OWTK TV News

Netflix Originals’ Grace and Frankie Gives Mature Viewers Something To (Binge) Watch

Grace and Frankie Netflix Original Cast

If you read anything about “Grace and Frankie,” Netflix’s new half hour-ish dramatic comedy staring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, it will probably include the words “older” and “mature,” and maybe even a cheap “wrinkle” pun. While all of that makes perfect sense — the four lead actors are a combined 300 years old after all — “Grace and Frankie” shouldn’t be the exclusive domain of an AARP audience. This Netflix original series is also perfect for viewers of any age who crave genuine plain-clothed humanity over constantly costumed fiction, end-of-life adult conversation over bloated end-of-the-world explosion sequences, and quality lead roles for seasoned women who offer something far more intriguing than a plunging neckline to justify their on-screen time.

Early on, it is clear that this is Lily Tomlin’s show. She’s a master playing Frankie, a thoughtful to a fault new-age hippie chick still trying to find herself well in her late 70’s, and the sharpest bits of dialogue come out of her mouth through a haze of fragrant incense smoke. Frankie’s complexity has come into focus already. Everyone else — Jane Fonda’s icy Grace, Martin Sheen’s all-business Robert, Sam Waterston’s hapless Sol — are pulling up the rear after two episodes. Pun only partially intended. I’ll be looking for each to become less one dimensional over the course of the series.

“Grace and Frankie” not only features one of the best opening credit sequences of recent memory (a fractured wedding cake and a rotating cast of ceramic wedding cake toppers) but it also has mini-Parenthood potential, with a pair of sons and a pair of daughters between the two couples at the heart of this divorce-into-gay marriage story arc. To achieve even half of those heights, however, the performances of those children (played by Brooklyn Decker, June Diane Raphael, Ethan Embry, and Baron Vaughn) will need to provide a hell of a lot more empathy — and quickly — for viewers to connect in any way approaching that which they did to the characters of NBC’s beloved long running adult drama.

My fear is that many ‘mature’ adults in the primary “Grace and Frankie” demo, people approaching or already in their 70’s like my parents, will not tune in because of the romance between Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. Through the first couple of episodes their love results in nothing more than a closed-mouth kiss, but the mere concept of two men being in love and expressing that love without shame might just be a non-starter, even in 2015, and that would be unfortunate because “Grace and Frankie” looks like a modern family winner.

The only real question left is, do retirees binge watch?

All 13 episodes of “Grace and Frankie” arrive on Netflix on Friday, May 8 2015.

*OWTK is a member of Netflix’s #StreamTeam.

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