Emotionally draining, solemn, serious. All words that could be used to describe some of Colman Domingo‘s most recent film and television projects. While the Emmy winner is always able to deliver whatever the moment asks of him, in Netflix‘s newest comedy series The Four Seasons, he gets to stretch some different muscles.
Chatting with DECIDER ahead of the comedy’s premiere on May 1, Domingo — accompanied by co-stars Kerri Kenney-Silver and Marco Calvani — opened up about getting to bring a sillier side of himself to the screen after wowing audiences in Euphoria, Sing Sing, Rustin, and The Madness.
“People have seen me play in horror and drama and tragedy, and [in this] I get to just laugh and wear cute sweaters and have witty banter and sit at a table and eat food,” the Oscar nominee joked. “it’s actually really nice. I feel like it’s a gift, truly, to just come in here and have some fun.”
“You’ve earned it — the chance to sit at a table, wear a cute sweater, and eat a sandwich,” Kenney-Silver responded to her cast member.
The Four Seasons — a reimagining of the 1981 film starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett — also stars Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Will Forte, and Erika Henningsen, and follows three couples taking quarterly vacations together. The series is a comedy through and through but an examination of the nuances in both romantic and platonic relationships.
For the three actors, it was a combination of the complicated dynamics at the center of the show and the direction of showrunners Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher that made the project a no-brainer. For Kenney-Silver, it also marked a major “full circle” moment as a fan of the film.
“I have been obsessed with this movie and with Alan [Alda] for as long as I had consciousness on this planet,” Kenney-Silver shared of joining the project as Anne, the wife of Carell’s character. “So this is full circle, such an honor, so scary, heightened stakes for that reason.”
Read on for DECIDER’s full interview with Domingo, Kenney-Silver, and Calvani.
DECIDER: Colman, I want to start with you: What’s it like to have fun again? What’s it like to laugh?
COLMAN DOMINGO: I know, right? People have seen me play in horror and drama and tragedy, and [in this] I get to just laugh and wear cute sweaters and have witty banter and sit at a table and eat food. It’s actually really nice. I feel like it’s a gift, truly, to just come in here and have some fun. And to do the nuance of working on relationships and relationship issues is actually very interesting and intriguing. It’s not taking big swings, but it’s all the small, nuanced things between a friend group and your loved ones. I love taking that journey.
KERRI KENNEY-SILVER: You’ve earned it — the chance to sit at a table, wear a cute sweater, and eat a sandwich.
MARCO CALVANI: And laugh.
And dance and direct! How was that?
DOMINGO: It was wonderful, especially with my comrades. I feel like they were very open to me and I really felt like they they gave me a really beautiful episode to direct. It really took us just a little outside of comedy, a little bit. I felt like playing all those other tricky notes of a drama and I know that’s something I was confident I could pull out of my comrades as I got to know them. And I knew they were willing and where they were willing to go. And sometimes [act] in the territory that they weren’t given the opportunity to. So I knew they could trust me and I would trust them to deliver that.
Well, I want to ask, this is a reimagining of The Four Seasons starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett. Were you guys familiar with the original version?
KENNEY-SILVER: I’m sorry, I have to jump on this. I was 11 years old and this movie one summer was on repeat and my family was obsessed with Alan Alda. Anyway, I must have watched this movie 30 times as a kid.
DOMINGO: I think so, too.
KENNEY-SILVER: And it and it was at that age, around 11 years old, I remember thinking, “Okay, this isn’t Cannonball Run, but this isn’t Terms of Endearment…
DOMINGO: And it’s not Porky’s.
KENNEY-SILVER: This is just real life. And love Sandy Dennis — I love everybody from that movie, but then I befriended Alan Alda 15 years ago working on Wanderlust and we stayed very close. We write each other letters and emails — but he hand signs, somehow, his emails. I have been obsessed with this movie and with Alan for as long as I had consciousness on this planet. So this is full circle, such an honor, so scary, heightened stakes for that reason. And besides Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, and Marco Cavani, I mean that alone. And just knowing it was Alan Alda’s precious baby was a tall order.
But your roles do change from the movie. They’re modernized, for sure. And Kerri, Tracey and Lang said that they knew they had to have more of Anne because of you. And same thing with your characters, Colman and Marco.
DOMINGO: I think we see that with each other. I love the fact, even when Kerri did the first reading on Zoom and it was a character that I thought I hadn’t seen before. I’m like, “Oh, she’s such a strong, formidable character and she’s going to be okay. She’s going figure that out.” But usually, a character like that would sort of fade out and then fade into a new relationship. And she’s like, “No, I got more living to do.” It really does really show how they were such close friends and how they learn from each other and how they lean on each other. how they leaned on these other strengths, whether they knew it or not, that they were gonna be a part of, a key to their survival.
CALVANI: I was terrified when I started to do this. I hadn’t acted in a long time, and so when I cast, and then we started to read — and, first of all, probably I’m gonna lose my job right now — I’ve never watched the movie.
DOMINGO: Get out.
CALVANI: The moment I was cast, it [the original film] wasn’t available anymore. The moment it was announced, I think they took it out. All I needed to know was that I was {playing] every gay man’s dream. Basically, it was [me playing] Rita Moreno and [I’m] Colman Domingo’s husband. It was just wonderful… And then also that this whole bunch of legends were all there too, as much as the characters are for each other, they were also my fellow cast members that were there for me and we were there for each other. That was a wonderful, wonderful experience.
Last question: If you had to assign a season to your character, what do you think yours is?
DOMINGO: I think Danny would be summer because he’s more fun and flirty with his blonde hair.
KENNEY-SILVER: I think Anne would be summer, as well, but for less sexy reasons. She’s sweaty and her hair gets frizzy and she’s having lots of hot flashes.
CALVANI: I think spring because coming from winter, Claude cannot stay in, he needs to explode, so I feel like he needs to bloom, like the flowers. “It’s springtime! Let’s go to the theater! Let do something!”
All eight episodes of The Four Seasons Season 1 premiere on Netflix on May 1.
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