A still from ‘The Four Seasons’ Season 2.
| Photo Credit: Netflix/YouTube
They are back, bickering and joking while trying to deal with the fallout of aging, depression, loneliness and death. An adaptation of Alan Alda’s 1981 film of the same name by Tina Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, The Four Seasons follows the lives of three couples who have been friends forever.The Four Seasons (English, Season 2)Creators: Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, Tracey WigfieldStarring: Tina Fey, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani, Erika Henningsen, Colman Domingo, Steve CarellRuntime: 8 Episodes (27-35 minutes)Storyline: The five friends try to deal with Nick’s death in different ways while working through life decisionsThere is organiser Kate (Tina Fey), her husband, Jack (Will Forte), who is a teacher, Danny (Colman Domingo), an architect, and his husband, Claude (Marco Calvani), Nick (Steve Carell), a hedge fund manager, and his wife, Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver).The friends get together four times a year in spring, summer, fall, and winter. Nick first upsets the group dynamic when he decides to leave Anne for Ginny (Erika Henningsen), a dental hygienist who is much younger than him. Season 2 deals with the effects of Nick’s death in an accident on his friends and the group’s attempts to move on.Ginny is pregnant with Nick’s child, and because Nick dragged his feet on signing the divorce papers, Anne has custody of his assets. Jack seems the worst affected by Nick’s death, while Anne does not know whether she is angry with Nick, hates Ginny, or wants to help her out, as she (Anne) is basically a nice person.From Jack insisting that the group does a punishing hike to disperse Nick’s ashes to insisting that Kate run the marathon, Jack does not seem to know what to do with his grief. Kate’s constant checking on Jack puts him under further pressure to get better.Kate realises she misses Danny and her 19-year-old self when they get lost on the way to church and try to break into a public toilet.Kate’s attempt to climb in headfirst ends in a fall, and the laughter that follows eases the tension between Danny and her while allowing him to admit how unsettled the move to Italy has made him, where even police cars are Lamborghinis. Danny feels he owes this to Claude, who has always been the one making the adjustments.Anne also suffers from an identity crisis as she knew her wild, younger self, later as Nick’s wife and Lila’s mum, but is now at a loose end. She wonders if she actually is like La Befana, the witch from Italian folklore that everyone seems to compare her with. She wonders if she, like La Befana, did not leave when she should have, on learning of Nick’s unfaithfulness. Even her summer fling with Mark Brett (Steven Pasquale) has her taking many steps back for the few she takes forward. The flashback episode during the pandemic is rooted in time and unsettling because that was too real for comfort in this gentle, shiny show, where death happens off screen and no one is really evil. Like Season 1, Season 2 is also predictable and slightly over the top (that gunman in the motel!) but still very engaging.Who would not want to watch some very talented actors hang out and secretly wish we could be as cool, well dressed and living in beautiful homes like these people? David Tennant’s appearance in the finale signals hope for Anne as well as for further seasons. And there is always Vivaldi and his glorious violin concerti celebrating the four seasons.The Four Seasons is currently streaming on Netflix Published - June 01, 2026 02:59 pm IST
