That the average age of the main cast is 82 makes the feat even more impressive.
Whatever the draw, Netflix knew it had a hit on its hand.
And nearly 100 episodes later, Grace and Frankie are getting ready to say goodbye.
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
MARTA KAUFFMAN:What I’ll miss about the show most is the family that we made, truly.
So I think what I’m going to miss the most is just the people.
HOWARD J. MORRIS:Yeah.
Ethan Embry and Baron Vaughn in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Saeed Adyani/NETFLIX
Well, I agree with that 100%.
KAUFFMAN:And Howard more than anybody.
Well, that goes without saying.
Lily Tomlin in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
But you know what?
We can still get together.
MORRIS:We were out of production.
Jane Fonda in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
We were in just episode five.
We were really rocking, and then we didn’t shoot again for another year and a half.
So it was really challenging.
Brooklyn Decker and June Diane Raphael in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
But it was sort of magic the way it all sort of still worked out.
We’re both very grateful.
At 94 episodes, the show is the longest running show on Netflix.
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
Did you ever think that would happen when you first started seven years ago?
KAUFFMAN:I think we would’ve been thrilled for three seasons.
Thank you, Netflix.
Sam Waterson and Martin Sheen in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
Thank you, Netflix, for keeping us on the air for so long.
It was a real surprise and thrill.
And it felt good, so we just kept going.
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in ‘Grace and Frankie’.Suzanne Tenner/NETFLIX
I think nobody noticed.
KAUFFMAN:And certainly nobody yelled at us.
And then you add a pandemic and 94 episodes?
So it’s just, it’s almost a miracle, I think.
But we didn’t set out to do literally a show about two older women.
We were able to explore all of that because of the age of them.
But yeah, that’s about right, right?
MORRIS:I think hope was always central.
You mentioned you did a lot of storylines about aging.
MORRIS:We have episodes that we could never break, that we could never figure out.
Maybe in another, alternate universe, we would figure out those episodes.
There’s nothing I can think of off the top of my head.
But none of them are things that I am burning to say.
MORRIS:However, if you’d like to see a Christmas movie, we’ll consider it.
So, Dolly Parton guest stars in the final season.
KAUFFMAN:That wasawesome.
That was the most awesome day.
She knew her lines.
She knew exactly what she wanted to do with it.
It was fantastic, and she’s just so lovely.
MORRIS: And when I was talking to her, she hugged me spontaneously.
That was the thrill of my life.
How many times were you both arrested?
And they processed us, and it took a while.
But the amazing thing was, it was really cold that day, and Jane greeted all of us.
It was a long day.
I guess if you cast Jane Fonda, you kind of have to expect it.
Now I remember around season one,Miley Cyrustweeted about the show, how much she loved it.
Have you been surprised by any celebrities who are big fans of the show?
KAUFFMAN:Pete Davidson!
MORRIS:AndDJ Khaled.
KAUFFMAN:That was a shock.
MORRIS:But it was great.
And that was like, “Oh.
Something’s happening here.”
And that was a great surprise.
Now for the final season, what do you want viewers to take away from it?
What do you hope fans will get from it?
KAUFFMAN:Honestly, I hope they feel satisfied but want to keep watching anyway.
I hope they feel like they’ve been on a fulfilling journey.
I hope they all still love all the characters by the end.
I think that’s the message of the show.
There’s always a beginning.
And hopefully that gives people a little comfort.
KAUFFMAN:That was a much better answer than I gave, Howard.
It was constantly thrilling, walking onto the set and going, “Oh my God.
Jane Fonda’s doing a scene I wrote.”
94 episodes later, it still gave me chills.
So that’s yes, the same feeling.
The final episodes ofGrace and Frankiedrops April 29 on Netflix.
The first four episodes of season 7 are currently streaming.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
