Tina Fey and her friends are going on vacation again, and this time they’re doing it without a roadmap. Netflix has announced that The Four Seasons season two will premiere May 28, 2026, with eight new episodes following the same group of friends through four vacations over the course of a year. The twist? Unlike season one, which was adapted from Alan Alda’s 1981 film, this season is starting from scratch.
Fey, who co-created the series with Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, explained the writing process at an Emmy FYC event: “It’s been really nice, we have the same exact writing staff and it’s already been really interesting for us to come together and share experiences, not just talk about the previous season but also our own lives. The writers have been very generous—a lot of what you saw in season one, a lot is obviously from the movie but a lot also came from all of our lives.” Without the original film serving as blueprint, the team is “kind of starting from scratch.”
This is either exciting or terrifying, depending on your tolerance for unstructured comedy. The first season worked because it had the bones of Alda’s film to support its flesh—four couples dealing with midlife crises, marriage problems, and the general indignity of aging. Season two will need to generate its own conflicts while maintaining the chemistry that made the first season bingeable comfort food.
The first-look images show the returning cast in various states of vacation distress. Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Erika Henningsen all appear, looking variously concerned, confused, and committed to having fun despite everything. One image shows the group gathered around a fireplace, holding cups and looking shocked at something off-screen—presumably a revelation about one of their marriages, because that’s how this show works.
Domingo appears in another image lounging on a mustard-yellow couch, looking surprised while holding a hat. Fey is seen in a “Catskills” sweatshirt, eating from a paper tray, projecting the specific energy of someone who didn’t want to come on this trip but couldn’t say no. The aesthetic remains consistent with season one: cozy locations, casual wardrobe, the visual language of people who have known each other too long to be polite anymore.
The Four Seasons succeeds because it understands that friendship in middle age is maintenance work. These people don’t always like each other, but they need each other, and the show finds comedy in that necessity. Fey’s character is often the voice of reason disguised as cynicism; Domingo brings warmth and occasional chaos; Forte provides the specific pathos of men who thought they’d be happier than they are.
Starting from scratch creatively is risky. The first season had the built-in tension of the film’s structure—four seasons, four trips, four opportunities for disaster. Season two will need to find its own rhythm while maintaining the formula that worked. The writers’ room approach Fey described—mining their own lives for material—suggests the show will remain grounded in recognizable experience even as the situations become more absurd.
Netflix is betting that audiences want more of this specific flavor: smart, character-driven comedy about people who should have their lives together but absolutely don’t. The May 28 release date positions it as summer viewing, the kind of show you watch while planning your own vacation or avoiding your own friends. The first season established the dynamics; season two needs to deepen them.
Fey’s involvement ensures a certain standard of joke density and structural tightness. She’s been making television comedy long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. The collaboration with Fisher and Wigfield—both veterans of 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt—suggests the show will maintain its signature blend of sharp observation and occasional absurdity.
The question is whether the audience will follow these characters into uncharted territory. Without the safety net of the source material, The Four Seasons season two is either going to soar or stumble. Based on the talent involved, smart money says soar, but comedy is unpredictable. Sometimes the second vacation isn’t as relaxing as the first.
Stream The Four Seasons Season 2 on Netflix starting May 28, 2026, and revisit Season 1 to remember why these friends are worth vacationing with.
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