Barcelona’s accommodation crisis and the struggles of single motherhood form the focus in “I Always Sometimes,” an ambitious new drama series that debuted 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 balancing motherhood whilst striving to find budget-friendly housing in a gentrified city. Produced by celebrated filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama offers a touching yet unflinching examination of modern economic hardship and the emotional upheaval of young adulthood, rooting its narrative in the genuine challenges facing single mothers and fathers across contemporary Spain.
A Love Story That Begins Where Joyful Conclusions Fade
The series opens with a passionate affair that seems bound for success. Laura, a events coordinator from Berlin, encounters Rubén, a Barcelona bar owner, at the city’s prestigious Sonar music festival. Their connection is immediate and intoxicating—they spend nights wandering Barcelona’s streets, quoting Rilke to one another, going to raves on Montjuïc, and enjoying intimate moments in chic venues. When Rubén proposes 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 takes a sharp and sobering turn in the second episode. Laura discovers she is pregnant just one week after meeting Rubén, a development that drastically changes everything. What initially seemed like a romantic partnership quickly falls apart when Rubén’s true nature emerges—a man contending with substance abuse and unreliability. Forced to relinquish her new beginning, Laura retreats to her family home, where she finds herself trapped between gratitude for their support and suffocation from their presence. The dream has collapsed, leaving her to face the harsh realities of single parenthood alone.
- Laura meets Rubén at Sonar music festival in Barcelona
- She falls pregnant a week after their initial encounter
- Rubén turns out to be an unreliable and alcohol-dependent partner
- Laura goes back to her parents’ home with baby boy Mario
Gentrified Barcelona as Setting and Test Case
As Laura struggles to build a future for herself and Mario, Barcelona itself transforms into far more than a basic backdrop—it functions as a character both alluring and unwelcoming, aesthetically stunning yet deeply hostile to those without substantial means. The city that once fascinated her with its bohemian character and creative vitality now shows its genuine nature: a urban centre altered by aggressive gentrification, where reasonably priced housing has become a privilege beyond reach for typical working-class residents. Every episode title mentions a separate neighbourhood where Laura and Mario reside, a constant reminder that home stays perpetually beyond reach. The series captures the cruel irony of a city awash with affluence and tourist activity, yet utterly indifferent to the situation of those unable to afford essential accommodation.
The economic realities Laura encounters are not overstated and entirely typical—they represent the lived experience of numerous single parents across contemporary Spain and Europe. “Rent here is absolutely ridiculous,” she complains to an artist friend. “It’s virtually impossible to find anything.” His optimistic response—”Nothing’s impossible”—is greeted by her exhausted, forceful 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 becomes not a place of opportunity but a trial through which Laura must navigate, juggling her desperate need to earn money with her desire to stay involved for her small child.
The City’s Paradoxes
Barcelona’s transformation serves as a reflection of broader European city challenges, where historic neighbourhoods are deliberately converted into destinations for high-spending travellers and foreign investment firms. The city that once offered cultural vibrancy and real cultural experience now displaces financially the individuals who define its identity and cultural heart. Laura’s situation is positioned within this backdrop of contradiction—immersed in prosperity yet excluded from it, living in one of Europe’s most sought-after urban centres whilst experiencing homelessness. The series declines to idealise this conflict, instead depicting it as the grinding, exhausting reality it genuinely constitutes for those caught in gentrification’s aftermath.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” particularly resonant is its rooting in distinctive, familiar Barcelona settings that have themselves turned into emblems of the city’s evolving nature. Each episode setting—from creative collectives to temporary arrangements with supportive companions—maps the geography of desperation, demonstrating the city’s most disadvantaged people are forced towards its margins and forgotten corners. The contrast between Barcelona’s polished surface and Laura’s fragile situation highlights the series’ core premise: that contemporary urban centres have turned more hostile to common folk, regardless of their ability, commitment, or perseverance.
Writing Episodes As Short Stories
The narrative sophistication of “I Always Sometimes” resides in its method of handling episodic storytelling, with each of the six instalments functioning as a self-contained narrative whilst advancing Laura’s broader arc. Running between 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes reject traditional television pacing in preference for a more literary sensibility, resembling short stories that explore different facets of the challenges of single parenthood and urban instability. This format allows filmmakers Marta Bassols and Marta Loza to develop scenes between characters with nuance and depth, transcending the surface-level conclusions that often plague modern TV drama. Rather than hurrying along narrative devices, the series lingers on the emotional weight of Laura’s daily existence.
Each episode’s title alludes to a different setting where Laura and Mario live briefly, converting geography into narrative structure. This spatial organisation becomes a powerful storytelling device, charting Laura’s downward mobility through the Barcelona landscape whilst at the same time revealing the unseen connections of collective support and struggle that sustain those on society’s periphery. The close focus of these episodes—neither wide-ranging nor pressured—allows authentic examination of how monetary concerns permeates every dimension of life, from intimate partnerships to parental impulse. Bassols and Loza’s inaugural screenplay demonstrates a mature understanding of how form and content can intertwine to produce something truly moving.
- Episodes named for Laura’s transient residences document her precarious housing situation
- Running times range from 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Short story structure allows more profound character exploration and emotional impact
- Geographic locations become representations of financial instability and social invisibility
- Series balances personal scenes with broader critiques of contemporary urban life
Narrative Through Visuals Throughout Six Worlds
The aesthetic approach 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 captures tight apartments, creative communes, and the ordinary neighbourhoods where necessity prevails over sightseeing. This intentional visual strategy transforms Barcelona from holiday hotspot into a character itself—one that is at once beautiful and hostile, inviting yet rejecting. The camera work captures the sense of confinement of shared living arrangements 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 various Barcelona settings, the series employs its visual language to document Laura’s emotional and material circumstances. Brighter, more open spaces periodically interrupt darker, confined interiors, reflecting moments of optimism within overwhelming sadness. The set design meticulously constructs each transient living space, creating the impression of lived-in and authentic rather than merely functional sets. This attention to visual detail applies to costume and styling, where Laura’s appearance subtly shifts to capture her shifting circumstances—a understated but powerful narrative decision that illuminates how economic hardship redefines identity. The series proves that personal narratives about ordinary struggles can reach cinematic depth without compromising emotional truth.
Reshaping Motherhood on Screen
“I Always Sometimes” arrives at a time when television narratives about motherhood have grown sanitised and sentimentalised. The show strips away such idealistic portrayals, portraying single parenthood as a grinding economic reality rather than a source of inspirational uplift. Laura’s story rejects the standard trajectory of adversity-to-victory, instead providing a honest, unsparing depiction of what it means to care for a child whilst scarcely able to manage housing or food. The show recognises that love for one’s child sits beside authentic anger towards the structures that render parenthood so uncertain. By highlighting Laura’s weariness and exasperation combined with her compassion, the show presents a more authentic portrayal of motherhood—one that viewers seldom see in conventional TV.
The collaborative effort between Bassols and Loza brings particular authenticity to this portrayal. Both creators grasp the specificity of Barcelona’s contemporary struggles, having worked within the city’s creative environment. Their storytelling avoids the pitfalls of condescending portrayals of poverty, rather granting Laura depth and autonomy within limited conditions. The series honours its lead character’s intellect and resilience without requiring she display appreciation for basic survival. 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 artistic focus, “I Always Sometimes” questions the power structures that have historically favoured certain stories over others in European television.
Cost and Legitimacy
The dialogue brims with specificity when Laura discusses Barcelona’s housing market, transforming economic frustration into gripping character moments. Her bitter observation—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—encapsulates the series’ resistance to false hope or vapid platitudes. Rather than generalising hardship, the writing grounds it in concrete details: the specific sum of rent demanded, the landlords who prey on vulnerability, the fragile freelance labour that scarcely meets childcare costs. This commitment to economic realism sets apart “I Always Sometimes” from stories that depict hardship as metaphorical or spiritually enriching. The series understands 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 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 function 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 traditional narrative conflict.
- Episode titles illustrate Laura’s temporary accommodation circumstances across Barcelona
- Rental costs and economic barriers form the dramatic backbone of character progression
- Writing privileges material reality over emotional accounts about motherhood