THE STORY – The decades-long friendship between three married couples is tested when one divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways.
THE CAST – Tina Fey, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani, Erika Henningsen, Colman Domingo & Steve Carell
THE TEAM – Tina Fey, Lang Fisher & Tracey Wigfield (Creators)
Tina Fey and her impeccably assembled ensemble are back – mostly. The first season stuck relatively closely to the plot of the original 1981 film of the same name, but extending into a second season left creators Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield with a blank slate. With some stark differences to the film finalizing the first season – and removing power player Steve Carell from the lineup – we were left wondering if the missing holes could and would be filled, and the unevenness in plot balanced. But in Tina Fey we trust – it’s a lesson I keep having to learn, and once again, she delivered.
The end of season one brought the shocking death of Steve Carell’s Nick – a man so deep in his midlife crisis he was leaving his wife for his pregnant girlfriend. Season two picks up a few months after his death, with the core five – plus Ginny (Erika Henningsen), Nick’s heavily pregnant but somehow very energetic girlfriend – attempting to spread his ashes off a mountain in the spring. Nick’s ex-wife, Anne, played by the dryly funny Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Ginny are secretly feuding over Nick’s finances while trying to play it cool in front of their friends. Claude (Marco Calvani) and Danny (Colman Domingo) are doing well, but not for long, when the topic of children gets brought up. And Kate (Tina Fey) is dealing with comforting Jack (Will Forte), who’s outwardly taking the death of his friend the hardest out of the group.
The group dynamics change the further they’re removed from Nick’s death, with regular 50-something-year-old problems creeping back into scope. Kate and Jack’s continuous see-sawing of their relationship status is reminiscent of season one and quickly becomes stale in season two. Danny and Claude seem to be at crossroads at a few points in the year, but their character growth in each helps resolve issues more quickly and healthily. Danny’s once rock-solid relationship with Kate, a highlight of both seasons, gets tested this year, while Fey and Domingo’s chemistry remains steady. The biggest change so far is thrusting Anne into the spotlight – she’s single, an empty nester, and looking for a sense of purpose. Kenney-Silver never allows us to pity Anne, leaning on her wit and charm to balance the audience’s sympathy for a woman seeking her next purpose in life.
While my critiques of the first season focus on shallow storytelling, especially between the seasons depicted in the show, season two addresses those concerns. In season one, we visited the three couples every three or so months, but the pacing made it seem like nothing had happened in between. Season two advances not only the plot but also character development seamlessly across episodes and seasons. The stakes are certainly lower this year, leaving the friends to wallow in the aftermath of a major death. However, the lightness and humor from season one have dulled with Nick’s death, leaving the show to depict more of life’s hard times than the banality of middle age. The underlying sense of grief is felt throughout, weighing down the season with a sense of heaviness, but balanced by funnier one-liners and line readings from veteran performers. The humor overall is a bit more muted than the first season, but the drama is more enticing. The banter amongst the friends is less congruous, but the acting and consistent storytelling still make for a bingeable watch.
The ensemble itself is the draw here, and the performances continue to shine. Coleman Domingo serving looks, judgment, and sarcastic one-liners to all of his friends never gets old. Tina Fey’s comedic timing remains impeccable, but I’d wish she gave her character more humor to work with beyond being the crutch for her emotional husband. Will Forte certainly has more in him to give, but Jack’s rarely the comedic relief in this series, much to its detriment. And Kenney-Silver’s focus in this season is met with dry humor and grace, a welcome addition to the second season.
The world itself is worth stepping into – these characters appear to have it all on the surface: money, family, a good group of friends, and ample vacation days. They venture to exotic destinations, a seventh character that’s worth exploring in each episode as well. But if you dig deeper, long-term relationships are never perfect, which is what “The Four Seasons” seeks to explore. The older we get, the less unexpected death is, but the less malleable our lives are. The exploration of moving forward and leaning on the ones you love is a theme revisited in storytelling over and over again, this time with a bit more of the Tina Fey humor and charm we’ve all come to love.
THE GOOD – An ensemble of comedic geniuses coming together rarely disappoints. The unevenness in pacing from season one is addressed in season two for an easy, bingeable watch.
THE BAD – Weighed down by grief, the season has a much heavier narrative tone than expected in a comedy.
THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
THE FINAL SCORE – 6/10
