This review contains spoilers. 

In the past few years, reboots and remakes have been making waves in the film and television worlds, with at least 14 movie remakes and four TV show remakes coming out this year. However, in this new wave of rebooting and remaking, few movies have been remade into TV shows or vice versa. 

“The Four Seasons” is one of the first to do so this year. Not only is the show funny, but it also handles the unpredictable nature of friendship and life insightfully. The show’s one pitfall is its lack of appeal to audiences of all ages.  

Inspired by the 1981 film of the same name, “The Four Seasons” is a dramedy series centered around three couples: Kate (Tina Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) and Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver). 

The Netflix series’ eight episodes, all released May 1, follow the couples as they grapple with issues in their platonic and romantic relationships, following Nick’s bombshell reveal that he wants a divorce. The episodes are divided into the four seasons of the year, each accompanied by the respective seasonal concertos of Antonio Vivaldi.

One of the show’s highlights was its humor. With the presence of comedy greats like Carell, Fey and Forte, I knew it would be hard for the show not to be funny. However, I did find myself laughing at more scenes than expected.

A standout scene was in the sixth episode when the group partakes in a game of ultimate frisbee. The lengths the characters go to for a win become so ridiculous that they are laughable. 

Another notable scene happened in the third episode, when on an eco-friendly retreat, Nick unknowingly steps on a herd of sea urchins while searching for a secret lagoon that his new girlfriend Ginny (Erika Henningsen) had seen on TikTok.

While its humor is appreciated, the show’s strength lies in its portrayal of friendship. After Nick divorces Anne and starts dating his much younger new girlfriend, Anne begins to experience feelings of loneliness and overall unworthiness. To help her in her time of need, the other two couples rally around her and give her a shoulder to cry on. Similarly, when Nick expresses his vulnerability, the other couples once again are there to offer words of support.

This support peaks in the wake of Nick’s death. Although the couple was divorced, the responsibility of planning Nick’s funeral was placed on Anne.

To help navigate the difficulty Anne experiences, Jack and Kate agree to shoulder the larger responsibilities to lessen the burden on Anne. At the funeral, when Anne is giving the eulogy, Claude steps in when the emotions become too overwhelming for her. The amount of love and support the group can show to one another, despite issues with each other or personal struggles, is both healthy and endearing to see.

The one issue I had with the series was its appeal to overall audiences. Although I enjoyed “The Four Seasons,” it quickly became clear to me that the show was targeted towards older audiences due to some of the cultural references that were made and some of the themes addressed. Because of this, there were moments when I felt disconnected from the show’s plot.

One moment in particular was when Nick was recounting a story to his girlfriend’s younger friends and mentioned Kenny Loggins. Like the friends in the show, I was confused as to why Loggins was such a surprising twist in Nick’s story.

The themes the show also touched on were hard to find relatable. Some of the main storylines included trying to navigate through couples therapy or dating in the wake of a divorce, and to me, they seemed like storylines aimed more at an older audience. 

Despite the occasional disconnect, if you are looking for a quick show to binge or a nice watch on a lazy Sunday, “The Four Seasons” is the perfect show, providing quick-witted humor and wise words of advice. 

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Instagram: @biancadish

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