After seven years of laughter, tears and vibrators, Grace and Frankie is finally signing off. Through 94 episodes, making it Netflix’s longest-running series, Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) have shown viewers of all generations that life doesn’t end at a certain age — nor is it over when your husband comes out as gay. Skip Intro host Krista Smith chatted with Fonda, Tomlin and co-creator Marta Kauffman on saying goodbye to the series and what it meant to fans.
“Being an older woman is not what society would have us think it is,” Tomlin said. “That women should not be marginalized. They’re totally active, totally fully human beings. And that was gratifying to an audience of young people and older people.”
Not only did Grace and Frankie’s friendship give viewers hope, it also quite literally saved some of their lives. “One woman’s sister’s husband did come out as gay and leave her. The sister was suicidal, so she advised her sister to start watching Grace and Frankie, and it saved her life,” Fonda shares. “It had a lot of hope — these two women who went through a trauma, it’s just hard to understand.”
For Kauffman, working with Fonda and Tomlin was more than a dream. After Friends, she wondered if she’d ever work on another series that would have the same impact. “Working with Jane and Lily changed my life. They are so good at what they do,” she says. “They are such incredible professionals, and their thoughts are so observant and have always helped the scripts.”
Grace and Frankie’s adventures may no longer be on air, but Fonda and Tomlin aren’t done collaborating yet. The duo reveal that they have two films in the works, one of which also stars Sally Field, Rita Moreno and Tom Brady. To listen to the rest of their conversation, catch the latest episode of Skip Intro here.
