Netflix is not one to let a show linger around. Whether viewership drops off past a certain point, or because the company has some secret data that’s guiding the decision, most of the company’s original series get canceled after just a handful of seasons. Even “hit” Netflix shows are often wrapped up after Season 3 or 4; only the biggest of the site’s series, like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards, have broken through that unofficial threshold and gotten close to 100 total episodes. (Surprisingly, no Netflix show has run for more than 100 episodes.)
The current record-holder for Netflix’s longest running series is Grace and Frankie, the sitcom starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin whose lives are thrown upside when their respective husbands announce they are leaving them to marry each other. The next batch of episodes coming to Netflix next month will bring the show to seven full seasons and 94 episodes, pushing it past the aforementioned Orange Is the New Black, which ran for seven seasons and 91 episodes.
But that’s going to be it for Grace and Frankie, with Netflix confirming that this will be the series’ final run of shows. (As for what might ultimately replace it as Netflix’s longest-running series, that’s tough to say; most of the few shows that have been around for about as long as Grace and Frankie have produced far fewer seasons and even less episodes — like Stranger Things, which will release its fourth season later in 2022).
Here’s the official synopsis for the final 12 episodes of Grace and Frankie:
Seven years ago, Grace and Frankie’s lives turned upside down when their longtime husbands left them for… each other. Both sparring partners and partners-in-crime, Grace and Frankie formed an unlikely and unbreakable bond as they faced uncertain futures head-on, and hand-in-hand. They’ve laughed together, cried together, did shrooms together, and twice-over became successful entrepreneurs together. A history-making 94 episodes later, Grace and Frankie continue to show themselves, their families, and their fans what it means to live life to the fullest, fearlessly and unapologetically. Here’s to seven seasons of laughs, tears, mood-enhancers, and good vibes. And, as Grace and Frankie would say, f— it. This may be their final chapter, but they’re just getting started.
The final 12 episodes of Grace and Frankie premieres on Netflix on April 29.
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