Netflix's breakout comedy series The Four Seasons has been one of the biggest surprise hits of the year, but we shouldn't be too surprised the show attracted such a wide audience given the talent involved. Tina Fey? Steve Carell? Colman Domingo? Come on! That's not even the full main cast of the series, which will be returning for a second season following it's smashing success.
The Four Seasons adapts the film of the same name, written and directed by Alan Alda, who makes a cameo appearance in the Netflix series. But in order to bring the story to a new generation, Fey's production company needed to secure the rights to the movie. In a new interview reflecting on the show's success, Fey revealed that getting those rights wasn't as easy as expected.
Tina Fey has always wanted to adapt The Four Seasons
Speaking with Deadline, Fey explained that she had always wanted to adapt The Four Seasons in some way since she was a fan of the movie when she was a kid. Before the pandemic began in 2020, Fey spoke with Universal about acquiring the rights, since her production company Little Stranger has teamed with Universal on all of its television projects, dating back to 30 Rock in 2006.
Unfortunately, Universal needed a few more years to figure out the rights to The Four Seasons movie, which put Fey's inspiration for the project on hold. Here's what she told Deadline:
"I had always loved the movie since I was a kid, weirdly, and I realized it was a universal movie. So I had been inquiring about the rights, since I work for Universal. They were like, 'Yes, we have them.' Then they were like, 'Wait, actually, we almost have them, give us three more years to sort it out.' And so there was this window of time where I was like, I hope I can get these rights."
During the time while Universal was sorting out the rights situation, Fey spoke with Tracey Wigfield, who she worked with on 30 Rock and Great News, and Never Have I Ever co-creator Lang Fisher about the project. They decided to join forces and work together on the series adaptation as co-creators and writers. Thankfully, the stars aligned in various ways.
Fey had also been in the position of mulling over a return to starring in a series on the small screen, which she hadn't done since 30 Rock wrapped in 2013. While she's appeared in various episodes of series she's produced, like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Girls5eva, and had a recurring role in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, Fey had taken a step back to focus on producing and writing work before choosing to star in The Four Seasons.
In the end, everything worked out as it should have. No one else scooped up the rights to the movie and Fey was able to make the show happen with Netflix. It's the perfect home for the series to thrive, especially given Fey's history with the streamer. Obviously, the series was destined to happen exactly as it is and in the exact timing. Who knows what would have happened otherwise?
Fey and the writing team have gotten back to work on season 2, revealing that the series won't abandon its established format to follow the characters in each of the year's four seasons. Jumping off from the season 1 finale, the series will be without Carell's character Nick, though will gain a new member in the form of his child with Ginny. The hilarity is already brewing!
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