Tina Fey in “The Four Seasons.”
Tina Fey’s new Netflix comedy series The Four Seasons — starring Fey and Steve Carell — is a big hit on the streamer. Is there are chance it will come back for a second season?
The Four Seasons, which began streaming on May 1, is based on the classic 1981 movie of the same name from writer-director Alan Alda.
The official summary for the series reads, “Six old friends head for a relaxing weekend away only to learn that one couple in the group is about to split up. The three couples, Kate (Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani), are completely upended by the news.”
The Four Seasons, which consists of eight episodes, debuted at No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 Global TV Shows chart on Tuesday with 51.1 million hours viewed, which equates to 11.9 million views. What makes The Four Seasons’ numbers even more remarkable is that since the series didn’t debut until May 1, it accumulated the viewing hours after being available to stream for viewers for only four days.
Naturally, when a show has a big debut like The Four Seasons, it begs the question of whether there will be a second season of the series.
As of this publication, a second season has not yet been announced, although some major developments in the series at least give viewers a look at how a second season would differ from the first. In addition, the series’ trio of creators are on-board with the idea of bringing the series back.
Note: The next section contains major spoilers from Season 1 of “The Four Seasons.”
How Would The Four Seasons Season 2 Differ From The First?
Perhaps the biggest change for a second season would be that co-creators Tina Fey, Fisher and Tracey Wigfield — who worked with Fey on 30 Rock — would be entering into previously uncharted territory with the story.
After all, the series follows the plot of Alan Alda’s movie The Four Seasons, even though there are major changes — especially regarding the fate of one of the core characters.
Note: Major spoliers ahead.
It happens in Episode 7 of The Four Seasons when Nick (Steve Carell) — the ex-husband of Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver) — dies in a car accident. Exacerbating the loss is the eventual revelation that Nick’s new love, Ginny (Erika Henningsen), is pregnant.
The big difference between the TV version and Alda’s film version is that Nick (Len Cariou) and Ginny (Bess Armstrong) are pregnant, but Nick doesn’t die.
Explaining the crucial creative decision to kill off Nick, Wigfield told TV Line in a May 1 interview that she, Fey and Fisher wanted the series version of The Four Seasons to reflect real life both good and bad.
“We thought about killing Nick for a long time because it’s a big move. It’s not a move that’s in the movie, but [the show] does have the stakes of real life,” Wigfield told TV Line. “And when you are friends with people for 20 years, they see you through the good and the bad. They’re with you through everybody getting married, they’re with you for parents dying, and sometimes when a friend dies.”
As such, a second season of The Four Seasons — which at this time is being classified as a mini-series — would not only take Carell’s Nick out of the equation, it would saddle Fey and her collaborators to find a way to move the story forward in a meaningful and sensible way.
One idea, Wigfield told TV Line, would be to involve the same group of friends and work Ginny into the continuing storyline.
“We’d want Ginny to really be tied in there because she and Anne are going to have children who are siblings,” Wigfield told TV Line. “And it just gives us a lot to play with in their relationship.”
One positive development for a second season for The Four Seasons is that Fey, Wigfield and Fisher aren’t wasting any time in discussing where the show goes from here.
“We’re going to start talking next week, the three of us,” Fey told Variety in a May 2 interview. “We’ll see.”
Expanding on her thoughts from the TV Line interview about a potential second season, Wigfield told Variety, “I think the heart of our show is this group of friends, and obviously there will be a little bit of a change in that. There’s no Nick, and Ginny’s pulled in whatever way that she is.
“But I think I’m looking forward to the opportunity to look at these couples … what is the next thing that you’re going through?” Wigfield added. “And what are more things that kind of can throw your relationship for a loop in bad and good ways?”
All eight episodes of The Four Seasons are streaming on Netflix.
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