Jane Fonda doesn't just do "projects." She does movements. When the Netflix Jane Fonda series Grace and Frankie first dropped in 2015, critics weren't entirely sure what to make of it. It looked like a standard multi-cam sitcom—until you actually watched it. Suddenly, you were staring at a show that refused to treat women over 70 as punchlines or grandmotherly background noise.
It was radical.
Honestly, the premise sounds like a classic setup for a joke. Two women, played by icons Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, find out their husbands are leaving them. Not for younger women, but for each other. Robert (Martin Sheen) and Sol (Sam Waterston) have been in love for decades.
That’s the hook. But the real story? It’s about how you rebuild a life when the floor drops out at 70.
The Weirdly Long Life of the Netflix Jane Fonda Series
Seven seasons. That is almost unheard of in the world of streaming. Netflix is famous for swinging the axe after three seasons, yet this show became the longest-running original series in the platform’s history.
Why? Because it found an audience that Hollywood usually ignores.
The "Silver Economy" is real, but the show didn't just appeal to retirees. It captured a weird, cross-generational magic. You had 20-year-olds watching it with their moms. You had people tuning in for the legendary chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin, which dates back to the 1980 classic 9 to 5.
Jane Fonda plays Grace Hanson, a retired cosmetics mogul who is wound tighter than a Swiss watch. She is the "straight man" to Lily Tomlin’s Frankie Bergstein, a bohemian artist who smells like patchouli and talks to the moon. On paper, they should hate each other. In the beginning, they do.
But then the divorce happens.
They end up living together in a beach house because they have nowhere else to go. It’s messy. It’s loud. There is a lot of vodka involved. Watching Jane Fonda play a woman who has to learn how to be vulnerable is arguably some of the best work of her later career. She isn't just "Barbarella" anymore; she’s a woman navigating the terror of being "invisible" in a youth-obsessed culture.
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Breaking the Taboo on Aging and Intimacy
We need to talk about the vibrators.
Seriously. One of the most famous storylines in the Netflix Jane Fonda series involves Grace and Frankie launching a business called "Ménage à Moi." They realized that most products on the market weren't designed for women with arthritis.
It was hilarious, but it was also deeply revolutionary.
Most shows act like people stop having bodies or desires the moment they qualify for a pension. Grace and Frankie went the opposite direction. It discussed vaginal dryness, libido, and the simple physical reality of aging without being "gross" or "mocking." It treated these issues with a level of dignity that you just don't see on network TV.
Martha Kauffman, the co-creator (who also co-created Friends), clearly wanted to do something that had more teeth than a standard sitcom. She used Fonda’s real-life elegance and Tomlin’s chaotic energy to ground these high-concept plots.
The Costumes and the Vibe
You can’t talk about this show without mentioning the aesthetic.
Grace’s wardrobe is a masterclass in "Coastal Grandmother" chic before the term even existed. We’re talking crisp white linens, perfectly tailored blazers, and hair that never has a strand out of place. It’s armor.
Then you have Frankie.
Frankie wears literal wearable art. Kimonos, clunky jewelry, and prints that shouldn't work together but somehow do. The contrast between them visually tells the story of their friendship. They are two halves of a whole.
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Fans obsessed over the beach house location too. It’s located in Broad Beach, Malibu (though the interiors were sets). That house became a character in itself—a sanctuary where these women could reinvent themselves far away from the expectations of their old "corporate" lives.
Why Grace and Frankie Ended When It Did
All good things come to an end, even a record-breaking Netflix Jane Fonda series.
The show wrapped up its 94th episode in 2022. By the time the finale aired, the landscape of streaming had shifted completely. But the ending didn't feel like a cancellation. It felt like a graduation.
The final season dealt heavily with the concept of mortality, but in a way that felt strangely uplifting. There’s a scene involving a "psychic" and a literal encounter with the afterlife (featuring a cameo from Dolly Parton) that could have been incredibly cheesy.
Instead, it was a love letter to friendship.
People often ask if Fonda and Tomlin are actually friends in real life. They are. They’ve been close for over 40 years. That’s why the show works. You can’t fake that kind of shorthand. You can’t script the way they look at each other.
The Impact on Netflix’s Business Model
Let's look at the numbers for a second.
When Grace and Frankie started, Netflix was still trying to prove it could produce "prestige" content. They had House of Cards for the guys and Orange is the New Black for the edgy crowd.
They needed something for the demographic that actually pays for the subscriptions: adults.
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This show proved that older viewers are incredibly loyal. They don't just "binge and forget." They re-watch. They buy the merchandise. They talk about it on Facebook. By catering to an underserved market, Netflix secured a massive base of subscribers who stayed for years specifically to see what Grace and Frankie would do next.
Addressing the Critics
Not everyone loved it at first.
Some early reviews complained that the show was "too broad" or that the subplots involving the children (played by Brooklyn Decker, June Diane Raphael, Ethan Embry, and Baron Vaughn) were distracting.
Fair point. The kids' storylines could be hit-or-miss.
However, as the series progressed, those characters deepened. June Diane Raphael’s portrayal of Brianna Hanson—Grace’s cynical, power-hungry daughter—became a fan favorite. Her refusal to have children and her unapologetic ambition provided a great counterpoint to the more emotional beats of the show.
The series eventually found a rhythm where the "ensemble" felt like a real, albeit highly dysfunctional, family.
What the Netflix Jane Fonda Series Taught Us
If you take away the jokes and the fancy Malibu scenery, what are you left with?
You’re left with a manifesto on aging.
- Friendship is the ultimate safety net. Your marriage might fail, your career might end, but a "ride or die" friend can literally save your life.
- Reinvention has no expiration date. You can start a business at 75. You can find new love. You can change your mind.
- Visibility is a choice. Grace spent her life trying to blend into the "country club" ideal. By the end, she was loud, proud, and unapologetically herself.
It’s easy to dismiss sitcoms as "fluff." But when you have a performer of Jane Fonda’s caliber—a woman who has won two Oscars and been at the center of political firestorms for decades—using her platform to talk about what it’s like to grow old, people listen.
Actionable Steps for Fans and New Viewers
If you haven't seen the show yet, or if you've only watched the first few seasons, here is how to get the most out of the Grace and Frankie experience:
- Watch for the evolution of the set design. As the characters grow closer, the beach house subtly changes. It becomes less of a "split" space and more of a shared home.
- Pay attention to the guest stars. This show had incredible cameos, from RuPaul to Peter Gallagher. It’s a "who's who" of Hollywood legends.
- Don't skip the "Ménage à Moi" arc. It’s in Season 3. This is where the show really finds its voice and moves beyond the "divorcee" trope into something much more interesting.
- Look up Jane Fonda’s "Fire Drill Fridays." While she was filming the later seasons, Fonda was famously getting arrested at the U.S. Capitol for climate change protests. You can see that same fire and energy in her performance during the later years of the series.
The Netflix Jane Fonda series isn't just a show about old people. It’s a show about the courage it takes to keep living when the world wants you to just sit down and be quiet. Grace and Frankie never sat down. They stood up, usually with a martini in hand, and showed us that the best part of life might just happen after you think it's over.