3 hours Ago By Mark Daniell
Tina Fey has no shortage of ideas she wants to pursue on the big and small screen. But ever since she was a tween , the Saturday Night Live alum has had an affinity for The Four Seasons . The 1981 rom-com, which starred Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Jack Weston, Len Cariou and Rita Moreno, followed three groups of friends whose quarterly vacations together are upended when one of them decides to divorce their spouse and brings a new romantic partner into the group.
After mainly writing and producing her own material for the past few years, Fey, 54, toyed with the idea of returning to TV to put her own stamp on the story. “I always loved that movie. I just thought it had this really cozy, welcoming tone and it’s funny and the people are three dimensional.
Alan’s such a good writer. For at least five years, I’ve been working on getting the rights to adapt it,” the nine-time Emmy winner tells Postmedia in an interview from Los Angeles. Fey joined forces with her fellow 30 Rock writers Lang Fisher ( Never Have I Ever ) and Tracey Wigfield ( Great News , Saved By the Bell ) to convince them the trio should reunite for an update on a dramedy that dives into friendship, marriage, and midlife change.
“I told them, ‘Guys, we should do this. It’s very tiny.’ Thank goodness they were willing to get into this with me because it really worked out,” Fey says.
Fey’s SNL co-star Will Forte plays her husband on the show, with Steve Carell, Erika Henningsen, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani and Kerri Kenney-Silver rounding out the cast. In the eight-episode revamp, three couples — Kate (Fey) and Jack (Forte), Nick (Carell ) and Anne (Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) — are on a springtime weekend getaway when one person in the group reveals they are about to leave their longtime spouse. The angst over the impending breakup is played for laughs, but Fey says the story reflects her maturity as a writer and actor.
As their seasonal vacations continue, a new partner enters the fray causing tension among the rest of the group. “I do feel, maybe because we’re more mature, I am just as interested in the storytelling and emotional arc stuff, if not more interested in that, than how many jokes I can pack into something,” she says. Forte, who made a name for himself on SNL playing MacGruber, Tim Calhoun and The Falconer, among others, praises The Four Seasons for not being afraid to confront the painful realities of divorce.
“Twenty years ago, when I would get a note that would say, ‘You need to put more heart into this,’ I would think, ‘That’s B.S. Who needs heart?’ But now I love a story that has that element to it.
It makes the story so much better when it has an organic source of heart,” the Emmy nominee says seated alongside Fey. “When I heard Tina wanted me to do this show and play her husband it was an automatic yes,” Forte, 54, adds. “It was filled with these really grounded moments and funny moments and there was a wonderful tone.
” Fey, who worked with Carell on the 2010 comedy Date Night , says the show assembles her ultimate dream ensemble. “We really got everyone we ever dreamed of when we were in the writers’ room together,” she says. “We just couldn’t believe our good fortune.
” Of course, reuniting with Forte gave the two a chance to reminisce about their work together on SNL (they both appeared alongside one another in episodes that aired between 2002 and 2006) and the first time they met more than 20 years ago. “It’s weird to know somebody first through TV. I was a fan of hers from watching the show,” Forte admits.
“When I was at The Groundlings (an improv group based in Los Angeles), I would watch SNL because at The Groundlings that’s your goal to make it to SNL . So it was weird meeting someone you have such respect for and are such a fan of.” “My first recollection of Will was watching him audition at 8H and thinking he was out of his mind and very funny,” Fey recalls.
So, what was that first try out like? Forte breaks into a grin before taking a trip down memory lane. “I did a very NSFW thing where I sang a song. I did Tim Calhoun.
I played (singer) Michael McDonald and I did a really bad Martin Sheen impersonation,” he laughs. It turns out that Fey didn’t have to audition. After starting as a writer in 1997, she joined the Weekend Update desk as a co-anchor during the 2000-01 season.
“Thank goodness because I didn’t have any characters. I would’ve been in trouble,” she quips. Working on the sketch comedy show for as long as they both did meant they got to act opposite some of the biggest names in show business who guest hosted the late-night program.
They both namecheck Jack Black — who returned earlier this month after a 19-year layaway — as one of their favourites. “As funny as he is, he is the person you want him to be,” Forte says. “He was there for King Kong .
It’s also when my husband Jeff (Richmond), who was the musical director, was there,” Fey says. “He had written some big King Kong song with Jack Black for the monologue and it was one of his most fun experiences on the show.” The Four Seasons is now streaming on Netflix.
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