The Four Seasons Season 2 Review : Tina Fey's series remains a fantastic, humorous ode to midlife mayhem

Story: Season 2 sees the group of fifty-somethings return for their quarterly getaways while navigating through grief, loneliness, rough patches and misunderstandings as they try to make sense of their relationships and friendships.

Review: When the first season of The Four Seasons dropped in May 2025, it instantly connected owing to its refreshing and relatable take on midlife woes - packing in strained marriages, divorce, infidelity, lasting friendships, health scares - all with a generous dose of wit and sensitivity. Loosely based on Alan Alda's 1981 film by the same name, season one ended on a different note than the movie and added a cliffhanger ending to lead into the next season.

Season 2 follows the same structure as the first season with the friends meeting up for their four weekend trips a year - one in each season - as their lives unfold through and in between them. The spring weekend is an ode to Nick (Steve Carell), who meets with a tragic car accident at the end of season 1. The couples - Kate (Tina Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani along with Nick's ex-wife, Anne (Kerri Kenny Silver) and his girlfriend Ginny (Erica Henningsen) go on a hike to the Catskills mountain to spread Nick's ashes. Jack is especially keen to do it from the mountain top because that was Nick's favourite spot. Ginny, who at the end of the first season revealed to Anne that she is expecting Nick's child, is heavily pregnant now. And while Jack wants everyone to make this an annual trip in Nick's memory, Anne tells Kate she never wants to see Ginny again after this weekend. Meanwhile, Danny thinks he might just be ready to become a parent. Uncomfortable conversations, revelations and raging emotions tumble out even as Jack tries to fix everything to make everyone feel better.

Summer is at the beach. Ginny now has a baby boy and has moved in with Anne, who is helping her through the first few tough months of motherhood. However, as her friends notice, Anne seems to be overdoing her mothering bit while putting her own life on hold. Danny and Claude are considering surrogacy after being rejected by the adoption agency for being too old. But while Claude is now having second thoughts, Danny wants to 'push through' and embrace parenthood. Meanwhile, Kate can't keep up with Jack's burst of energy at the beach and is thrilled when he makes a new friend, Mark Brett (Steven Pasquale) and takes off on "play dates" as she puts it. And since Mark is a divorcee, the group also thinks it would be a good idea to set him up with Anne.

In fall, they meet over Thanksgiving - Ginny is set to move out from Anne's place, Claude and Danny are on the verge of relocating to Italy, and Jack and Kate are 'freeballing' - consciously growing apart while living together. And in a flashback Thanksgiving episode during COVID, Steve Carell makes a comeback to the series - when the couple confront Nick's infidelity issues (much before Ginny was even in the picture). Christmas is spent in Italy, where Claude and Danny are now living with the former's family. But Kate is sour with Danny for moving to Italy, abandoning a backup retirement plan they had agreed upon. "Miss Disdain", Danny scoffs at her while she looks down upon the small Italian town he now calls home. But thankfully, the two finally work on rekindling their fractured relationship. Anne realises she needs to break out of her shell and find herself. And Jack confronts Kate about always avoiding talking about his feelings, especially when things are not going right for him.

If the first season focused more on Nick, season 2 allows Jack's personality to fully bloom - he is vulnerable, sweet, and there is an endearing quality to him. And he annoyingly wants to set everything right, even while suppressing his feelings and processing his grief at the same time. Anne struggles with the prospect of being alone and realises that some of Nick's memories are still very painful for her. Kate and Danny's firm friendship is reassuring to watch, while Claude goes the extra mile for his marriage.

The eight episodes are a crisp 27 to 30 minutes each, keeping the series tight and snappy. The writing retains the same zing as the first season, with sharp dialogues, relatable moments, poignant pauses, painful realisations and introspection tossed together with oodles of wit and humour. There is an infectious quality to this group's chemistry, camaraderie, bickering and the endurance of their friendships as they navigate through tough marriages, ageing parents, adjustments, growing apart and showing up for each other. In addition to the remarkable performances by Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Colman Domingo, Will Forte really seals his act with his impeccable comic timing. Kerri Kenny Silver also leaves a mark as Anne comes into her own, becoming more self aware. And Marco Calvani retains Claude's eccentric, flamboyant aura that makes him so lovable.

Show creators Tina Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield have tapped the usually skipped midlife segment of fifty-somethings and doused it with so much energy and fun while also keeping it real, that it translates to an extremely entertaining and bingeable show.

The Four Seasons season two comes together as a fantastic, snazzy and humorous ode to midlife mayhem. And sadly, this season doesn't end with a cliffhanger to hint at a new one, but one would definitely want to be part of this group's imperfect lives for a little longer.