Max Ferraro is a recurring character on One Day at a Time. He is portrayed by Ed Quinn.
Physical Appearance
Max has dark brown hair. He has stubble on his upper lip and chin. He is seen wearing casual clothing such as shirts and jeans.
Personality
Max seems to have a laid-back personality.
Bio
Max is an old friend of Penelope's. In "To Zir, With Love" she finds out he was recently divorced as well while she is training as a nurse practitioner.
Storyline
Season 2
In "To Zir, With Love," Penelope is on her first day of training as a nurse practitioner.
She runs into one of her old friends named Max. He asks about Victor and she tells him that they are divorced. He tells her that he's divorced too. Max tells her that hey should get together after work sometime and catch up. Penelope tells him that she doesn't have time for a social life right now.
Penelope runs into Max again at the hospital. She's very mean to him and he asks why she's being mean to him. She says she doesn't know. They end up sleeping together.
In "Roots," Penelope is on the phone with Max when Alex walks in.
In "Locked Down," Penelope rushes the family out of the apartment because Max is coming over. Max arrives and they begin to make out when a helicopter flies over the building. It instructs everyone to get back into the building causing Penelope's family to return to the apartment. She quickly hides Max in Lydia's room and lets them in.
Schneider arrives with a survival bag and asks if he can stay in the apartment with them. Penelope pulls Schneider aside and tells him about Max being the apartment.
Penelope and Schneider try to get Max out of the apartment but Lydia ends up seeing him. Schneider pretends that Max is his sponsor from AA. Lydia invites him to stay for dinner.
Later, Penelope apologizes to Max about the night and he says that she has nothing to apologize for. Schneider asks Max to go to lunch with him. Lydia tells Max that she hopes the woman he's dating realizes what she has. Penelope tells Max that she'd like to see him again and Max agrees.
Season 4
In "Checking Boxes," Penelope scared that she's going to die alone after talking to Lydia, which she discusses the next day at her therapy group. The group thinks Penelope misses Max and all of the other members point out she brings him up frequently, referring to him as her best relationship. Penelope then says it's not that.
Ramona sets Penelope up on a date with a guy she works with, but the whole time she keeps having visions of Max shirtless in place of her actual date and it causes her to act strangely in public.
After her bad date, Penelope comes to Schneider for advice, who thinks she should reconnect with Max. She tells him she will visit the hospital Max works at and try to reconnect with him.
In "Boundaries," it is revealed that Max has returned from Indonesia when he comes over to the Alverz home after running into Lydia at the grocery store.
He tells Penelope that Lydia overshared about a lot of things. They both admit they missed each other. They start kissing and Schneider walks in and is also happy to see Max is back and tries to high-five Penelope, who swats his hand away and grunts trying to indicate she wants to be left alone to continue kissing Max. However, Schnider misunderstands and thinks she is sharing his enthusiasm for Max's return.
In "One Halloween at a Time," the episode begins in Max's bedroom. Penelope and Max are lying in bed and Penelope questions if they have gotten better at sex since getting back together. Max then replies they have to give credit to the knee brace she gave him as it is a game-changer. Penelope then laughs at this, saying they should get ready for Halloween.
Max then jokingly suggests they should blow off the whole costume thing. He then says Penelope is already a sexy nurse. She gives him a peck on the lips and jokes back that's demeaning, as she is now a nurse practitioner.
Max then says he can't wait. He walks to the restroom and flirtatiously tells Penelope he has to give her something in the shower. Penelope sits up in bed and while gazing into the distance gives thanks to God for that knee brace.
Penelope returns home and Lydia tells her she knows Penelope and Max were having sex. Penelope then says she and Max were being innocent by knitting sweaters and reading the Bible and she has no idea what Lydia is talking about. Lydia then questions her daughter about what's wrong with her as she would have broken Max down like a cardboard box if she had been in Penelope's position.
Later, everyone is gone but Penelope and Lydia. Penelope answers her phone. Max is calling and she asks what he's wearing. Max is seen wearing orange rubber gloves. He then explains it's he's wearing rubber but not in a fun way, as he was just cleaning his bathroom.
Lydia takes the trash out, but a hole rips in the bag and she starts picking stuff up. Penelope then tells Max she can't wait to see him. Lydia then picks up a pink box and it winds up being a pregnancy test. Max then tells her he can't wait to see her and tells her he is on his way over. He then questions if Penelope has enough candy. Penelope says she's positive they do and Lydia mistakenly thinks she's referring to the pregnancy test, believing her daughter is pregnant and she can't hear Max over the phone. Max then once again asks Penelope if she's sure and he could pick up candy on the way if necessary.
Penelope then says she is 100% sure, causing Lydia's jaw to drop. Max then asks if Penelope wants to come over to his place instead of handing out candy all night and Penelope asks what does he think she'll do, leave the basket outside. Lydia then puts her hand on her chest in disgust. Penelope then says that's not how she was raised.
Later, Penelope, wearing her costume, opens the door to Max, who is wearing his costume. They are dressed as the characters Sandy and Danny from Grease. They perform a dance move from the film. Max then asks if it's weird that he's really attracted to Penelope even though she's technically dressed as a high-school girl. Penelope then says every teen in that movie was pushing forty. Instead of zits, they were worried about liver spots. She then gives Max a kiss.
Penelope then says it's time for them to get romantic with wine. Someone then knocks on the door. Penelope and Max then get excited over the first trick-or-treaters showing up. Max answers and Doctor Berkowitz enters wearing his Beast costume from Beauty and the Beast. Lydia opens her curtain, wearing a Belle costume. Penelope then compliments them on doing a couples' costume. Lydia then says she never saw the movie. She thought it was about a beautiful woman and her pet dog in a tuxedo. She then asks to see Doctor Berkowitz in the kitchen.
Lydia goes to the kitchen with him. When they are out of sight, Lydia shows him the pregnancy test. Doctor Berkowitz then gets on one knee. He then says he will raise the baby as his own. Lydia then says the baby is not hers. Relieved, he says he can't raise a baby.
Lydia then tells him she thinks Penelope is pregnant. Doctor Berkowitz then asks if Max knows about this. Lydia says she thinks that is what they are talking about right now. Closing the shutter, she says they deserve privacy. She then says they're not going to get it, but they deserve it.
Penelope then says it's time for them to get romantic with wine. Someone then knocks on the door. Penelope and Max then get excited over the first trick-or-treaters showing up. Max answers and Doctor Berkowitz enters wearing his Beast costume from Beauty and the Beast. Lydia opens her curtain, wearing a Belle costume. Penelope then compliments them on doing a couples' costume. Lydia then says she never saw the movie. She thought it was about a beautiful woman and her pet dog in a tuxedo. She then asks to see Doctor Berkowitz in the kitchen.
Lydia goes to the kitchen with him. When they are out of sight, Lydia shows him the pregnancy test. Doctor Berkowitz then gets on one knee. He then says he will raise the baby as his own. Lydia then says the baby is not hers. Relieved, he says he can't raise a baby.
Lydia then tells him she thinks Penelope is pregnant. Doctor Berkowitz then asks if Max knows about this. Lydia says she thinks that is what they are talking about right now. Closing the shutter, she says they deserve privacy. She then says they're not going to get it, but they deserve it.
Penelope closes the door. She then declares once the thirty-year-old Spongebob comes around, it's time to close up shop. Max then says they did it and says he had fun. He then thanks Penelope for having him over.
Penelope then says when Alex said he was done trick-or-treating, she realized a part of her life was ending, but—she guesses another part is beginning. Max says it sounds like they should make a toast. Penelope then says they should toast to new beginnings as they clink glasses.
Lydia then comes in and says Chardonnay is not for babies. Penelope then asks what she means and what is happening. Lydia then accuses Penelope of being pregnant. Max also questions this. Penelope denies this. Lydia holds up the pregnancy test. Both Lydia and Max ask her to explain. Penelope once again states she isn't pregnant. Doctor Berkowitz then questions if no one is pregnant. Lydia then says somebody is pregnant, according to the trash.
Penelope then questions Lydia finding a pregnancy test in their trash can. Lydia then questions if it could be Elena's and if she fell off the wagon. Penelope then says no, she really loves the wagon. They conclude it must be Alex's.
Penelope and Max are standing on the front porch. Penelope knocks on the door, then rings the doorbell. Nora's parents, Melba and Ramón answer with a bowl of candy.
Later, Penelope, Alex, and Max arrive home. The pregnancy test is revealed to belong to Avery who threw it in the trash as she was unsure how Schneider would react. The family congratulates her and Schneider hugs her and tells her he's happy.
In "Supermoon," Penelope then tells Alex and Elena that Max is coming over and he is excited to show her the moon. Penelope then says she told Max it was just a moon. Thinking their mother might be proposed to by Max Elena says she's not sure about how she feels about Penelope going up to the roof to look at the moon and Alex says this may be the last time Penelope may get a chance to look at the moon.
Penelope leaves and Elena says she's freaking out that Penelope is being proposed to on the roof. Alex tells her that Max makes her happy when Elena asks how he feels about it. Elena then says Max maybe the best choice as far as cis-white men go.
Penelope then re-enters and Alex questions if she will go to look at the moon wearing sweatpants. Penelope then questions if there is some sort of supermoon dress code. Alex says there isn't but advises her to put on a little lipstick instead of the pudding she stole from the earthquake kit. Penelope tells him she'll replace it.
Elena then says a woman shouldn't have to dress up just to satisfy a cultural ideal created by men for men. Penelope then says exactly and Elena adds that tonight is an exception. Max shows up at the door and asks Penelope if she's ready to go. She tells him she is. Alex tells Penelope she has his and Elena's blessing and Elena tells him he's the best white guy. Both Penelope and Max stare at the kids like their crazy.
Max and Penelope are then out on the roof. Penelope then sees the decorations and says they look nice. Then with sudden realization, she realizes Max may have set all this up for a marriage proposal. Penelope then out loud says no. Max starts to say something saying while she thinks the set up that night is perfect for a marriage proposal she's not interested in getting married again.
Max then tells her that's cool and she comments that he bounces back fast.
Max then tells her he didn't do all this and he wasn't planning on proposing. He was saying all he wanted was to get some with Penelope under the light of the supermoon. Penelope says that she likes his idea and they should do it. Max then questions why she put on a "one-woman show" and said no to his non-proposal. Penelope explains that she loves him very much but she made a vow not to get married because she didn't want to put her kids through the pain of divorce again. Also, she can't have someone come into her home and risk having it torn apart again.
Max then tells her it's OK and he understands. Penelope then says he's so sweet and charming. Also, he's great with her family and drives her crazy. He is perfect for her and the husband she never wants to marry. Max tells her that's something he never thought he would want to hear. Penelope laughs and they kiss.
Penelope then asks Max it's not like he wants to get married anyway with his job requiring him to travel frequently and therefore having to be gone a couple of months at a time. Max then tells her they need to talk about his job.
Max then explains he needed to get out of the city because everything there reminded him of Penelope and then he fell in love with his job. He then asks Penelope he can't promise her when the job will end and she tells him that's her dream. Max then tells her it's his dream also splitting his times between his two loves Penelope and dysentery.
Penelope then laughs and kisses him. She then says Max is her supermoon. Every couple of months, he comes around and lights things up. Max then stands up, gets on one knee. He fake proposes to Penelope, saying "Penelope, will you agree to never live together, never take my name, never file joint taxes, but hang out with me a lot when both of us want to?" Penelope says she hates that they're on the same eye level but gives him an enthusiastic yes.
Elena and Alex are back on the roof thinking she is saying yes to an actual proposal. They congratulate Penelope and welcome Max to the family. They then join in a brief group hug. Elena then asks if she can be Penelope's person of honor and Penelope says she and Max are not getting married. Alex questions if it was the sweatpants. Penelope then explains she and Max love each other very much and they are deeply committed to each other but they're never getting married. She emphasizes the "never" and Max says they get it.
Elena then questions who did it if it wasn't Max and if it wasn't them then who did it because something romantic is going down. They hear footsteps and Penelope says someone's coming. It turns out to be Dr.Berkowitz and Lydia. They reveal that they had the roof decorated to bury Berto Riera's ashes. The Alvarezes take turns scooping Berto's ashes from the urn into the garden and they all say a few words in remembrance.
Trivia
- In "One Halloween at a Time," it's revealed he took German in high school.