s psychological and material conditions. Brighter, more open spaces intermittently break up shadowy, restricted spaces, conveying moments of hope amidst prevailing despair. The visual construction precisely crafts each makeshift residence, making them feel genuine and inhabited rather than basic utilitarian designs. This attention to visual detail extends to costume and styling, where Laura’s appearance subtly shifts to reflect her changing circumstances—a small but profound narrative decision that illuminates how material hardship transforms identity. The series establishes that intimate dramas about common difficulties can reach cinematic depth without sacrificing emotional authenticity.
Transforming Motherhood on Screen
“I Sometimes Always” emerges at a point when TV stories about motherhood are increasingly sanitised and sentimentalised. The series removes such sentimental ideas, presenting single parenthood as a relentless economic hardship rather than a cause for uplifting inspiration. Laura’s journey eschews the standard trajectory of hardship-to-success, instead offering a candid, unvarnished picture of what it entails to care for a child whilst barely able to afford housing or food. The drama acknowledges that love for one’s child coexists with authentic anger towards the structures that render parenthood so precarious. By focusing on Laura’s exhaustion and frustration combined with her tenderness, the show offers a more authentic portrayal of motherhood—one that audiences rarely encounter in conventional TV.
The creative partnership between Bassols and Loza brings distinctive authenticity to this portrayal. Both creators understand the specificity of Barcelona’s current challenges, having worked within the city’s cultural landscape. Their storytelling avoids the pitfalls of patronising depictions of poverty, instead allowing Laura agency and complexity within constrained circumstances. The series honours its lead character’s intellect and resilience without demanding she perform gratitude for basic survival. This nuanced approach extends to secondary figures, who emerge as complete, developed people rather than simple hindrances or helpers. By treating single motherhood as deserving serious dramatic attention, “I Always Sometimes” questions the power structures that have long privileged certain stories over others in television across Europe.
Financial Considerations and Genuine Value
The dialogue sparkles with specificity when Laura discusses Barcelona’s lettings sector, turning economic frustration into powerful character moments. Her sharp remark—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—encapsulates the series’ refusal to offer false hope or hollow encouragement. Rather than generalising hardship, the writing roots it in concrete details: the specific sum of rent demanded, the landlords who take advantage of need, the fragile freelance labour that barely covers childcare costs. This focus on economic realism sets apart “I Always Sometimes” from stories that depict hardship as figurative or transcendent. The series understands that financial precarity shapes every decision in Laura’s day.
Authenticity goes beyond dialogue into the series’ narrative framework. By titling remaining episodes after the places where Laura temporarily squats, the creators prioritise housing as the primary concern of her life. This formal decision transforms geography into storytelling form, making displacement apparent and inescapable. The episode titles serve as a countdown of sorts—each new location representing another temporary solution, another close call, another indication of systemic failure. This approach distinguishes the series from conventional drama, which typically relegates 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 traditional narrative conflict.
- Episode titles illustrate Laura’s temporary accommodation circumstances throughout Barcelona
- Housing expenses and financial obstacles form the central dramatic tension of character progression
- Writing privileges material reality over emotional accounts about motherhood