Barcelona’s housing crisis and the difficulties of single motherhood form the focus 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-episode half-hour series follows Laura, a woman balancing motherhood whilst attempting to secure budget-friendly housing in a increasingly gentrified city. Produced by celebrated filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama presents a poignant yet candid exploration of modern economic hardship and the emotional turmoil of young adulthood, rooting its narrative in the authentic challenges facing lone parents across modern Spain.
A Tale of Love That Begins Where Joyful Conclusions Wane
The series opens with a passionate affair that seems bound for success. Laura, a events coordinator from Berlin, meets Rubén, a Barcelona bar proprietor, at the city’s prestigious Sonar music festival. Their connection is instant and captivating—they pass evenings wandering Barcelona’s streets, quoting Rilke to one another, attending raves on Montjuïc, and sharing intimate experiences in chic venues. When Rubén suggests that Laura relocate to live with him, the future appears bright and full of possibility, the kind of storybook start that audiences recognise from countless romantic narratives.
However, the narrative takes a sharp and sobering 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 unravels when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man battling alcohol dependency 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 fallen apart, leaving her to confront the difficult truths of single parenthood alone.
- Laura meets Rubén at Sonar music festival in Barcelona
- She becomes pregnant one 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 attempts to create a future for herself and Mario, Barcelona itself transforms into far more than a basic backdrop—it emerges as a character both seductive and hostile, visually stunning yet fundamentally unwelcoming to those without considerable wealth. The city that previously enchanted her with its artistic charm and creative spirit now exposes its reality: a metropolis transformed by relentless gentrification, where affordable housing has become a luxury beyond reach for ordinary working people. Every episode title references a different location where Laura and Mario squat, a ongoing reminder that home stays perpetually beyond reach. The series illustrates the harsh irony of a city awash with wealth and tourism, yet completely indifferent to the plight of those struggling to afford essential accommodation.
The financial circumstances Laura faces are not overstated and entirely typical—they reflect the lived experience of countless lone parents across contemporary Spain and Europe. “Rent here is absolutely ridiculous,” she complains to an creative acquaintance. “It’s impossible to find anything.” His hopeful reply—”Nothing’s impossible”—is greeted by her weary, vehement reply: “Flats in Barcelona are.” This exchange captures the series’ unflinching approach to economic hardship, refusing to ease the impact or offer easy consolation. Barcelona transforms into not a destination of possibility but a trial through which Laura must navigate, balancing her urgent requirement to earn money with her wish to stay involved for her young son.
The City’s Contradictions
Barcelona’s transformation serves as a microcosm of wider European metropolitan problems, where established communities are progressively reshaped into havens for high-spending travellers and international investors. The city that once delivered creative vitality and real cultural experience now displaces financially the residents who shape its essence and soul. Laura’s plight is set against this setting of conflict—living amid prosperity yet excluded from it, living in one of Europe’s most desirable cities whilst facing homelessness. The series resists sentimentalising this tension, instead depicting it as the harsh, demanding reality it genuinely constitutes for those caught in gentrification’s aftermath.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” distinctly powerful is its grounding in distinctive, familiar Barcelona places that have themselves evolved as representations of the city’s shifting character. Each episode setting—from artistic communes to temporary arrangements with sympathetic friends—maps the landscape of hardship, demonstrating the city’s most disadvantaged people are pushed to its edges and hidden areas. The distinction between Barcelona’s polished surface and Laura’s precarious existence emphasises the series’ main message: that modern cities have become increasingly inhospitable to everyday individuals, notwithstanding their intelligence, work ethic, or determination.
Writing Episodes Like Short Stories
The structural brilliance of “I Always Sometimes” lies in its method of handling serialised narrative, with each of the six episodes functioning as a standalone story whilst advancing Laura’s overarching journey. Running between 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes reject conventional TV rhythm in preference for a more literary sensibility, resembling short stories that examine various aspects of single motherhood and urban precarity. This format allows filmmakers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to craft character moments with subtlety and complexity, transcending the surface-level conclusions that often plague contemporary television dramas. Rather than rushing towards narrative devices, the series dwells upon the emotional weight of Laura’s everyday life.
Each episode’s title alludes to a different place where Laura and Mario temporarily reside, turning geography into narrative form. This geographical mapping becomes a effective narrative technique, mapping Laura’s social descent through the Barcelona landscape whilst concurrently revealing the concealed systems of solidarity and desperation that maintain those on the margins of society. The close focus of these episodes—neither wide-ranging nor hurried—allows genuine exploration of how economic anxiety permeates every dimension of life, from romantic relationships to parental impulse. Bassols and Loza’s inaugural screenplay reveals a developed comprehension of how structure and substance can interconnect to produce something deeply resonant.
- Episodes named for Laura’s temporary homes chart her unstable living circumstances
- Running times vary between 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Short story structure enables deeper character development and emotional resonance
- Geographic locations become metaphors for economic displacement and social invisibility
- Series balances intimate moments with wider commentary of modern city living
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 showcasing the city’s iconic landmarks, the camera work focuses on tight apartments, creative communes, and the unglamorous streets where survival takes precedence over sightseeing. This deliberate aesthetic choice transforms 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 navigates motherhood lacking proper assistance. Every shot reinforces the core conflict between the city’s promise and its failure to fulfil.
Shot across diverse Barcelona locations, the series uses its visual palette to trace Laura’s emotional and financial situation. Lighter, more expansive environments occasionally punctuate shadowy, restricted spaces, conveying moments of possibility amid persistent despair. The set design precisely crafts each makeshift residence, creating the impression of lived-in and authentic rather than merely functional sets. This commitment to visual specificity extends to costume and styling, where Laura’s visual presentation evolves to reflect her changing circumstances—a small but profound creative choice that demonstrates how economic hardship transforms identity. The series establishes that character-driven stories about common difficulties can achieve cinematic richness without compromising emotional truth.
Redefining Motherhood on Screen
“I Sometimes Always” comes at a moment when television narratives about motherhood have grown sanitized and sentimentalized. The drama strips away such idealistic portrayals, depicting single parenthood as a grinding economic reality rather than a wellspring of motivational triumph. Laura’s journey refuses the traditional narrative of struggle-to-triumph, instead providing a candid, unvarnished picture of what it entails to care for a child whilst scarcely able to manage housing or food. The drama acknowledges that love for one’s child exists alongside authentic anger towards the institutions that render parenthood so uncertain. By centring Laura’s fatigue and irritation alongside her warmth, the series presents a truer depiction of maternal experience—one that audiences rarely encounter in standard broadcast programming.
The collaborative effort between Bassols and Loza brings distinctive authenticity to this portrayal. Both creators understand the particular nuances of Barcelona’s contemporary struggles, having worked within the city’s creative environment. Their writing steers clear of the traps of patronising depictions of poverty, instead allowing Laura depth and autonomy within limited conditions. The series honours its protagonist’s intelligence and resilience without demanding she perform gratitude for fundamental necessities. This nuanced approach extends to supporting characters, who stand as fully realised individuals rather than mere obstacles or helpers. By treating single motherhood as worthy of serious artistic focus, “I Always Sometimes” questions the power structures that have long privileged certain stories over others in television across Europe.
Economic Factors and Authenticity
The dialogue crackles with specificity when Laura examines Barcelona’s lettings sector, converting economic frustration into gripping character moments. Her bitter observation—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—captures the series’ refusal to offer false hope or vapid platitudes. Rather than generalising hardship, the writing anchors it to concrete details: the specific sum 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 separates “I Always Sometimes” from narratives that treat hardship as metaphorical or spiritually enriching. The series recognises that financial precarity determines every moment in Laura’s day.
Authenticity goes beyond dialogue into the series’ structural choices. By titling remaining episodes after the places where Laura temporarily squats, the creators foreground housing as the central preoccupation of her life. This structural choice transforms geography into storytelling form, making displacement visible 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 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 capture Laura’s transient housing situations throughout Barcelona
- Rental costs and economic barriers form the dramatic backbone of character development
- Writing privileges material reality over emotional accounts about motherhood