LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin attend the Netflix FYSEE "Grace and Frankie" ATAS Official Red Carpet and Panel at Raleigh Studios on May 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)

Grace and Frankie’s seventh and final season will make it the longest running show in Netflix history. What is the secret to the show’s success?

In the age of streaming services, shows constantly come and go. There’s an abundance of content and many shows are prematurely cancelled. That makes it all the remarkable that Grace and Frankie will culminate in a seven-season run consisting of 94 episodes, a record best for Netflix.

The show’s longtime success and popularity is proof that audiences crave quality stories about older adults. Films and television shows often underrepresent older adults and when they are included, they’re often reduced to overly simplistic and sometimes insulting stereotypes.

Grace and Frankie rejects these stereotypes and portrays its leading characters in all their glorious complexity. Not only is it a story of older adults, but it’s all at once heartfelt, humorous, sensitive, but unafraid to tackle real issues.

The whole premise is founded on the concept of two older men coming out as gay after decades of concealing their sexuality from their wives, and then leaving their wives so they can be with each other. It was handled in a way where everyone involved had their perspective and experience validated. In different ways, the audience feels empathetic towards Grace, Frankie, Robert and Sol. There’s no good guys or bad guys there, and while the audience won’t agree with all the characters’ decisions, there’s a clear sense that each character has the right to feel the way they do in such a complicated situation.

That was only the beginning of exploring real and complicated issues. In an episode about Grace and Frankie’s good friend Babe, the show grappled with questions of assisted suicide and whether it’s worth living when quality of life is gone. Issues of ageism are consistently confronted as well. There are single episode scenarios of this like a cashier ignoring Grace and Frankie in favor of a younger customer, or when Frankie tried to extend a crosswalk countdown so older adults actually have a chance of crossing the street in time.

The battle against ageism permeates beyond single episodes, though, with Grace and Frankie combating it in the business world, Robert experiencing it in the world of community theater, and at times they’ve even experienced it from their own children despite their best intentions.

Audiences are smarter than ever and they want stories that feel real and relevant, not stories that rely on cheap stereotypes. Grace and Frankie rewards its audience by meeting this expectation and going further with a mix of clever humor and heart. The palpable chemistry between Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston certainly helps as well.

Cindy Holland — vice president of Netflix’s original series — powerfully articulated this significance with the announcement of the show’s final season:

“Since its premiere in 2015, Grace and Frankie has expertly and hilariously demystified the experience of growing older and given a voice to the fastest growing segment of our population. Jane, Lily, Sam and Martin have become role models for fans that span generations around the world, and we are so proud to have been a part of the show’s journey from day one.”

They are the keys to the show’s success, but their characters’ children are a big piece of it as well. Brianna, Mallory, Coyote, Bud and Bud’s wife Allison add more layers to the story, bringing even more humor and heart to the show. Their inclusion ensures that not only are older adults represented, but also the experiences of families navigating life with their older parents is represented as well. This makes the show feel even more universal and accessible, depicting quirky and at times challenging family dynamics that resonate with countless audience members.

There’s still plenty of the Grace and Frankie ahead as season 6 will premiere on Netflix in January of 2020, and afterwards fans will still be able to look forward to the show’s final season 7. We’re fortunate that this gem of a show will last a little longer in the ever-changing landscape of streaming television, and that it will be the first to reach such an impressive milestone in Netflix history.

Sources: Variety