Netflix's 7-Part Comedy With 90% Rotten Tomatoes Score Has One Of Its Best Casts

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One of Netflix's oldest original series lasted for seven hilarious seasons, largely thanks to its amazing cast. Comedies, arguably more than any other television format, depend on the chemistry within their lead ensembles. It's not enough to have big names that produce solid, individual performances. Audiences need to believe in their relationships, both platonic and romantic, to become invested in watching their daily lives unfold. Shocking plot twists and fast-paced action sequences don't work in this genre. It's all about the characters and their growth.

Perhaps, then, it's no surprise that the creator of one of the most famous and iconic ensemble sitcoms of all time also developed one of Netflix's most beloved and long-running comedy series. In 2015, Netflix launched its Emmy-nominated original Grace and Frankie, co-created by Friends legend Marta Kauffman. It's the perfect show for fans of The Golden Girls and A Man on the Inside, showcasing the power of true, unexpected friendship and the joys and trials of life in later years.

The core cast, featuring Hollywood legends Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterston, is charm and warmth personified. The relationship between Fonda's Grace and Tomlin's Frankie is the glue that holds the entire show together. Given the actors' working history — they were fabulous together in 9 to 5 — their chemistry isn't surprising. Still, the characters' friendship in Grace and Frankie feels honest and real. They're the ultimate rivals-to-friends arc, two women who find each other when they need each other the most.

Grace and Frankie has an average 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score and an 87% audience score.

However, while Fonda and Tomlin's performances are Grace and Frankie's main draw, the other characters are also crucial to the show's DNA. Grace and Frankie's friendship wouldn't exist without the sweet, supportive romance between Sheen's Robert and Waterston's Sol, and the show's younger generation, with great performances by Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael, and Baron Vaughn, is just as fun to watch, with or without their parents present.

Combined with an additional slew of incredible recurring stars and guest appearances from A-listers like Ernie Hudson, Lisa Kudrow, Craig T. Nelson, Sam Elliott, RuPaul, Mary Steenburgen, Rita Moreno, Kenny Loggins, and the one and only Dolly Parton, Grace and Frankie boasts one of the most incredible casts Netflix has ever had.

The Cast's Chemistry Is The Key To Grace And Frankie's Success

While Grace and Frankie features numerous prominent character pairings, including, of course, the show's titular women, Robert and Sol, and their not-so-kid-like kids, Brianna, Mallory, Coyote, and Bud, what makes the show sing is that the characters are just as compelling when they're together as when they're apart (especially after the first season). Frankie's relationship with Sol after their divorce is incredibly refreshing, and it's easy to understand why they were married for 40 years before Robert and Sol came out of the closet.

Similarly, the unique, if somewhat distant, relationship between Grace and her daughters, Brianna and Mallory, is given the space to grow. Grace isn't the perfect mother, but she does love them, and it shows when it counts the most. The friendship between Frankie and Brianna is hilarious and shows off Brianna's softer side. The brotherly relationship between adopted siblings Coyote and Bud is fantastically funny and a great representation of sibling dynamics.

Every character has a role to play, whether they're involved with complex romantic entanglements, exciting new business ventures, investing in their passions, or maintaining their sobriety. No matter how they're mixed and matched in any given episode, the result is genuinely delightful.

Even more important is the fact that each cast member has both excellent comedic timing and genuine dramatic chops. Grace and Frankie isn't a typical sitcom. While it's always funny and does a great job of balancing humor with drama, Grace, Frankie, Sol, and Robert, especially, face some of life's most heartbreaking (yet realistic) obstacles. Each actor gives these storylines their all. Sol and Robert's journey in Grace and Frankie's final season is one of the show's most devastating, but Sheen and Waterston's performances offer the perfect blend of emotional depth and affection.

Grace and Frankie is, above all, a show about the power of love, friendship, and optimism, even in the darkest of times. It may have never become as successful as it did without its incredible cast, however. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and their co-stars captured the heart and humor of Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris' vision with undeniable finesse, leading Grace and Frankie to become Netflix's longest-running show of all time (for now, at least).