Rise Up and get a first look at the Vybrant final episodes of Grace and Frankie

With its seventh and final season brining the series to 94 episodes, Grace and Frankie will become Netflix's longest running show. That the average age of the main cast is 82 makes the feat even more impressive. But it was clear the moment it premiered in 2015 that the comedy — about two former rivals who become each other's support system after their husbands leave them for one another — struck a chord with viewers.

Maybe it's seeing legends Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin grapple gracefully and humorously with aging as they launch a line of vibrators (the Vybrant) and toilets (the Rise Up) for senior citizens, or fall in and out of love — all with no concept of an expiration date. Or maybe it's Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston's loving, lovable relationship as Robert and Sol, a rare example of a same-sex couple of a certain age; or the always-game supporting cast of June Diane Raphael, Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, and Baron Vaughn.

Whatever the draw, Netflix knew it had a hit on its hand. And nearly 100 episodes later, Grace and Frankie are getting ready to say goodbye. And it might've taken seven years to get her, Dolly Parton finally makes an appearance on the final season, reuniting with her 9 to 5 co-stars once again.

Ahead of the beloved show's last bow, EW spoke with creators Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris about getting arrested with Jane Fonda and what fans can expect from their favorite octogenarians this season.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What your thoughts are on the final season and what will you miss about the show most?

MARTA KAUFFMAN: What I'll miss about the show most is the family that we made, truly. And I know it sounds corny, and people have said that before, but I got to say, we had an extraordinary group of people, a great cast, great writers, great crew. We were happy to be there in the morning, even when it was hard, and to all be together. So I think what I'm going to miss the most is just the people.

HOWARD J. MORRIS: Yeah. Well, I agree with that 100%.

KAUFFMAN: And Howard more than anybody.

MORRIS: Yeah. Well, that goes without saying. But you know what? We can still get together. But I think what I remember so much about the last season was the challenge of trying to end a show that is about beginnings and not wanting it to end. It's always been about hope, and so it was very important to us to keep that going, even though you wanted a satisfying ending, but also to feel like a beginning.

KAUFFMAN: It was challenging also because we stopped shooting the seventh season in the middle of episode five, and we kept the writers' room going for a while to try to figure out where we were going. But it was extremely challenging, not knowing what was going to be with COVID, to know exactly where we could go in terms of production and story.

MORRIS: We were out of production. We were in just episode five. We were really rocking, and then we didn't shoot again for another year and a half. So it was really challenging. But it was sort of magic the way it all sort of still worked out. We're both very grateful.

At 94 episodes, the show is the longest running show on Netflix. Did you ever think that would happen when you first started seven years ago?

KAUFFMAN: I think we would've been thrilled for three seasons. We had no sense of how lucky we would get and how long the show would be able to go on for. Thank you, Netflix. Thank you, Netflix, for keeping us on the air for so long. It was a real surprise and thrill.

MORRIS: Yeah. And it felt good, so we just kept going. I think nobody noticed.

KAUFFMAN: And certainly nobody yelled at us.

MORRIS: But honestly, if you had said in normal times — what we used to think of as normal — if you had said three seasons, we would've said, "Oh, that's about right." Our actors were already well into their seventies when we started, and so we thought that was a great goal. And then you add a pandemic and 94 episodes? So it's just, it's almost a miracle, I think.

Do you remember what your initial aim or goal was for this show, and do you think you've managed to accomplish it?

KAUFFMAN: The show was always at its heart about starting your life over at any point, and the fact that these women were in this age group just added to the urgency of starting over. But we didn't set out to do literally a show about two older women. They just happened to be older women who were going through this, and then we got to explore all the stuff about sexuality and vaginas and all that stuff. We were able to explore all of that because of the age of them. But yeah, that's about right, right?

MORRIS: I think hope was always central. And I think the reason why younger audiences also have really embraced the show is that it has that feeling, that it's not going to be terrible, and that you can keep restarting your life, which it seems like we have to more than ever now. So that was always the goal, but we always knew it was a Grace and Frankie episode if it had something to do with either age or how society perceives age. We wanted to make it specific to them, and by making it very specific to them, it turned out a lot of people related to it, luckily.

You mentioned you did a lot of storylines about aging. Is there any plot that you wanted to get into this show, but you didn't get a chance to?

MORRIS: We have episodes that we could never break, that we could never figure out. Maybe in another, alternate universe, we would figure out those episodes.

KAUFFMAN: There was no episode that I can think of where we go, "Oh my God, I can't believe we didn't get to tell that story." There's nothing I can think of off the top of my head. We had lots of things we always wanted to look into but either didn't have the time, or it just didn't make sense in whatever arc we were telling. But none of them are things that I am burning to say.

MORRIS: However, if you'd like to see a Christmas movie, we'll consider it.

I definitely would! So, Dolly Parton guest stars in the final season. Can you tell me like what that was like getting the three of them [Fonda, Tomlin, and Parton] back together?

KAUFFMAN: That was awesome. That was the most awesome day. She was incredible. She was there. She was game. She knew her lines. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. She was funny. It was fantastic, and she's just so lovely. I mean, she's as lovely as you want her to be, as you imagine that she is.

MORRIS: And when I was talking to her, she hugged me spontaneously. That was the thrill of my life.

Oh wow! So ... according to Netflix, this is the only show where most of the writing staff got arrested, all thanks to Jane Fonda. How many times were you both arrested?

MORRIS: Well, just once, but we were in the clink for about four or five hours when we protested with her about climate change in Washington D.C.. She was doing it every Friday, and so we all went to Washington, all the writers. And they processed us, and it took a while. But the amazing thing was, it was really cold that day, and Jane greeted all of us. She stayed outside, because she didn't get arrested that day, and she stayed outside in the cold until every one of us was processed, and literally we were there for like four or five hours. It was a long day. But Martin Sheen's been arrested about 90 times, so it's par for the course with this cast.

KAUFFMAN: And it's another tribute to this group that it wasn't like there was anybody who went, "No, I'm not doing that." Everybody jumped in with both feet to do the right thing in the moment, and it was fantastic, and we were all so happy to be doing something that said something, and Jane was thrilled that everybody joined in the fight.

MORRIS: Yeah. I guess if you cast Jane Fonda, you kind of have to expect it.

Now I remember around season one, Miley Cyrus tweeted about the show, how much she loved it. Have you been surprised by any celebrities who are big fans of the show?

KAUFFMAN: Pete Davidson!

MORRIS: And DJ Khaled.

KAUFFMAN: That was a shock.

MORRIS: But it was great. And all of the, just generally the embracing by young people, that was definitely a big surprise to us, but welcome. And I remember the first season we knew something was up, because one of the writers came in and said that she had a picture of someone that they posted, and they dressed up as Grace and Frankie for Halloween, a college kid, college kids, I should say. And that was like, "Oh. Something's happening here." And that was a great surprise.

Now for the final season, what do you want viewers to take away from it? What do you hope fans will get from it?

KAUFFMAN: Honestly, I hope they feel satisfied but want to keep watching anyway. I hope they feel like they've been on a fulfilling journey. I hope they all still love all the characters by the end. And more than anything, I just hope they don't say, "It's over, and I'll never watch it again."

MORRIS: Yeah. I think it's ... the first episode we titled "The End," because it felt like the end, and the last episode's called "The Beginning." I think that's the message of the show. There's always a beginning. And hopefully that gives people a little comfort.

KAUFFMAN: That was a much better answer than I gave, Howard.

Is there anything else you want to say about the show, about the final season, about the cast, about the experience?

KAUFFMAN: We got to work with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on a daily basis — and Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, but let's focus on Grace and Frankie. It was constantly thrilling, walking onto the set and going, "Oh my God. Jane Fonda's doing a scene I wrote." 94 episodes later, it still gave me chills.

MORRIS: Well I'm not going to even try to have an answer for that, because she just said it perfect. So that's yes, the same feeling.

The final episodes of Grace and Frankie drops April 29 on Netflix. The first four episodes of season 7 are currently streaming.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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