“The Four Seasons” writers often mine their own lives — and their spouses — for material on the Netflix comedy. But for one Season 2 storyline, the producers were inspired by something that actually happened on set.
Early on in Season 2 of “The Four Seasons,” the show’s vacationing pals are forced to quarantine inside their cabin because a deranged criminal is on the loose. Turns out actually happened to the show during the production of Season 1.
“We were shooting, as, as Colman [Domingo]’s character would say, ‘too far upstate,’ and I remember we were in our trailers at lunchtime, thinking ‘this is taking a long time. Normally, we would be back in hair and makeup by now, and this is very strange,’” recalls star Kerri Kenney-Silver, who plays Anne (the ex-wife of Steve Carrell’s Nick).
“And then they finally came and said, ‘Actually, you guys are gonna go home,’” she continues. “Everyone’s kind of whispery, and I’m like, ‘uh oh, did someone get like stuck in a crane or something, like lose a leg?’ No, there was a manhunt, there was someone on the loose with a weapon, and the whole area was locked down. They had to get us out, our crew, everybody to safety. Not funny at all. Yeah, life imitates art.”
OK, so perhaps most of us have never been on lockdown as a lunatic on the lam forces you indoors. But we’ve all been handed curveballs in life, just like the characters in “The Four Seasons,” as the show checks in with them on vacation every few months. And that relatability is what makes “The Four Seasons” tick.
“I feel very seen,” says Will Forte, who plays Jack, a school teacher who’s married to Tina Fey’s character, Kate. “The writers do such an amazing job of pulling out all these moments that are so relatable, and I see myself very much in my own character,” he says. “So much stuff hits so close to home. It’s a real honor to be a part of this show, where the writing is just so amazing, it’s perfect.”
Adds Kenney-Silver: “I grew up on George Carlin, and to me the funniest things are sort of timeless observations about human behavior and relationships, and [‘The Four Seasons’ writers] are so good at that. They’re so good at not over explaining it, and sometimes it’s just a throwaway joke that will make me stop and rewind. It’s a nothing joke, but Tina, in particular, is so great at that kind of thing. It’s like an arrow just hits that human behavior part of us that we can all relate to.”
Forte and Kenney-Silver spoke to the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast about Season 2 of “The Four Seasons,” and how it’s fun to watch the series a few times to get all the references and jokes. They also looked back at their first time in Variety, and took the 10 Questions quiz. Listen below!
For Kenney-Silver, “The Four Seasons” has given her a chance to showcase her range, as her character navigates the end of her marriage (and then the death of her ex). In Season 2, she’s helping Ginny (Erika Henningsen) — the young woman who starts dating Nick after his divorce from Anne — raise her new baby.
“Coming into this was the first time that I was ever allowed to do something other than pretty zany comedy,” she says. “I studied to do this kind of work, grounded film and television acting work. But I never had the opportunity to be part of something like this, I never dreamed I would be. Truthfully, everything is in that script. If you can really just show up, say the words that are in that script, be honest and truthful, and look at these brilliant actors across the scene from you — you can’t help but win. I mean, it’s all there. It’s yours to ruin. So that’s what I do every day, try not to ruin it.”
Responds Forte: “I’ve been a huge fan of yours forever, but I had no idea the, the dramatic chops, like it was so impressive to get to have a front row seat for all that stuff. You can just do everything well.”
Meanwhile, for Forte — who’s also mostly known for his comedic chops (“MacGruber,” “The Last Man on Earth”) but also has showcased his drama skills (“Nebraska”)
“Even though there are a lot of elements of this character that are are very similar to the way I am in real life, the way that this character deals with grief and deals with different things aren’t necessarily the way that I do,” Forte notes. “So, it’s trying to run that through your own machine, and you sometimes do things that you’re just taking a stab at how you think you would do it.”
Says Kenney-Silver: “I think people will be surprised to hear you say ‘just take a stab.’ This season there are so many more layers for every character. This is what they’ve done so beautifully with the writing, and especially with Jack, this new layer that we get to see that you’re referring to, where we actually get to see really all of us express anger. All of these were one takes for our friend Will here, and these were really difficult scenes. That was incredible to watch.”
Kenney-Silver’s first time in Variety was on Sept. 25, 1995 — nominated as part of “The State” as best comedy series at the Cable Ace Awards. “For you children, there was something called the Cable Ace Awards many years ago, and they were the greatest awards in all the land,” Kenney-Silver quips. “And I was nominated for one. We broke the Cable Ace Awards!”
And for Forte, his first Variety appearance was as part of the writing team for “The Jenny McCarthy Show,” as reviewed on March 7, 1997. (Bob Odenkirk, whom Forte later starred with in “Nebraska,” was also a part of that team.)
“What a fun group,” Forte recalls. “I think I was roommates with Jon Benjamin, and he just makes everything fun. But Jon Glaser and I would work together a bunch. The PA on that show was Melissa McCarthy!”
His second appearance was a year later, as part of the “Late Show with David Letterman” writing team nominated for an Emmy. “It was obviously very fun to be nominated, but I had also been fired before that came out! So it was like a bittersweet thing. Look, Letterman is one of my all-time comedy heroes. So to even get a small sliver of time with that experience writing for him, what an honor.”
10 QUESTIONS WITH WILL FORTE and GERRAN HOWELL:
1. Childhood nickname: Forte: “‘Will the Pill.’ ‘Foreplay’ was also one, Foreskin, for ‘Forte.’ Or ‘Farte.’” Kenney-Silver: “Care Bear.”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: Forte: “Mine is pixie sticks. Just plain sugar, and now it’s too much!” Kenney-Silver: “I guess mine would be those Stouffer’s salisbury steak dinners. But mine would still be that.”
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: Forte: “‘Just Once,’ by James Ingram. Merle Haggard, ‘Mama Tried.’ Black Sabbath, ‘War Pigs.’” Kenney-Silver: “I hate karaoke! I like to sing along with a lot of yacht rock.”
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: Forte: “Seasons.” Kenney-Silver: “By our 13th season, they’ll just be calling it ‘Seasons’ or ‘Sons’ or ‘Ssss.’”
5. What’s your secret talent?: Forte: “Probably skiing for me. I don’t know people would know I’m a good skier. My dad was a huge skier, loved skiing, and so he got us on the ski team really early.” Kenney-Silver: “I am a surprisingly good cake decorator, because I worked at a place where I decorated cakes and cookies when I was in college. So I tend to, when I really want to dig in, like my son’s first 14 years of birthdays were sometimes three and four layer cakes that I would spend a week or two on.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Forte: “Jeni’s Gooey butter cake. Honorable mention to Caramel Cone from Haagen-Dazs and Double Chocolate Malted Crunch from Thrifty.” Kenney-Silver: “Cotton candy. I like some really gross stuff. It’s pink and blue, sometimes it turns your mouth blue for several days”
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: Forte: “My wife and kids.” Kenney-Silver: “How do you not say that? Like, my wife and kids! Oh, wait, I have a husband and a son. They’re great.”
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: Forte: “Cheers.” Kenney-Silver: “Carol Burnett.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: Kenney-Silver: “I love Eloise from the book ‘Eloise.’ The idea of like living at the Plaza Hotel, dancing around, not a care in the world, jumping on beds, eating candy.”
10. Your favorite piece of advice: Kenney-Silver: “My favorite piece of advice I ever received was from my mother. ‘People would take you more seriously, Kerri, if you wore eyeshadow,’ and she meant it in the most loving way. She’s the greatest mom ever, she was my biggest cheerleader, and she really meant that. And you know what, she wasn’t wrong. Guess what? I put on eyeshadow for you guys today.” Forte: “Work wise, it would have been Bruce Dern doing the movie ‘Nebraska,’ which just distilled down, it was basically ‘just be honest. Just do everything honestly.’ Which at the time, I don’t think really soaked in, because I was like, that’s sounded so actor mumbo jumbo. But the longer we were there, and the more he talked, the more I realized, ‘oh, he’s absolutely right.’ You got to find the truth of each character, and try to be as honest as you can. Find the truth of the scene, maybe it’s some absurd sketch, and you just got to find that truth of that scene.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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