Upamanyu Biswas
‘The Four Seasons‘ is a romantic comedy series about a group of friends who tackle various relationship problems while vacationing together every few months. The show mainly takes place over spring, summer, fall, and winter, emphasizing the importance of each season as our characters journey through life, confronting various obstacles. In the winter episodes, the group travels to a ski resort named Winter Haven, where they spend a few cozy days in their warm cabin. They are introduced to Anne’s new boyfriend, Terry, who joins their ranks for the trip, replacing Nick. As the episode progresses, we are provided a contrasting view of Nick’s holiday trip with Ginny’s friends, who don’t gel with him. Meanwhile, the opposite is true for our main crew, who are excited to catch up with one another after a brief time away.
The Winter Haven is a Fictional Home With a Snug Vibe
As the seasonal vacation spots are a vital part of ‘The Four Seasons,’ Winter Haven adds to the collection of stunning locales scattered throughout the narrative. However, it is a fictional ski resort brought to life by the show’s creators, Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield. The house and its accompanying ski slopes were likely recorded in the Hudson Valley of New York, which is the primary filming location of the series. Wigfield stated that the production team performed “some ski pickups to get actual snow in” in an area just north of Mount Peter, a 1,250-foot mountain east of Warwick. These regions likely formed the backdrop of the skiing scenes, where the group gets a chance to showcase their ability to scale down the slopes in a stylish manner.
The film crew also shot certain scenes at Umbra Sound Stages, a New York-based studio with state-of-the-art facilities. The interior scenes depicting the Winter Haven house may have been taped within the confines of the studio environment. Additionally, Wigfield explained that practical and digital effects were utilized to give the impression of snow covering the trees, adding to the wintry vibe. In an interview with Awards Radar, she said, “Our production designer, Sharon Seymour, did such beautiful work. It was a lot of work to make grass that wasn’t green, green, and to make trees that were green look like they had snow on them. It was VFX too, but it was just a lot of work behind the scenes.” Thus, a dedicated effort from the production team was pivotal to creating the authenticity of the vacation resort.
The episodes featuring Winter Haven are particularly intriguing because they introduce a divide between the leading group of characters (Katherine, Jack, Danny, Claude, and Anne) and Nick, who decides to attend a different get-together, one with Ginny’s friends. As the episode forges ahead, we see Nick feeling left out of proceedings as he fails to establish a rapport and banter with Ginny’s younger friends. It causes a sense of homesickness and nostalgia to creep into his heart, as he wishes he was with his usual friends. Later, the episode introduces a startling plot twist that pushes the story in a completely new direction, showcasing the fleeting nature of human bonds. To that end, it cements itself as an essential part of the show despite it being fictional in conception.
Read More: Is The Four Seasons Based on a True Story?
