Tina Fey Reinvents Her Brand of Comedy

Tina Fey’s latest comedy, and her first major starring television role since 30 Rock, marks a shift from her typically joke-dense sitcoms. Four Seasons, a Netflix series based on the 1981 romantic comedy by Alan Alda (who makes a brief cameo here), explores the dynamics of long-term relationships among middle-aged couples, long after the spark of new love has faded and sustained effort is required to keep marriages humming.

Or not, in the case of Nick (a dashing silver fox played by Steve Carell), who kicks off the series during a spring getaway with two other couples by announcing he’s leaving his wife, Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), because she’s “given up” on their marriage and spends her nights playing app games on her iPad. The timing couldn’t be worse; Anne has secretly planned a vow renewal ceremony that same weekend.

That initial trip sets the stage for the series’ central relationships. Kate and Jack (Tina Fey and Will Forte) believe they’re the stable, happy couple, coasting along comfortably, though we quickly sense cracks beneath the surface. Danny and Claude (Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani) maintain a mostly functional open marriage, but Claude’s intense affection and concern for Danny’s health can be suffocating. So much so that Danny books extra work trips just to breathe.

The rest of the series checks in with the group during the summer, fall, and winter. Nick tries to integrate his new, younger girlfriend Ginny (Erika Henningsen) into their longtime circle, while Anne adjusts to life post-divorce. The remaining couples struggle to balance old friendships with shifting dynamics. Nick attempts to wedge Ginny into both his old friend group and himself into her younger social circle. Danny’s frustration mounts until it finally boils over. Kate and Jack, initially the observers of their friends’ unraveling relationships, eventually come face-to-face with the stagnation of their own.

Yes, it’s a comedy, but it’s also an emotionally grounded, deeply relatable look at what it takes to maintain love and friendship over decades. The themes can be heavy, but the comedy remains light and funny, and it’s perhaps the most effortlessly enjoyable show I’ve watched all year. The characters feel familiar. I saw glimpses of my own friends in them, as we navigate middle age, divorce, kids leaving home, and the quiet heroism of simply keeping things going.

And seriously: it’s funny. The cast’s chemistry is so natural, it really does feel like they’ve been vacationing together for years, weathering dramas within the group itself (Domingo, as always, is the real stand-out). Like Shrinking, the humor lands because the emotions are real and recognizable. And unlike Fey’s usual fare, the jokes are not aggressively dense and full of pop-culture references. The comedy breathes. It’s a great hang-out show — warm, insightful, and over too soon. By the final episode, I found myself hoping for just a few more hours in their company because I wasn’t ready for the vacation to end.