What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie (Season Premiere)

Grace and Frankie: Season 3, Episode 1 “The Art Show” (B+)

I had no idea this show was coming back until I saw it in the TV listings, and I couldn’t believe that it’s been almost a full two years since it debuted its first season back in May 2015. This show is a pleasant, relatively mindless distraction, and it was fun to see things start back up in a way that incorporated all of the characters. While I do like Grace and Frankie, I’ve always enjoyed spending time with the kids even more. I love that Bud brought his new girlfriend to the art show and the others, including Brianna’s all-too-nice colleague slash temporary boyfriend, took shots very obviously every time she did or said something weird, which was just about every second. Brianna failed the test of whether she and Barry could ever turn into something more, and it’s a shame since she might be, as her family says, a bit nicer if she was with someone that didn’t have a heart of stone. Saying hello to Mitch as if he was there was particularly harsh. The opening scene with Grace and Frankie trying to pitch their product to a shocked and awkward loan officer was extremely entertaining, and I also liked the brief interaction we saw between a desperate Saul and a far more calm and collected Jacob, who was just there to support Frankie. Selling the painting was a great accomplishment for Frankie, especially since it was on her terms, and the shot of the sticker being moved at the end was a nice and endearing way to close the episode.