Everybody’s favorite group of funny friends is at a crossroads in the trailer for Season 2 of The Four Seasons. In the wake of Nick’s (Steve Carell) death, Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), Kate (Tina Fey), Jack (Will Forte), Danny (Colman Domingo), and Claude (Marco Calvani) continue their tradition of travel, while also setting out to make new traditions — with a baby (or two?) in tow. Pick back up where you left off with the trailer, only on Tudum, before The Four Seasons returns on May 28.
“We used Nick’s passing to launch us into this season, because he really loomed so large,” says co-creator Lang Fisher. “When you lose someone who’s a real fixture, the group tends to lose its center.”
But even before Nick’s death, the sixsome was going through some changes. In Season 1 of The Four Seasons, based on Alan Alda’s 1981 film, Nick tells the group he’s leaving Anne. Not long after, he starts dating his dental hygienist, Ginny (Erika Henningsen), who does her best to ingratiate herself with the at-times stubborn, tight-knit crew. The season ended on a wintry cliff-hanger: Ginny tells the group that she’s pregnant.
Figuring out what this next chapter will look like turns out to be a bit messier and more chaotic than expected. Season 2 sees Jack struggle to adjust to life without Nick, and cling to their traditions in an effort to stymie the change. Kate, too, is scared of how the group has changed, and hasn’t quite figured out how to communicate that to her buddies. “Kate and Jack struggle with how to show up for your partner when you are also struggling,” says co-creator Tracey Wigfield. “Jack’s trying to make every get-together a celebration of Nick, and trying to fill in for his friend who died.”
Has Anne reclaimed her joie de vivre? A quick glimpse of her sharing a kiss with a mystery brunette on the beach might say so. “When you have a relationship later in life, you’re not choosing a father for a baby; you’re just having a relationship, and you might choose someone very different,” says Fey.
But her dynamic with Ginny seems less breezy: After she reveals that she traded Nick’s boat for two donkeys, it becomes apparent that she might not be the most financially savvy person to handle Nick’s estate. And with Ginny about to become a single mom, she needs some help. “Nick’s death allows for a new relationship between Ginny and Anne that wouldn’t have happened if he were alive,” says Wigfield. “It was fun to find ways in which these dynamics wouldn’t have shifted if not for Nick’s dying. There’s a midlife crisis feeling, but it’s amplified.”
Danny and Claude face a big question of their own: After years of going back and forth, Danny tells Claude he wants to have a baby. “Danny is searching for meaning because life is feeling short,” says Fisher. “He and Claude have been able to live at 35 permanently for a long time.” But potential offspring will not hamper their glamorous lifestyle: this season takes the group to Italy, and we get the chance to meet Claude’s family.
Fey, Wigfield, and Fisher return to showrun, write, direct, and executive produce The Four Seasons, with Alda staying on to produce alongside Marissa Bregman. “We’ve worked hard not to stray from the tone that Alan set with the original movie that we all responded to,” says Fey. “Alan’s always been so supportive of us doing this. We thank him infinitely for continuing to show up.”
As the trailer hints, a few new faces also join the fray, shaking up the group. “It’s been the goal from the jump: Let’s get a group of people that are nice, gentle, and talented, have a lovely time, and hopefully convey that onscreen,” says Fey.
What’s certain, as the trailer puts it, is that through the highs, through the lows, they weather all the seasons. The Four Seasons Season 2 premieres May 28 on Netflix.
