Alan Alda (The West Wing and M*A*S*H), a TV legend, wrote and directed The Four Seasons (1981), a romantic comedy that was very successful nearly 45 years ago. Tina Fey has basically adapted that film into this series. Fey is becoming a TV legend in her own right, having been a significant part of Saturday Night Live (1975) and the creation of her own shows like 30 Rock (2006) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015). If one watched those shows, you know that Fey's style is zany and wacky with over-the-top ridiculous characters and over-the-top ridiculous situations occurring. Her characters can often be live-action cartoons. Fey created this series with writers she's employed before, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield. One might expect another zany and wacky story, or something in that usual tone. However, one would be wrong. This is probably one of the most grounded works Fey has produced in years.
Fey stars as Kate, a married woman who has been friends with two other couples since college, which means that they've probably all been friends for the better part of 20 year or more. It seems like she and her friends live somewhat separate lives, but apparently four times a year the couples vacation together whether for a weekend or longer. This series depicts those vacations and how their relationships evolve over the year. It's basically an examination of people who are Generation X, who are approaching middle age and what that can look like.
Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine and The 40-Year-Old Virgin) co-stars as Nick, the husband to Kate's friend, Anne, and father to Anne's daughter. He and Anne own a lake house, which is where the couples vacation in the spring. The spring vacation is important because it's Nick and Anne's wedding anniversary. It's meant to be a celebration, but what Nick secretly reveals is that he's planning to divorce Anne.
That decision causes a cascade that affects the friendships moving forward. It also makes all the others think about their own spouses and if their marriages are ones that can or should sustain, and if so, how? For Nick, his how is indulging in youthful things. He wants to have fun and do physical things or energetic things. He's bored in his marriage, literally because Anne, played by Kerri Kenney-Silver (Reno 911! and The Ellen Show), is very settled and wants to relax and be retired in effect. Anne feels the oldest of all of them, despite being the same age of mid 50's.
Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing and Rustin) also co-stars as Danny, another college friend of Kate. In fact, Danny used to date Kate before coming out as gay, or preferring to date men. Danny is currently married to a man named Claude, played by Marco Calvani, an Italian immigrant who is aggressively optimist and rather happy-go-lucky. It's revealed that Danny has health issues and actually needs some kind of surgery to treat a heart condition. Danny is very nonchalant about it, whereas Claude becomes exaggerated in tending to Danny's medical or healthcare, which annoys Danny to extreme degrees.
Will Forte (MacGruber and Saturday Night Live) rounds out the cast as Jack, the husband to Kate. He's feeling disconnected from Kate lately. They don't seem to have much of a sex life or not one that is satisfactory for Jack. Kate is feeling disconnected mainly because he's not the best communicator. He's also not the best with confronting people and negotiating things. He probably gets the funniest material of everyone. His awkward reactions and silent frustrations or freak-outs are always good comedic moments from Forte.
There's only one true scene that is out and out ridiculous. It's a scene involving a student play at a college theater. A moment where there's an explosion is close to that tone too. Otherwise, a lot of this show is straight-forward and what is great about Fey is that she can identify the humor in straight-forward and everyday things. One thing in particular is what happens when a man who has been your friend for decades and his wife who has been your friend for as long divorce and how you navigate vacations where one brings a new partner and how that new partner can or cannot be integrated into the friend group.
The structure of this show is limiting in that we only see these characters during their seasonal vacations or weekends when they all gather. For example, Danny and Claude reference friends they have outside of this specific friend group. The same must be true of Kate and Jack, as well as Nick and Anne. We're led to think this group is each other's best friends, but Danny and Claude's reference suggest otherwise. Due to the show's structure, that can't really be questioned or examined. It feels like there's an aspect to these people that's missing. A narrow window exists here, but all the performances are so lovely that they all make it work.
Rated TV-MA-LS.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 8 eps.
Available on Netflix.