While some outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times gave high marks to the "immensely potent comedy team" of Fonda and Tomlin, others felt the show took a few episodes to find its footing. The critical consensus often noted that while the series started shakily, it showed immense promise, a promise that was more than fulfilled as the season progressed.

The series opens not with a slow burn but with a nuclear explosion that detonates two lives in one dinner. The central event is a gut-punch revelation: after 20 years of a secret affair, successful lawyers Robert Hanson (Martin Sheen) and Sol Bergstein (Sam Waterston) announce to their wives, Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin), that they are in love and plan to marry. It’s a moment that carries the weight of both a personal tragedy and a massive societal shift, as Robert blurts out, "because we can do that now."