What To Watch
9 Movies and Shows Where Seniors Take Center Stage
Things don’t really get interesting until you hit 65.
By Mary Sollosi
May 21, 2026
9 Best Movies and Shows Starring Seniors - Netflix Tudum
The world is filled with movies and shows about people under 40, who have yet to figure everything out. That’s all well and good, but there’s a particular and profound kind of wisdom to be found in stories about people who have lived long enough to figure out the only thing worth knowing — that nobody ever figures everything out.
These films and series about seniors are a testament to the richness of one’s later years. Even as they grapple with enormous questions of purpose, mortality, and relevance in a society that too often ignores them, the characters in these stories also find (often delightfully wicked) humor in the world around them, meaningful friendships and relationships with each other, and beauty in the great privilege of aging.
And one of the best things about putting the spotlight on seniors is the incomparable talents in the lead roles. Megastars who have honed their craft over decades — including Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Alfre Woodard, Michael Douglas, and Robert Redford — star in these titles, guaranteeing exceptional performances. So choose anything below for a true master class in acting one’s age — whatever that means.
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The Boroughs
Welcome to The Boroughs, a seemingly idyllic retirement community in the sun-drenched expanse of the New Mexico desert. In this senior-centric sci-fi series, Alfred Molina is Sam Cooper, a grieving widower who moves in alongside retirees played by Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, and Bill Pullman. This misfit crew of unlikely heroes uncovers a dark secret that proves their “golden years” are more dangerous — and they are more formidable — than anyone ever expected they’d be.
Grace and Frankie
Jane Fonda plays the rigorous Grace opposite Lily Tomlin as the free-spirited Frankie. The women’s husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston), longtime partners at a law firm, realize they’re in love and leave their spouses for each other. Both newly divorced, Grace and Frankie find themselves forging an unlikely friendship. Along with their respective ex-husbands and children — played by Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael, and Baron Vaughn — they find a new and expansive kind of family.
The Kominsky Method
There may be no harder place to age than in Hollywood, and Chuck Lorre’s acclaimed dramedy addresses with great heart and hilarity what it’s like to get older in a place that worships youth. Michael Douglas stars as actor turned acting coach Sandy Kominsky (for which he received three Emmy nominations), and Alan Arkin plays Sandy’s agent, Norman. (It was Arkin’s final TV role, for which he was nominated twice.) Together, the old friends move through a changing world in aging bodies, always finding humor in the challenge.
The Last Laugh
This buddy comedy is proof that humor doesn’t lose its edge with age. Chevy Chase plays Al Hart, a former talent manager who moves into a retirement village at his family’s urging. Richard Dreyfuss is Buddy Green, a former stand-up comic (and client of Al’s) who abandoned his dream right on the verge of hitting it big — and whom Al rediscovers in his new community. Inspired by their surprise reunion, Al concocts a scheme for the two of them to hit the road for one final comedy tour.
A Man on the Inside
It can be a struggle to find purpose in retirement. But in Mike Schur’s comedy A Man on the Inside, based on Maite Alberdi’s Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent, Ted Danson’s Charles — a retired professor with a knack for snooping — stumbles on the perfect (if unconventional) assignment to occupy his time. He gets a new lease on life when a private investigator recruits him to go undercover and crack a case. Mary Steenburgen, Stephanie Beatriz, Constance Marie, and Sally Struthers are also in the all-star cast.
Nonnas
Vince Vaughn plays a grieving man who opens an Italian restaurant in Staten Island and hires grandmothers to put their generations-old recipes on the menu. Though the nonnas — played by Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, and Susan Sarandon — initially butt heads, they become the friend group they didn’t know they were missing. Even better: The warm and tender Emmy-nominated movie is based on the story of a real-life New York City eatery.
Our Souls at Night
Fifty years after Barefoot in the Park, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford reunite onscreen in this romantic drama, based on Kent Haruf’s novel. They play neighbors, a widow and a widower, who scheme to combat their mutual loneliness: They begin spending nights together, platonically, so neither has to sleep alone. Though their loved ones may not understand, the arrangement works, and they find not just some company in each other but also true friendship — which begins to develop into something more.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
This whimsical and quietly profound adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s novel stars Sally Field as Tova, a grieving widow who works at a local aquarium. She forms unlikely bonds with a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina) and a wayward young man named Cameron (Lewis Pullman), who’s new in town. Together, they uncover a mystery that leads them to a life-changing discovery that restores their sense of wonder.
The Thursday Murder Club
Giles Keyte/Netflix
It’s never too late to stir up a little trouble, as proven by this witty whodunit inspired by Richard Osman’s bestseller (the first of a five-book series). At a quiet retirement home, four irrepressible retirees — Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), and Joyce (Celia Imrie) — spend their time solving cold-case murders for fun. But when an unexplained death occurs on their doorstep, their cozy pastime turns into a race to catch a killer.
Additional reporting by Ashley Lee.
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