WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Four Seasons' finale!Netflix’s TV remake of The Four Seasons iterations have also received substantial critical acclaim, partially due to their talented ensemble casts and timeless friends-on-vacation premise.

Of course, in updating the plot for the TV format and to fit in the context of 2025, Netflix’s The Four Seasons show makes some big changes from the Alan Alda-directed movie. For instance, the main group in Netflix’s The Four Seasons series are originally friends from college, whereas the 1981 film’s group are more generally New York City-based best friends. By adding in a shocking death and making the basis of The Four Seasons’ characters their college friendship, Netflix’s May 2025-debuting TV show becomes more akin to 1983 cult classic comedy movie about old friends reuniting.

The Big Chill Is A Similar College Friends Reunion Story To The Four Seasons

The 1983 Movie Received A Best Picture Nomination

A great movie with a similar premise to The Four Seasons is the 1983 comedy-drama The Big Chill. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, the film features an all-star ‘80s actor ensemble, including Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, William Hurt, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, and Don Galloway as a group of college friends who reunite in South Carolina after the tragic death of their close friend. Though The Big Chill’s reviews are relatively mixed (holding a 69% Rotten Tomatoes score), the film went on to receive three Oscars nominations, including a Best Picture nod.

Both titles explore college friends coming back together under one roof, with the group navigating how friendships evolve over time, the complexities of marriage and families, and their bonds being tested amid new life developments and struggles.

While The Big Chill focuses on a group of baby boomers and The Four Seasons follows some Gen X former classmates, the film and TV show feature comparable, timeless themes. Both titles explore college friends coming back together under one roof, with the group navigating how friendships evolve over time, the complexities of marriage and families, and their bonds being tested amid new life developments and struggles. However, while The Four Seasons follows the group throughout an entire year, the 1983 comedy movie only takes place over a single weekend.

Another way that Netflix’s series becomes more similar to The Big Chill is the major change that The Four Seasons’ ending makes to the 1981 original film. At the end of the 2025 series, Steve Carell’s character Nick tragically dies in a car accident, which wasn’t the case for his 1981 movie counterpart. The series concludes with the group of friends reuniting again for his funeral and exploring the aftermath of his death, which brings the story closer to the main premise of The Big Chill, in which the friends finally come together after one of their own unexpectedly dies.

The Four Seasons' Netflix Success Proves How A TV Adaptation Of The Big Chill Could Work

The Four Seasons' '80s Reunion Comedy Remake Format Could Also Apply To The Big Chill

The Tina Fey-co-created series The Four Seasons has skyrocketed to the #1 spot on Netflix’s trending TV shows list following its May 1 premiere, and boasts critical acclaim with a 79% Rotten Tomatoes score. Updating the 1981 movie’s story for old college friends in 2025 worked remarkably well, and is a sign that another '80s cult classic like The Big Chill could similarly succeed if given the TV remake treatment. Comparable to The Four Seasons, a remake of The Big Chill would still need an ensemble cast of notable names in the older Millennial or early Gen X category.

The Big Chill was already loosely adapted into the 1985 TV series Hometown, which was canceled after nine episodes. It also reportedly inspired more recent TV shows like A Million Little Things.

By extending The Big Chill’s confined reunion story into a miniseries format, the original characters and their dynamics could be even more fleshed out than in the 1983 version. Still, it would be different enough from The Four Seasons’ show by taking place over a weekend, or maybe even a week, rather than an entire year. The shorter timeframe was an important aspect of The Big Chill’s story, so a TV remake would be best suited as a 10-episode miniseries instead of a multiseason premise. Otherwise, it might become too similar to Netflix’s canceled two-season sitcom Friends from College.