Los Angeles, May 2, 2025 — Tina Fey’s latest venture, The Four Seasons, dropped on Netflix yesterday, and it’s already turning heads. The eight-episode comedy series, a reimagining of Alan Alda’s 1981 film of the same name, isn’t just a nostalgic nod—it’s a sharper, funnier take that’s earning praise for outshining its predecessor. Fey, who stars alongside Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, and Will Forte, has crafted a show that feels like a love letter to the original while carving its own path.
The 1981 movie, written and directed by Alda, followed three affluent couples navigating friendship and infidelity across the changing seasons. It was a hit, grossing over $50 million and spawning a short-lived CBS sitcom. But critics noted its occasional staginess—a product of Alda’s stage-to-screen approach. Fey, no stranger to ensemble comedy from her 30 Rock days, saw room to tighten the screws. On January 9, 2024, Netflix announced Fey would star in and co-create the series with her 30 Rock collaborators Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher. Production wrapped last fall, and the result is a leaner, more relatable story that keeps the heart of Alda’s film but ditches the dated bits.
The series tracks the same premise: three couples, bound by friendship, vacation together each season, but cracks form when one husband swaps his wife for a younger model. Fey plays Kate, the wry, skeptical anchor of the group, while Carell’s Danny brings a nervous energy that grounds the chaos. Domingo and Forte, as Nick and Jack, add depth to characters that felt flatter in the original. The writing snaps with Fey’s signature wit—think quick barbs and awkward silences that land like real life. Where the film leaned on broad strokes, the series digs into quieter moments, like a tense dinner where no one mentions the elephant in the room.
A major upgrade comes in the pacing. The film, at 107 minutes, sometimes dragged. The series, spread across eight 30-minute episodes, gives the story room to breathe without overstaying its welcome. Netflix’s press release on April 25, 2025, highlighted the show’s “modern lens,” and it shows: the couples grapple with aging, career pressures, and subtle class tensions that feel ripped from today’s headlines. The casting, too, is a coup. Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno, both in the original, make cameos, a nod confirmed by Fey in an April 26 interview with the Associated Press.
Fey’s team didn’t just polish the surface. They tackled the original’s weak spots head-on. The 1981 film leaned heavily on Alda’s character, sidelining others. Here, every role pops—Domingo’s Nick, for instance, gets a backstory that adds weight to his charm. The series also swaps the film’s orchestral score for a snappier soundtrack, a detail Netflix touted in its May 1 release notes. It’s these tweaks—big and small—that make the show feel fresh, not like a rehash.
Filming took place in New York and Connecticut, with exteriors capturing the same lush seasonal shifts as the original. The budget, undisclosed but described as “substantial” in a May 1 Hollywood Reporter piece, shows in the crisp production. Fey, Wigfield, and Fisher, all sitcom vets, leaned on their experience to keep the tone consistent—no small feat for a show juggling six leads.
The series landed on Netflix globally on May 1, 2025. It’s rated TV-MA for language and mild sexual content. All eight episodes are available for streaming.