The Four Seasons returned for a second season on Netflix, and honestly, I’m not surprised. Netflix has been persevering with this one, likely because it has such an incredible cast behind it that how could they not? It also came back remarkably quickly. That’s becoming one of the biggest advantages a show can have these days. Netflix has run into a real problem with series that take forever to film and even longer to return. Shows like The Four Seasons, My Life with the Walter Boys, and The Diplomat all feel like safer bets for renewal because audiences can actually count on seeing them again around the same time the following year. Some of these other shows disappear for years. If I were Netflix, I’d be terrified about the return of Three-Body Problem. Whenever that second season finally arrives, they’re going to have to spend a fortune reminding people the first season even existed. Entertainment news has been full of stories about shows declining after long breaks, so The Four Seasons feels like exactly the kind of series that benefits from avoiding that problem.
What surprises me is that this hasn’t become a bigger hit. You look at a cast that includes Tina Fey, Will Forte, Coleman Domingo, Steve Carell, and Carrie Kenney-Silver, and it feels like it should be one of Netflix’s biggest comedy successes. Instead, it’s more of a moderate performer. As much as I love Coleman Domingo, I also think the conversation around this show has become a little strange. He walked away with the Emmy nomination, but I honestly thought Carrie Kenney-Silver stole the entire second season. Coleman had more interesting material during the first season when Danny was dealing with his own personal struggles. This year, Anne’s story is the one that gives the series its emotional center, and Carrie Kenney-Silver absolutely runs with it.
The format remains exactly the same, with two episodes devoted to each season of the year, giving us an eight-episode run through spring, summer, fall, and winter, with Thanksgiving naturally landing during the fall vacation. The first couple of episodes officially say goodbye to Nick as Anne and Jenny, played by Erika Henningsen, slowly find common ground while trying to honor his memory by scattering his ashes. Anne understandably isn’t thrilled about having the much younger girlfriend of her late ex-husband tagging along on every vacation, but the relationship between the two women becomes surprisingly touching. Anne helps Jenny after the birth of her son, while Jenny gradually realizes she needs to step away from the group and build a life of her own. Anne also begins exploring romance herself, starting with a seasonal fling before meeting someone in the finale who looks poised to become a much bigger part of Season 3. Expect to see David Tennant sticking around.
Carrie Kenney-Silver goes through so many highs and lows this season that she became the primary reason I kept watching. If I’m being honest, I could have jettisoned the other two couples entirely and happily spent eight episodes following Anne as she tried to rebuild her life after everything that happened with Nick. Having to process the grief of losing her ex-husband while simultaneously dealing with his much younger girlfriend carrying his child is such an unusual emotional situation, and the writers mine a surprising amount of comedy and heartbreak out of it. The fact that Carrie Kenney-Silver didn’t receive an Emmy nomination while Coleman Domingo did is still bizarre to me.
As for everyone else, Kate and Jack, played by Tina Fey and Will Forte, continue to function as the stable center of the group, although this season tries throwing a few curveballs into their marriage. The problem is that I’ve never bought them as a couple. I think Tina Fey and Will Forte have terrific chemistry as longtime friends, but almost none as romantic partners. They honestly feel more like brother and sister than husband and wife. Maybe that’s inevitable when two performers known almost entirely for comedy have known each other for so long, but every attempt to convince me there’s some deep romantic tension between them falls flat. If anything, introducing some actual conflict into their marriage is probably the smartest thing the writers could do because at least it gives them somewhere new to go.
Danny and Claude, played by Coleman Domingo and Marco Calvani, are almost the opposite. I actually enjoy their chemistry together quite a bit. Claude remains wonderfully supportive, while Danny continues bouncing from one possible life decision to another. Should they have kids? Maybe. Should they move to Italy? Maybe. Every season it feels like they’re experiencing another midlife crisis. There’s a really touching scene near the end where Danny reflects on everything Claude has done for him and how difficult he believes he’s been throughout their relationship. I almost wish we’d seen more evidence of that side of Danny because, on screen, he’s generally likable. It feels as though he’s describing a version of himself that mostly exists between vacations instead of one we actually get to watch. Still, Marco Calvani is effortlessly charming, and I never have any complaints whenever Claude is on screen.
Steve Carell fans will also be happy to know Nick hasn’t disappeared completely. The season includes a flashback episode set during the COVID pandemic where everybody is masking, social distancing, and somehow still passing the virus around anyway. More importantly, it lets us spend time with Nick and Anne before everything completely unraveled. The first season largely jumped straight into the conflict surrounding the affair. Here we actually get to see Nick wrestling with those feelings before making his choices. He’s tempted by the possibility of another relationship, but he’s also clearly committed to Anne. It adds a little more depth to a character whose story was cut tragically short.
I do think the structure is beginning to work against the show. Since we only see these friends every few months, we’re constantly dropped into another vacation without really understanding what life looked like in between. Nobody spends much time catching up, so we simply accept that everyone has stayed close off screen. The Danny and Claude storyline about potentially moving to Italy is a good example. The group acts like it would completely change everything, but they only vacation together every few months anyway. Why would living in Europe suddenly make that impossible? The entire premise is built around people traveling. I also don’t think we talk nearly enough about how much disposable income these people must have in order to pull off four elaborate vacations every single year. Then again, maybe that’s the lesson. If something matters enough to you, you find a way to make it happen.
That uncertainty makes me wonder how long this series can realistically continue because it already feels like it’s treading water in its second season. Critics love talking about the sophomore slump, but I wasn’t completely in love with the freshman season either. Season one benefited enormously from the fallout surrounding Nick, Anne, Jenny, and Danny’s health issues. This year still succeeds largely because Anne remains such a compelling character. As the series moves forward, though, it increasingly feels like we’re simply watching Anne continue her life while everyone else searches for something meaningful to do. Kate and Jack barely feel like a real couple, so perhaps shaking up their marriage is exactly what they need.
The audio description is produced by Descriptive Video Works, written by Jeff Heck, and narrated by Jazzy Frizzle. Quite honestly, this is about as good as sitcom audio description gets. Comedies are incredibly difficult because they’re dialogue heavy, packed with sight gags, and leave very little room for description. That’s why these shows need your best writers, not people simply filling empty space because someone checked an accessibility box. Jeff Heck maximizes virtually every available pause, bringing out character reactions, physical comedy, and constantly changing environments without stepping all over the dialogue. One especially sweet moment between Nick and Anne, where they kiss through their COVID masks, landed beautifully because the description recognized how important that visual detail was. Jazzy Frizzle gives the material exactly the kind of upbeat, energetic performance a sitcom needs. This is what happens when narration is cast instead of simply assigned. Compare that to the lifeless, bargain-bin audio description found on too many other comedies, and the difference is enormous.
I’ll probably watch a third season. Honestly, I’ll probably watch ten seasons because I love this cast. But the show itself remains incredibly middle of the road. Unfortunately, we live in a world where “middle of the road” barely seems to exist anymore. If I recommend The Four Seasons, it’s almost entirely because of Carrie Kenney-Silver. Her performance is extraordinary, and the writing surrounding Anne consistently delivers the emotional highs the rest of the series struggles to find. Coleman Domingo and Marco Calvani remain enjoyable even when their storylines become messy, but I still can’t buy Tina Fey and Will Forte as a married couple. I may end up being one of the few critics who goes Rotten on this season. Carrie Kenney-Silver can’t carry the entire series forever. At some point, the writing has to become sharper, funnier, more believable, or simply more consistent. The Four Seasons was better when it was just a musical group and not a Netflix series adapted from an Alan Alda movie. Winter is coming.
Rotten: 5.7/10
