| Worth seeing: | as a warm and insightful examination of the challenges of growing older in a couple, but of most interest to anyone who's already growing older in a couple |
| Featuring: | Colman Domingo, Erika Henningsen, Kerri Kenney, Marco Calvani, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Alan Alda, Ashlyn Maddox, Eric Elizaga, Julia Lester |
| Key crew: | Colman Domingo, Jeff Richmond, Oz Rodriguez, Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman, Dara Schnapper, Marissa Bregman, Alan Alda, Lang Fisher, Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield |
| Channel: | Netflix |
| Length: | 30 minutes |
| Episodes: | 8 |
| Broadcast date: | 1st May 2025 |
| Country: | US |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Kate (Tina Fey) and Danny (Colman Domingo) dated briefly at university, about thirty years ago – she’s now happily married to Jack (Will Forte) and he to Claude (Marco Calvani).
A third couple, Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney), round off a group of six friends who’ve long gone on holidays together.
But one spring, when they gather at Nick and Anne’s for a 25th anniversary celebration, Nick announces to some of the group that he’s planning to leave Anne.
By the time the group meet for their next holiday, in the summer, Nick has a new – younger – girlfriend, Ginny (Erika Henningsen), who’s chosen a yurt resort, much more suited to her generation.
For their next gathering, in the autumn, they head to a university parents’ day, where Nick and Anne’s daughter’s is starring in a play she’s written – about the break-up of their marriage.
And during the winter break, Nick struggles to get on with Ginny’s younger group of friends, while the rest of his old group are enjoying a more relaxed New Year.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Star and writer Tina Fey has adapted Alan Alda’s 1981 film into an 8-part small-screen series – two episodes for each season.
Alda himself makes brief appearance in the first episode, but his influence is felt throughout – you can imagine a 40-something Alda uttering many of the lines Fey gives herself and her co-stars.
Fey and her fellow writers tease out some of the peculiarities of relationships and ageing – how each half of a couple can have very different ideas about what the other is thinking, how one couple breaking up can make other couple’s question their own desires, how we need different things from life at different ages, how health can affect relationships.
It’s warm, insightful and thought provoking and will make you stop and think about your own lives and loves – particularly if you are of a certain age.
At times, the script reaches for shorthand and feels a little arch in its efforts to make a point. And sticking to its two-episodes-per-season format means that it often feels a little disjointed, as one storyline ends abruptly, leaving viewers having to catch up a little at the start of the next.
But its brisk pace and sharp performances ensure that it’s always an entertaining ride.