Now streaming on Netflix, The Four Seasons is an emotionally honest miniseries that dropped on May 1, 2025. Rated 18+, the show is a modern spin on the 1981 film and follows three longtime couples who’ve made it a tradition to vacation together every season. But things get messy when one suddenly shows up with a much younger girlfriend.
Created by Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield, and starring Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Marco Calvani, it’s a witty and touching look at friendship, ageing, and how time changes everything, sometimes whether we like it or not, just like the seasons.
The Premise
The Four Seasons is a dramedy that follows three couples—Katherine and Jack, Danny and Claude, Nick and Anne—who’ve been friends for years. Everything seems great as they head into a spring lake house vacation to celebrate Nick and Anne’s 25th anniversary. But instead of a toast, Nick drops a shocker: he’s divorcing Anne. That single moment becomes the thread unravelling everyone else’s relationships too.
By summer, Nick has brought along his new girlfriend Ginny, who’s over 20 years younger, and naturally, the group is left cringing through awkwardness and forced smiles. When Anne unexpectedly shows up at the resort too (maybe to spy, maybe to move on—hard to say), the trip ends with everyone piled into her hotel room, questioning their life choices.
Fall brings them all to Nick’s daughter Lila’s school play. Let’s just say the drama doesn’t stay on stage—Lila turns her family’s divorce into a theatrical takedown. She roasts her dad, his girlfriend, and their broken home right on stage, calling Ginny a “stupid bitch” for the Intro, leaving everyone horrified.
And it’s not just Nick and Anne crumbling. Meanwhile, cracks widen in the other couples: Katherine feels taken for granted, Jack feels underappreciated, and Danny has taken a three-month break from Claude just to breathe away from his husband’s clinginess.
The final season, winter, brings a tragedy no one saw coming. It almost breaks them completely, but instead forces everyone to pause, reflect, and figure out what (and who) matters. The Four Seasons is less about fancy vacations, but a tender reminder that relationships, romantic or platonic, take work, honesty, and a little grace. It’s less about the passing of time and more about what happens to us as it passes.
Casts and Performances
Tina Fey, who also co-directed the series, leads as Katherine, portraying a woman grappling with emotional distance in her marriage. Will Forte plays her husband Jack with a calm, sometimes clueless charm that fits the character perfectly.
Steve Carell steps into the role of Nick, the man who sparks the group’s chaos. He plays it with restraint, no over-the-top comedy here, just dry wit and emotion. Kerri Kenney-Silver, as his ex-wife Anne, delivers a mix of quiet devastation and dry humour that makes you root for her.
Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani portray Danny and Claude, a couple whose relationship is fraying despite the surface-level affection. Domingo, in particular, captures the weariness of someone craving space. Calvani’s Claude is endearing, albeit suffocating.
Erika Henningsen rounds out the cast as Ginny, Nick’s much-younger girlfriend. She plays the role with just enough awkward innocence and charm to avoid being a caricature.
Together, the cast works. The couples feel believable, the group dynamic is cohesive, and the humor comes not from punchlines, but from honest, sharp dialogue and smart situational comedy.
What I Liked
One of the things I genuinely appreciated about The Four Seasons was how it used the actual seasons to frame the story. It wasn’t just a clever title, it served as a timeline that allowed us to witness the shifts, growth, and unraveling within this group of friends throughout the year. That structure gave the show a natural rhythm and made the unfolding drama feel more grounded.
I also really enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. Their friendship felt lived-in, layered with years of history, inside jokes, and tension just beneath the surface. For a comedy-drama, the show did a solid job balancing humor with emotional depth. Some moments were genuinely jaw-dropping, especially in the early episodes, and kept me curious about what would happen next.
While some aspects felt a bit surface-level, the series still managed to deliver an engaging and reflective viewing experience.
Weak Points
The Four Seasons was four hours long and stretched across eight episodes, using two episodes per ‘season’, but honestly, it felt like overkill. The same story could’ve been told more efficiently in four tighter, hour-long episodes, like Adolescents, which managed to deliver in the same time. The Four Seasons somehow felt even longer, and started to lose its pacing at the later episodes.
Also, while it was clear that this group of friends lived comfortably, possibly even lavishly, there was barely any exploration of that aspect. Their wealth seemed more like a background prop than something meaningful. I get that the focus was on their emotional journeys and relationship dynamics, but without any deeper layers the whole thing came off a bit too superficial.
Final Thoughts
The Four Seasons may not hit every emotional note perfectly, but it has its moments. It’s a story about people trying to hold it together; marriages, friendships, even their own sense of self, and while some parts feel stretched or a bit shallow, there’s still something real underneath. The performances carry it, the humour is subtle, and it reminds you that even in the prettiest seasons, life can get messy. It’s not perfect, but it lingers in a quiet, thoughtful way.
Rating
I would rate The Four Seasons 4 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen The Four Seasons? What did you think about the characters, their choices, or the seasonal storytelling? Let’s chat!
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