Steve Carell’s Hit Netflix Show Returns Today — With a Game-Changing Twist
Steve Carell’s hit Netflix series The Four Seasons drops Season 2 today—eight new episodes and a big main-cast shake-up now streaming.
Right, Netflix has officially dropped Season 2 of The Four Seasons today, and you can stream the whole lot now—eight episodes in one go, for those who fancy a binge. Now, if you watched the first run, you’ll notice there’s a pretty glaring absense in the regular cast this time around. Here’s what’s actually going on, in plain English.
Where’s Steve Carell Gone?
Let’s not dance around it: Steve Carell—Golden Globe winner, reliably one of the funniest blokes on screen—doesn’t come back as Nick in Season 2. Bit awkward, but his character was killed off in a car accident near the end of the first season, so they can hardly cut to him sipping limoncello in episode one, can they?
What's more, they slipped in a late twist last season: Nick’s girlfriend, who is 32, is pregnant with his child. So, expect that plotline to be doing some emotional heavy lifting as the group comes to terms with losing him. No suggestion Carell’s popping up in flashbacks or dream sequences, by the way—he’s out, the story’s moving on, but the show isn’t pretending none of it happened.
The Main Cast: Who's Actually Back?
- Tina Fey is still leading things as Kate
- Colman Domingo returns as Danny
- Will Forte is back as Jack
- Marco Calvani’s here again as Claude
- Kerri Kenney-Silver keeps playing Anne
- Erika Henningsen continues as Ginny
So, the core group minus Nick, with possibly a fair bit more baby-wrangling than before.
What’s Actually Happening in Season 2
Here’s the reason to get back in: the friends are carrying on their annual holiday tradition, only now they’ve got a baby along for the ride. Things kick off among the usual haunts (think Jersey shore, upstate New York), and then—nice bit of telly tourism—they’re off to Italy at some point.
Sure, it sounds like standard mates-on-holiday sitcom stuff, but the showrunners are promising a bit more depth this time, since everyone is still in pieces over Nick’s death. Netflix’s new blurb puts it like this:
‘Coming off a hard year, our group of friends carries on their tradition of vacationing together – now with a baby in tow. The Four Seasons picks back up with the core group – Kate, Jack, Anne, Danny, Claude, and Ginny – as they journey from the familiar comforts of the Jersey shore and upstate New York to the stunning landscapes of Italy. With warmth and wit, personal blind spots surface for the group as they each grieve their late friend and embark on new adventures.’
Behind the Scenes
On the creative front, it’s Tina Fey again running things, along with Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield. All three are credited as co-creators, lead writers, and executive producers. You’ll spot David Miner, Jeff Richmond, and Eric Gurian as exec producers too, with Alda and Marissa Bregman backing things as producers.
How Did Season 1 Go Down?
If you care about Rotten Tomatoes scores—and let’s be honest, some of us do—the first season landed a 78% Certified Fresh rating from 80 different critics. Decent, considering how tricky it is to pull off a bittersweet comedy these days. Whether it keeps the momentum without Carell is anyone’s guess.