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

Grace and Frankie: Season 4, Episode 1 “The Lodger” (B)

I had to go back and check that I was watching the right episode of this show since I remembered reading that Lisa Kudrow was joining the cast but couldn’t understand why she was appearing in the first scene without any explanation of who she was. What’s unfortunate about Kudrow’s casting is that, if she were playing Phoebe Buffay, that character and Frankie would get along perfectly. But because she’s working so hard to play someone different, who’s oddly obsessed with frying things and misunderstanding veganism, she’s best friends instead with Grace, causing undue jealously in Frankie, who herself moved away to Santa Fe and therefore should expect some distance in their relationship due to the literal distance that she has created between them. We’ll see how long that lasts, especially since Brianna and Frankie have uncovered some unsavory news about Sheree and her stepchildren. I do hope we’ll see more of Peter Gallagher’s Nick, who apparently is still involved with Grace. Surprisingly, Brianna’s relationship with a very compliant Barry continues to do well, and even Coyote is pretty happy in his love life. I love that Frankie emphasized the need for a gender decision party when Bud and Allison’s child turned twelve. Sol and Robert’s protest life is wearing considerably on them, and I think that the call they had to make the judge will probably signal a turning point in how they go about their activities given their stamina and Robert’s need to use the employee bathroom while they were in lock-up.