Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: 30 rock, alan alda, netflix, tina fey

Tina Fey Springs Back to TV for Netflix's The Four Seasons Series

Tina Fey reunites with 30 Rock collaborators for Netflix's The Four Seasons based on the 1981 Alan Alda classic - also starring Carol Burnett.

Netflix has announced that it has acquired the sought-after new project, The Four Seasons, a romantic comedy series written by Tina Fey and her 30 Rock collaborators Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher. The series, inspired by the 1981 Universal Pictures film of the same name, will be Fey's first starring TV role since the conclusion of 30 Rock in 2013.  As a creator, Fey has previously launched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt at Netflix and is the Executive Producer of Girls5eva – with creator Meredith Scardino – which has moved from Peacock to Netflix for its third season, debuting March 14, 2024.

The Four Seasons draws its roots from the 1981 classic film by the same name, written and directed by Alan Alda at the height of his M*A*S*H fame and also starring Carol Burnett.  It featured the journey of three closely-knit New York couples sharing their vacation escapades across the changing backdrop of four distinct seasons.  The film was a critical and commercial hit, grossing over $50 million on a budget of $6.5 million.  The film's musical score and its title itself come from a group of four violin concerti created by composer Antonio Vivaldi, around 1718-1720, which focus on each season of the year in turn. The success of the film also led to a brief CBS series in 1984.  Notably, Alda appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock 2009-2010.

According to Alda's 2007 autobiography, The Four Seasons was in part inspired by his growing friendship with Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks, as they all vacationed on the same Caribean island every year.  About Bancroft, Alda would say, " I came to understand that the sources of some of her best acting were her own deeply felt passions. Anne had a volatile temper that she could spring on you with no warning. She was a Vesuvius of emotion, and watching her erupt, I was inspired to write the part of the incendiary Italian woman in The Four Seasons. Rita Moreno played the part in the movie brilliantly, and I can't think of anyone else playing it, but it was Anne who made me laugh first at the character."

Alda goes on to explain the thematic essence of the story, noting, "The picture was about friendship, but I didn't fully understand what I had written until after I'd shot and edited the movie and had to go out and talk about it to the press. This was clearly a case of finding out what you think after you've written it. Finally, I saw that this was a story of the four seasons of friendship: spring, where everyone is fresh and attractive and new to one another; summer, where the glare of the sun begins to show everyone's blemishes; autumn, where the fig leaves finally fall and you see who they really are; and the winter of friendship, where you either drop them and start all over again with another springtime set of friends or take them as they are and huddle against the cold winds of aging."

Fey's adaptation of this classic story is set to bring some new twists to the tale. Alongside Fey, Fisher, and Wigfield in the writing room, the series boasts a strong production team, including executive producers David Miner, Eric Gurian, and Jeff Richmond, and producers Alda and Marissa Bregman. Fey's production company, Little Stranger, Inc., will be spearheading the project.  Production is set to begin later this year.

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