‘Grace and Frankie’ Netflix Original Preview

From the outside this program looks like its built from the ground up for a very specific older demographic which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but will it prevent Grace and Frankie appeal to the wide demographic of Netflix users which aren’t in the older age bracket? That’s questions which will be answered when it launched on Netflix in the next few days on May 8th. It’s a very new type of program for Netflix as it’s a lot less serious than House of Cards, less melodrama than displayed in Orange is the New Black and a lot more mature than Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

It all came about.

Grace and Frankie started their journey in March 2014. It was revealed to the entire world that Netlix had placed an order for a pilot series of a comedy series. Marta Kauffman, a veteran comedian who produced a number of sitcoms on TV but is perhaps best known for her work with Friends (NBC), which has been a hugely popular series. The series was in production at the time of its completion, with casting taking place between June and August 2014. After completing the series in June 2014, it was put into production in August 2014. The season aired in full in November 2014.

The Plot

The story is about two retired couples. It starts out looking like it will be a happy one. Two close but competitive couples enjoy their retirement happily. But, the husbands discover they are in love. The two spouses are then forced to break up and they find a new way to live with each other.

The book will address many problems people face in older life stages. This may cause it to be alienating for younger viewers, but could also serve as a way of looking forward.

The Cast

Copyright Netflix. (Left – Lily Tomlin as Frankie, Middle – June Diane Raphael as Brianna, Right – Jane Fonda as Grace)

Netflix has pulled an all-star cast here even if it’s been quite a few years since the cast had been in significant titles.

Let’s start with Jane Fonda who plays Grace. Jane made her way to a number of movies in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. She announced her retirement at the beginning of the nineties. Jane then booted her career back up in the mid-noughties in an array of comedy movies switching from the more serious movies she’d done earlier in the life.

Lily Tomlim, who portrays Frankie has a rich history of working in film. Titles go back as far as the seventies. But Lily is a comedian from an earlier time. She has done a lot in comedy, and probably half her work was in that genre.

Other members of the cast include the two male lead roles including Sam Waterson who’s just come off being in HBO’s The Newsroom and Martin Sheen who’s had a longtime role in The West Wing. Rounding out the cast includes model Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry and June Diane Raphael who’s pictured above.

Do I need to watch it?

This is the most difficult question of them all and for the moment depending on your age demographic we’d say no. It’s got to pull a lot of the right punches for it to be a step above Netflix’s recent comedies so we suggest you wait until reviews start hitting the internet before you go diving into this one.