Netflix and Chill with Gabbi: Grace and Frankie
More stories from Gabrielle Zumpano
Over winter break, I watched a lot of television shows for this semester’s worth of Netflix & Chill and the last standing television show is Netflix Original Grace and Frankie. This comedy is about two postmenopausal women who have to learn to get along after some not so nice news is broken to them. Their husbands are not only close business partners, but are also involved romantically.
The shows stars Jane Fonda, who plays Grace, and Lily Tomlin, who plays Frankie. Grace is the uptight, rich white woman; you know the type. Frankie is the free spirit that submerges herself in the arts and recreational drugs occasionally. Grace has two daughters with her husband Robert, Mallory and Brianna. Frankie and husband, Sol, have two children Coyote and Nwabudike. The four adult children have their past and at times, I just wanted the show to focus on their relationships. Nwabuike, nicknamed Bud, is the adopted, yet much more successful than his drug addict brother, Coyote. Brianna is the independent business guru of my goals, while her sister Mallory is a full time mommy.
The show opens with Sol and Robert telling their wives that they are in a relationship, which makes the show start off on quite a sad note. The two women do not get along, despite their close families. Neither Grace nor Frankie wish to stay in their homes so they opt to stay in their shared beach house unbeknownst to each other. Frankie gives Grace some drugs and the bonding begins. Although Grace and Frankie found a strong friendship through their husbands leaving them, they still deal with the harsh reality from time to time. Especially since Sol and Robert want to get married while still having a foot in the closet.
The show covers typical issues such as coming out, especially at such an old age, old flames, and accepting. My heart breaks for Frankie and Grace during parts of the show because you honestly cannot feel anything but bad for them. They had no idea and from the bittersweet flashbacks throughout the series, you also see that it was not easy for Sol and Robert to confront them about the issue.
There are currently 13 episodes available for streaming on Netflix which run for about 30 minutes. The second season will be released on May 6. Grab a bag of Wegman’s Organic Popcorn, I suggest the sweet and salty that is made with coconut oil and himalayan salt, and have a fun weekend procrastinating and binge watching before finals week.