Barcelona’s housing crisis and the struggles of single motherhood take centre stage in “I Always Sometimes,” an bold new drama series that launched 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 working to obtain budget-friendly housing in a increasingly gentrified city. Produced by renowned directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—known for “Veneno” and “La Mesías”—the drama offers a touching yet unflinching exploration of current economic hardship and the emotional upheaval of young adulthood, anchoring its story in the very real challenges facing single parents across modern Spain.
A Love Story That Starts Where Joyful Conclusions Diminish
The series begins with a passionate affair that seems bound for success. Laura, a festival organiser from Berlin, encounters Rubén, a Barcelona bar proprietor, at the city’s renowned Sonar music festival. Their bond is instant and captivating—they pass evenings strolling through Barcelona, quoting Rilke to one another, going to raves on Montjuïc, and enjoying intimate moments in stylish locations. When Rubén proposes that Laura move in with him, the outlook seems promising and brimming with potential, the kind of fairy-tale beginning that audiences recognise from countless romantic narratives.
However, the narrative undergoes a dramatic and troubling turn in the second episode. Laura finds out 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 contending with substance abuse and unreliability. Forced to relinquish her new beginning, Laura retreats to her parents’ home, where she finds herself caught between appreciation for their backing and stifled by their closeness. The dream has collapsed, leaving her to confront the difficult truths of single parenthood alone.
- Laura encounters Rubén at Sonar festival in Barcelona
- She falls pregnant one week after their first meeting
- Rubén turns out to be an unreliable and alcohol-dependent partner
- Laura returns to her parents’ home with baby boy Mario
Barcelona’s Gentrification as Backdrop and Catalyst
As Laura struggles to build a future for herself and Mario, Barcelona itself becomes far more than a basic backdrop—it develops into a character both captivating and antagonistic, visually stunning yet fundamentally unwelcoming to those without substantial means. The city that once fascinated her with its bohemian character and creative vitality now reveals its true face: a metropolis transformed by aggressive gentrification, where decent housing has become a privilege beyond reach for ordinary working people. Every episode title mentions a different location where Laura and Mario reside, a persistent reminder that home remains perpetually out of grasp. The series captures the cruel irony of a city brimming with wealth and tourism, yet wholly unconcerned with the circumstances of those unable to pay for basic shelter.
The financial circumstances Laura faces are neither exaggerated nor exceptional—they reflect the day-to-day reality of countless single parents across contemporary Spain and Europe. “Rent here is absolutely ridiculous,” she complains to an creative acquaintance. “It’s virtually 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 approach to economic hardship, refusing to ease the impact or provide quick reassurance. Barcelona becomes not a place of opportunity but a gauntlet through which Laura must contend, balancing her desperate need to generate income with her desire to stay involved for her young son.
The City’s Contradictions
Barcelona’s metamorphosis serves as a reflection of wider European city challenges, where traditional districts are deliberately converted into playgrounds for high-spending travellers and international investors. The city that once offered cultural vibrancy and genuine community life now prices out the very people who define its identity and soul. Laura’s struggle is positioned within this backdrop of contradiction—surrounded by wealth yet locked out of it, residing in one of Europe’s most desirable cities whilst confronting housing insecurity. The series declines to idealise this conflict, instead showing it as the harsh, demanding reality it genuinely constitutes for those caught in gentrification’s aftermath.
What makes “I Always Sometimes” especially compelling is its foundation within specific, recognisable Barcelona places that have themselves turned into emblems of the city’s shifting character. Each episode’s setting—from artist squats to makeshift solutions with supportive companions—maps the landscape of hardship, demonstrating the city’s most at-risk residents are pushed to its peripheries and overlooked spaces. The distinction between Barcelona’s glittering facade and Laura’s fragile situation highlights the series’ core premise: that modern cities have become increasingly inhospitable to common folk, regardless of their capability, dedication, or resolve.
Developing Episodes Like Short Stories
The narrative sophistication of “I Always Sometimes” resides in its method of handling serialised narrative, with each of the six episodes serving as a self-contained narrative whilst developing Laura’s overarching journey. Running between 22 and 35 minutes, the episodes reject traditional television pacing in favour of a literary approach, resembling 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 scenes between characters with subtlety and complexity, moving beyond the superficial resolutions that frequently affect modern TV drama. Rather than rushing towards narrative devices, the series dwells upon the emotional weight of Laura’s everyday life.
Each episode’s title references a different location where Laura and Mario stay for a time, converting geography into narrative form. This spatial organisation becomes a effective narrative technique, mapping Laura’s social descent through the Barcelona landscape whilst concurrently revealing the hidden networks of solidarity and desperation that sustain those on the margins of society. The intimate scale of these episodes—neither expansive nor rushed—permits authentic examination of how monetary concerns permeates every aspect of existence, from intimate partnerships to parental impulse. Bassols and Loza’s writing debut demonstrates a sophisticated grasp of how structure and substance can interconnect to create something genuinely affecting.
- Episodes titled after Laura’s transient residences document her precarious housing situation
- Running times vary between 22 and 35 minutes for adaptable storytelling rhythm
- Short story structure allows deeper character development and emotional resonance
- Geographic locations function as representations of financial instability and social marginalisation
- Series combines intimate moments with broader critiques of contemporary urban life
Visual Storytelling Across Six Different Worlds
The aesthetic approach of “I Always Sometimes” anchors its narrative in the specific textures of Barcelona’s overlooked spaces. Rather than showcasing the city’s postcard vistas, cinematography focuses on cramped flats, artist squats, and the unglamorous streets where survival takes precedence over sightseeing. This deliberate aesthetic choice transforms Barcelona from holiday hotspot into a protagonist—one that is simultaneously alluring yet unwelcoming, inviting yet rejecting. The cinematography conveys the claustrophobia of shared living arrangements and the exhaustion etched into Laura’s face as she navigates motherhood without adequate support systems. Every shot underscores the core conflict between the city’s promise and its failure to fulfil.
Shot across multiple Barcelona venues, the series leverages its visual style to trace Laura’s psychological and material conditions. Airier, more spacious areas intermittently break up darker, confined interiors, conveying moments of hope amidst prevailing despair. The visual construction carefully builds each transient living space, rendering them lived-in and authentic rather than merely functional sets. This attention to visual detail extends to costume and styling, where Laura’s visual presentation evolves to reflect her changing circumstances—a small but profound storytelling choice that speaks to how material hardship transforms identity. The series proves that intimate dramas about everyday hardships can reach cinematic depth without undermining emotional genuineness.
Redefining Motherhood on Screen
“I Always Sometimes” emerges at a point when broadcast depictions about motherhood have grown cleaned up and romanticised. The drama strips away such romantic notions, depicting single parenthood as a harsh financial struggle rather than a cause for uplifting inspiration. Laura’s story eschews the standard trajectory of hardship-to-success, instead delivering a raw, unflinching portrait of what it entails to bring up a child whilst scarcely able to manage housing or food. The show accepts that affection for one’s child sits beside real frustration towards the systems that make parenting so uncertain. By focusing on Laura’s exhaustion and frustration alongside her compassion, the drama offers a more honest representation of maternal experience—one that viewers seldom see in standard broadcast programming.
The creative partnership between Bassols and Loza brings particular authenticity to this depiction. Both creators grasp the particular nuances of Barcelona’s current challenges, having worked within the city’s creative environment. Their storytelling avoids the traps of condescending portrayals of poverty, rather granting Laura agency and complexity within limited conditions. The series honours its protagonist’s intelligence and resilience without requiring she display appreciation for basic survival. This layered treatment extends to supporting characters, who emerge as fully realised individuals rather than simple hindrances or helpers. By treating single motherhood as worthy of serious dramatic attention, “I Always Sometimes” questions the power structures that have long privileged certain stories over others in European television.
Economic Factors and Authenticity
The dialogue crackles with specificity when Laura examines Barcelona’s rental market, transforming economic frustration into powerful character moments. Her bitter observation—”Nothing’s impossible. Flats in Barcelona are”—encapsulates the series’ rejection of false hope or hollow encouragement. Rather than treating poverty abstractly, the writing grounds it in concrete details: the specific sum of rent demanded, the landlords who prey on vulnerability, 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 understands that financial precarity influences every choice in Laura’s day.
Authenticity extends beyond dialogue into the series’ narrative framework. By titling remaining episodes after the locations where Laura temporarily squats, the creators prioritise housing as the central preoccupation of her life. This formal decision transforms geography into narrative structure, 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 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 dramatic core, that the hunt for affordable housing is as compelling as any traditional narrative conflict.
- Episode titles reflect Laura’s temporary accommodation circumstances throughout Barcelona
- Housing expenses and financial obstacles form the central dramatic tension of character development
- Writing emphasises material reality over sentimental narratives about motherhood