REVIEW: 'The Four Seasons' Is An Ensemble Dramedy Worth Your Time

This review includes spoilers for The Four Seasons.

In an era saturated with failed reboots and remakes, The Four Seasons arrives on Netflix as a welcome surprise. Inspired by Alan Alda’s 1981 film of the same name, the eight-episode series is co-created by Tina Fey (30 Rock), Lang Fisher (Never Have I Ever), and Tracey Wigfield (The Mindy Project). It follows three couples: Kate (Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani), as they take four vacations over a year, one in each season.

© Netflix

While the show opens with Jack leaving work for their spring trip, viewers never see the characters in their everyday lives. Instead, the series focuses on their travel getaways, where long-buried resentments and new emotions surface. These escapes, meant to be idyllic, begin to unravel after it's revealed that one of the couples is headed for a split.  What could have been a tired retread offers a nuanced take on changing relationships, ageing, and the passing seasons of life. It’s an honest portrayal of marriage and adult friendship, capturing the complexity of human behaviour and the reality that no one is perfect.

For many viewers, including me, the show's greatest strength is its familiar cast. Many have worked together on shows such as Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and Girls5eva or films such as Date Night. This history translates beautifully on screen thanks to their chemistry. You'd be content watching them gripe about day-to-day annoyances or argue over packing lists. Instead, the series delivers layered episodes where memories collide with midlife realisations.

Even if you don’t recognise the cast or relate to them by age, The Four Seasons is still worth watching. Despite the emotional turmoil experienced by each couple, I found myself softening to the idea of ageing and uncertainty - concepts that often feel daunting - when framed through the lens of love and friendship.

The story unfolds over two episodes per season. Spring starts deceptively light, until Nick confides in Jack and Danny that he plans to divorce Anne - a decision he hasn't yet shared with her. Anne is preparing their 25th anniversary vow renewal, though it’s clear she also has doubts. What follows is the unravelling of a long-standing friend group as they face change head-on. Carell gives a charming performance as a man entering a new phase with both bravado and uncertainty. He's infuriating and endearing in equal measure. Kenney-Silver, meanwhile, is the heart of The Four Seasons. You will ache for her as she begins to rediscover herself post-divorce.

In summer, the group, minus Anne, secretly close by in luxury, gathers at an eco-resort with Nick’s much-younger girlfriend Ginny (Erika Henningsen, who is perfectly cast). Fey’s Kate brings just the right mix of biting wit and buried insecurity, while Jack (Forte) tries to keep the peace, often unsuccessfully and in unfortunate positions. Kate’s passive-aggressive jabs and the group's awkward bonding rituals offer some of the series’ funniest moments, especially when Kate accidentally calls Ginny by her teenage daughter’s name. It's the sharpness you expect from Fey, which she excels at like no other.

By fall, the group reunites at Jack, Danny, and Kate's alma mater, where the daughters of Jack & Kate and Nick & Anne attend. The group watches Lila’s (Julia Lester) experimental play, which awkwardly mirrors their unravelling relationships and lives. Quick to call out her father and Ginny, Julia Lester shines as the angry daughter grappling with her parents’ separation. Emotions run high, loyalties falter, and Anne appears more vulnerable than anyone originally thought, particularly as her connection with Jack takes an impulsive turn. Marco Calvani emerges as a standout, thanks to his portrayal of Claude as a whirlwind of warmth and drama. His devotion to Danny is equally as overbearing as it is touching and hilarious, stealing nearly every scene he’s in. It helps that Colman Domingo is his scene partner, who bounces off him with a calmness most will envy.

It's winter that pulls the characters into reflection. As the group celebrate the New Year, Nick finally becomes more than the guy having a midlife crisis. Steve Carell draws out surprising tenderness that conveys the importance of friendship and togetherness alongside the importance of being present. The series has a quiet, heartfelt conclusion that allows space for ambiguity, growth, and a flicker of hope for the future. It’s a goodbye that calls for more, should Netflix allow.

Through all the drama, the show’s true emotional centre is Kate and Jack. Fey and Forte bring a lived-in familiarity to their roles, and their journey toward marital honesty is as touching as it is relatable. Despite a drunken mistake, Jack is the gentlest husband in the group, which makes the couples’ bickering even more layered and cathartic.

That said, the series isn’t without its flaws. Most notably, the green screen work becomes increasingly distracting as the characters travel further afield, pulling viewers out of otherwise emotionally grounded moments. However, it’s forgivable when the writing is this enjoyable and the cast this compelling.

What makes The Four Seasons so special is how it re-frames the everyday trials of marriage and friendship as moments worth treasuring, if only we paused to see them in a new light. Whether married, divorced, or somewhere in between, you’ll see yourself in this group of friends.

Rating: ★★★★☆

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About The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons © Netflix

Premiere Date: May 1, 2025

Episode Count: 8

Executive Producer/Showrunner: Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, Tracey Wigfield, David Miner, Eric Gurian, Jeff Richmond

Writer: Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, Tracey Wigfield, Josh Siegal, Dylan Morgan, Vali Chandrasekaran, Matt Whitaker, John Riggi, Lisa Muse Bryant

Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Oz Rodriguez, Jeff Richmond, Colman Domingo, Lang Fisher

Production: Little Stranger Inc., Original Langster, Big Wig Productions, Universal Television

Distribution: Netflix

Cast: Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Will Forte, Erika Henningsen

Synopsis: The decades-long friendship between three married couples is tested when one divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways.