Created by Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield – Starring Tina Fey, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Erika Henningsen

On the surface, season two of The Four Seasons is about a group of friends trying to move forward after a loss. If the first season explored how friendships survive divorce, this season asks how they survive death.

But underneath that is a broader idea about aging, friendship, and the strange comfort that comes from being around people who knew you when you were younger.

Being around old friends doesn’t just feel like revisiting a relationship. It feels like revisiting a version of yourself.

The version that was brave, reckless, naive, optimistic, immature, or still convinced there was plenty of time to figure everything out.

When you’re with people who knew that person, something strange happens. You don’t just vacation to a place. You vacation to a time.

For a few days, the responsibilities fade into the background. Careers. Mortgages. Parenthood. Grief. All the things that define adulthood loosen their grip a little.

You get to remember who you were before life became so complicated. And I think that’s the secret ingredient that makes The Four Seasons work. The show understands that friendship isn’t just about who people are now. It’s also about preserving who they used to be.

Season two largely continues what made the first season successful, though I found this year a little funnier overall. Without the cloud of an impending divorce hanging over every interaction, the series had more room to lean into its comedy.

The Four Seasons remains remarkably good at finding humor in awkward conversations, emotional oversharing, unresolved resentment, and the thousand tiny insecurities that come with growing older. Just as importantly, it knows when to stop chasing a joke. When conflicts emerge, the show allows them to play out honestly, without winking at the audience or undercutting the emotion. As a result, the heartfelt moments land.

The cast continues to be excellent.

Tina Fey (Kate) and Will Forte (Jack) remain my favorite pairing on the show. Both have a knack for finding comedy in the absurdity of adulthood without turning their characters into caricatures.

Kerri Kenney-Silver (Anne) also gets considerably more to do this season, and the series is better for it. Rather than remaining defined by what happened to her, Anne is allowed to become the author of her own story.

Another thing I enjoy about The Four Seasons is its structure. We only spend a few days a year with these characters. The show skips over the ordinary parts of their lives and drops us into these moments in-between their day-to-day lives. We don’t see the changes as they happen. We see the aftermath. In that way, we experience these characters much like they experience one another.

By the end of the season, I found myself appreciating The Four Seasons for the same reason I appreciated it in the first place.

It’s funny, well written, filled with excellent performances, and warm without becoming sentimental.

And it understands something fundamental about life-long friendship.

Time keeps moving.

People keep changing.

But we’re all still looking for the people who remember who we used to be.

Verdict: Really Into This