Nick and Anne, Jack and Kate, Danny and Claude. Three couples of long-life friends in their 50’s. They spend all their vacations together, always in the same places. A solid, well-organized friendship. Until the thunderclap: Nick leaves Anne. He soon gets back together with a young woman in her thirties. This earthquake will affect the other two couples, who are questioning themselves, and their families. Habits are broken, nothing goes on. Their bonds will be put to the test, and no one will emerge unscathed.
Ripple effect
As we all know, when it comes to relationships, as soon as you take the other person for granted, the bond weakens. Where the series’ approach is more interesting is in showing how a disintegrating relationship reveals the flaws in other couples, and also affects the children and the family. But it seems to be behind the times, since the couple remains the model for life, while celibacy is still presented as a failure.
Based on a film, the plot unfolds over the course of a year, with two episodes per season. It is of course set to Vivaldi’s music. It’s a comedy: the dialogue is funny, the situations occasionally comical, and the characters endearing overall. My preference is undoubtedly Danny and her Italian husband, Claude (which is a French first name, not Claudio, but ok).
The series is enjoyable without being exceptional, and is especially noteworthy for the care taken with the twists at the end of each episode, which are generally very successful. Mini-series or season 2?
1 season, 8 episodes (30 mn), 2025, on Netflix
WITH : Steve Carell as Nick, Kerri Kenney-Silver as Anne, Will Forte as Jack, Tina Fey as Kate, Colman Domingo as Danny, Marco Calvani as Claude, Erika Henningsen as Ginny, Julia Lester as Lila, Ashlyn Maddox as Beth