"The Four Seasons," Season Two - Photo Netflix
“The Four Seasons,” Season Two – Photo Netflix

By Susan Granger

Many TV shows get better in their second season – like “Seinfeld,” “The Office,” “Star Trek: Next Generation,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Mandalorian” and “X-Files.” Add “The Four Seasons: Season 2” to that list.

Inspired by Alan Alda’s 1981 movie of the same name, it’s about six friends – three middle-aged, married couples – who share quarterly vacations in spring, summer, fall and winter.

During the show’s first season, Nick (Steve Carell) decides to divorce his unsuspecting wife Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver) on their 25th anniversary. His subsequent death on a ski slope stuns everyone, particularly his 30-something girl-friend Ginny (Erika Henningsen), who announces she’s expecting Nick’s baby.

Season 2 begins with the task of scattering Nick’s ashes on his favorite mountain in the Catskills, while edgy Kate (Tina Fey) & uptight Jack (Will Forte) frantically ‘freeball’ their floundering marriage and Danny (Colman Domingo) & Claude (Marco Calvani) debate the pros and cons of parenthood and/or living in Italy.

But the pivotal, plum part belongs to Kerri Kenney-Silver, who was raised in Westport, Connecticut. 

As lonely, grief-stricken Anne, who wavers between accepting and/or resenting heavily pregnant Ginny, she wails: “Ladies aren’t supposed to be friends with the woman their dead husband left them for.” 

Yet, eventually Anne acknowledges: “Life is not a Nancy Meyers movie.” Her complicated transition from poignantly fearful to fierce and positively feisty is pure pleasure to watch.

Co-created by Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield, the original, funny and insightful dramedy series explores the many facets of mutual affection and long-term friendships that enhance happiness and reduce misery by sharing joy and dividing sorrow.

Not surprisingly, it’s been renewed for Season 3 – and, hopefully, they can pick up the uneven pacing, perhaps with the addition of Gianpiero (David Tennant), Anne’s new suitor.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Four Seasons: Season 2” is a sublimely bittersweet 7 – with all eight episodes streaming on Netflix.

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Susan Granger

Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.