Netflix’s ‘The Four Seasons’ Assembles A Cast Of Comedy Veterans In This Modern Remake Of A Classic ’80s Film By A Beloved Sitcom Star
It’s obvious that when you get Tina Fey, Will Forte, Steve Carell, and Colman Domingo to share a screen you are going to have a hit on your hands, and somehow we were lucky enough to get an entire mini-series for this remake of 1981 film The Four Seasons, originally written and directed by legendary M*A*S*H star, Alan Alda, who features in a cameo in the new Netflix production.
The title ties into the series in ever way you can imagine (except that unfortunate Trump press conference at a landscaping firm), following a group of six tight-knit friends who regularly vacation together (the hospitality angle) and are rocked by an unexpected divorce, in a story told across the span of four literal seasons, and underscored by Vivaldi’s concerto of the same name.
Fey is credited as a creator and executive producer along with 30 Rock alums Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield. It’s a thoughtful and poignant examination of love, partnership, and friendship that depicts the realities of a group in their fifties, but does so in a way that feels universal. We all have opinions of our friends and their partners. We know that bitching is bound to occur when planning a group vacation for people with different tastes and preferences. The writing creates a dynamic and rapport we readily recognize from our own friendships.
Maybe the off-screen decades-long relationships between cast-members makes the friendships that much more believable, because even though these are huge stars we almost can’t separate from their characters, they come across as very human and relatable (maybe except for their vacation and home improvement budgets). We’ve all been in those tough situations where we want to have a difficult conversation with someone we love, or have to navigate a breakup between two friends, and it’s the sincerity with which these topics are approached where The Four Seasons finds its best comedy.
The streaming giant also offers customers the chance to stream the original film, which I’m sure many will want to watch for themselves after finishing the mini-series. It’s so well-written and relatable, it’s hard not to want to pay our respects to the original concept in it’s purest forms. And who doesn’t want to admire all the great ’80s vacation styles? Check out both versions for yourself, available now on Netflix.