Erika Henningsen first turned heads on Broadway as Cady Heron in “Mean Girls,” and her background in musical theater has long been a calling card. Still, playing Ginny, who is Steve Carell’s younger girlfriend in Netflix’s ensemble dramedy “The Four Seasons,” presented an entirely new challenge. Henningsen more than meets the moment. “They needed someone with emotional awareness and humility to join an ensemble like this,” she says of the casting process. “That was really important to them.”
Created by Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield, and Lang Fisher, the show reimagines Alan Alda’s 1981 film for a modern audience. Over the course of a year’s worth of group vacations, the series explores how relationships evolve and sometimes fracture when people outgrow each other or bring someone new into a long-established circle. The cast includes Carell, Henningsen, Fey, Colman Domingo, and Cherry Jones, with a tone that shifts between wry observation and raw emotional conflict. Though it begins with lighthearted premise, the story expands into deeper territory, tackling grief, romantic unease, and the discomfort that often bubbles beneath even the closest friendships.
As Ginny, Henningsen balances sincerity with self-consciousness, playing the outsider trying to make a genuine connection. Her performance walks the line between empathy and restraint, capturing the awkward complexity of being warmly included but never fully belonging. The role highlights her range as both a dramatic and comedic performer, and her stage training brings added nuance to each scene.
Henningsen spoke with Awards Focus about auditioning for the role, building chemistry with Steve Carell without a screen test, navigating the tonal mix of comedy and drama, and how her Broadway instincts helped shape one of the season’s most unexpectedly affecting performances.
Awards Focus: I know you’ve got an incredible background in theater and musical theater and are performing all the time, but I’d love to hear how you came to “The Four Seasons.” I know there’s a connection with Tina Fey, so that was my guess, but what drew you to the specific character of Ginny?
Erika Henningsen: Yes, definitely. The Tina Fey of it all was quite helpful, because we worked together on “Mean Girls.” I played Cady Heron when they adapted it for the stage on Broadway for two years. I was kind of the only Cady Heron before we got shut down for the pandemic, though Sabrina Carpenter did play it for two nights—and then the pandemic.
So the show kind of came across my lap in a very standard way. I auditioned for it. Obviously, I saw Tina’s name on it, but I tried to play it very chill and just sent in my tape and waited to see what happened. I think for all of us, anytime Tina’s name is attached to something, it’s kind of a no-brainer—like, yeah, I want to do this.
But for this particular project, I know Tina’s work well. I know Tracey [Wigfield] and Lang [Fisher’s] work really well. I’m a big fan of the shows they’ve written and produced. There was something different about this in the sense that the jokes were more situational as opposed to punchline driven. The storytelling was more character-focused as opposed to the hijinks that would ensue on something like “30 Rock” or even “Girls5eva.”
So I was excited to do something like that, and to work with Tina not only as a writer and EP but as a fellow scene partner. I think it’s exposing another layer for a lot of us in the cast—what we’ve wanted to do, which is thread the line of comedy and drama within one piece. And this show really gets to do that.
AF: In the cast, at what point did you join? Did you have to do chemistry reads with Steve Carell, for instance?
Henningsen: Shockingly, I did not—which is why I was very nervous on the first day when I met him. I’ve said this in interviews: I tend to overtalk when I’m nervous. I got back in my car and I texted my husband, “I think I just yelled at Steve Carell for ten minutes straight.”
But this is where the relationship with Tina came in. She might not have known my work on film, but she knew how I was in a cast and how I was to work with as an individual. I think for her and for Steve, it was really important to find someone who would have the emotional awareness to be with a cast like this, someone respectful and kind off camera. They didn’t want someone who would create discomfort, because these are all pros.
Tina was able to assuage any fear—even though we didn’t do a chemistry read—by saying, “I’ve worked with this girl. I know we can trust her. I know it will be a pleasant experience.” And it was really great working with Steve. He both treated me as an equal and also made himself available. He has such an illustrious resume, but he still made time for me when I had questions about the character or communicating development.
I never felt he was directing me or holding my hand, and he definitely wasn’t judging the work from afar. That’s a very beautiful thing that he provided for me on that set.
AF: Your evolution as a performer—especially as someone I’d still generally label a Broadway actress—has been exciting to watch. I can’t think of anything harder in acting than performing live. How does this experience, and television in general, compare? How do you prepare differently? What are the challenges we might not see?
Henningsen: For Broadway, you get this beautiful rehearsal period where you’re trying everything. You walk out of rehearsal sometimes and go, “Oh God, that didn’t feel good,” but you’re getting closer every day to what the thing is. I’m doing a Broadway show right now, and it wasn’t until we got to previews—where we had that final ingredient of an audience—that we really trusted the comedy, because you’re finally getting laughs. You’re sensing the energy in the room shift as your character makes choices to guide the audience along the story arc.
So not only do you get immediate feedback, you also get time to craft it. Theater is hard in terms of time commitment, but in terms of the work, it’s a gentler process. You have the flexibility of time and creativity and real in-the-moment feedback.
TV is beautiful because it shoots so much faster. At least our show did—everyone was fantastic. But you have to dive in headfirst. You don’t get the audience feedback. You have to know how you want the scene to play so you can at least get one take of that. Then you have to be willing to throw that all away and try a bunch of different things that maybe don’t make sense in the moment, but trust that your editor will have your back in post-production.
It’s actually been really thrilling to be doing a Broadway show while promoting “The Four Seasons.” We have a season two pickup, and now, doing the show at night, I feel like I’m playing a lot more. I’m not getting stuck in something because I started to work that muscle a bit more doing “The Four Seasons.” You have to have flexibility with your takes. Sending four of the same version doesn’t help anyone. Trusting that giving variety is more important than anything else—even without the audience there to tell you if it’s working.
I’ll never forget, I was on “Girls5eva” and watching Paula Pell film a scene. She was brilliant and it was so funny, just a long run-on monologue. They were keeping the camera rolling, and nobody’s laughing because they can’t—she’s in a cramped space, and it was during COVID, so people are wearing masks. She’s getting zero feedback and just has to trust that it’s working. That, to me, takes a lot of bravery. People say on-camera feels safer because you don’t have the audience right there. I think the audience is your friend. They’ll tell you immediately if something’s working. A camera can be more unforgiving because you won’t know until you see the edit.
AF: That example you gave makes it sound like something you’ve taken from this TV experience is the ability to try a scene or line in several ways—trusting the process, the variety, and the editor.
Henningsen: Yes, exactly. Like, there’s a great scene in “Just In Time”—the Broadway show I’m doing it now with Jonathan Groff—that changes every night. I’m like, why would I do the same thing every night? I’d get so bored.
And it made me think of a scene in “The Four Seasons,” where I blow up at the group post-funeral. On the page, I remember thinking, this could go a variety of ways. She’s pregnant—hormones raging—so it could be this unhinged outburst. Or it could be that she’s the only adult in the room, chastising a group of children.
Lang Fisher directed that episode, and we talked about that spectrum. It was just really fun to play with every take—how high is the dial going to turn up? Is it more grounded, like a babysitter talking to kids who messed up?
That kind of work, I’m really excited to keep doing. It took some time to feel comfortable with it, just trusting that there’s no single right way to play a scene. No one even knows what the scene is yet—we’re building the story as we go.
AF: I’ll admit, when I first saw “The Four Seasons” pop up on Netflix with this cast—Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo—I thought, “Oh, this is Netflix’s answer to ‘The White Lotus.'”
Henningsen: I think a lot of people thought that.
AF: But then when I started watching, and saw Alan Alda—I realized, oh, this is a remake or adaptation of his film. Were you familiar with the source material?
Henningsen: I wasn’t. But it was on Amazon briefly, so I watched the movie once—just to get a sense of rhythm. Was this going to be a fast-talking Tina Fey thing, or would it sit more? When you watch that movie, it’s funny and there’s great rapport, but there are also moments that just sit in the discomfort and the gray of the situation—Anne and Ginny being in the same room, or friends pairing off who don’t know each other well.
So I watched it once for timing, and then it was taken down. Julia Lester, who plays Steve and Carrie’s daughter [Lila], found a pirated bootleg of it and sent it around—I just wanted to revisit a specific scene while we were shooting.
AF: Do any of the show’s characters or relationship dynamics resonate with you personally? Is there a character you relate to most?
Henningsen: I’ve only been married for two years, so some of the marital stuff didn’t exactly reflect my life. But what I think the show did beautifully was the friendship between Danny (Colman Domingo) and Kate (Tina Fey). That friend who knows you so well that you forget they have feelings—because they feel like an extension of you. Sometimes we’re careless with the feelings of those we love most.
That dynamic really resonated. My gay best friend and I have a very similar relationship—brutally honest, but respectful. I don’t think I’m more like a Danny or a Kate, I just think they nailed that friendship dynamic. Those long-term friendships—ten, fifteen years—come with shared history, phases, hiccups. And I have that in my life.
AF: Personally—are you more of a Four Seasons hotel person or more of a yurt retreat person?
Henningsen: Oh my gosh, in my twenties, I was a yurt person. Now? Give me a cotton bathrobe. Give me a buffet. I don’t want to throw my toilet paper in a trash can. I’ve totally done the Ginny-style resort, but now I want adults-only silence and a 100-thread-count bed.
There’s a great line in the show, something about following the gays—they know what they’re doing. And it’s true. Danny and Claude are resourceful. If I were stranded, they’re the ones I’d want there.
AF: As your character evolved in season one, how much was informed by the source material versus what you developed? You don’t appear until episode three, right?
Henningsen: Right, I pop in during episode three. The most important thing to me was setting her up in those early episodes so you really believe she and Nick have a real relationship. It’s in the puppy love phase, but it’s real—not a rebound. That was really important.
Bess Armstrong in the original did such a great job being aware of the dynamics around her, and I related to that. I’m like that too. The most Erika line Ginny says is, “Do you think they’re having a good time?” I couldn’t even enjoy my own wedding—I was too busy worrying about whether everyone else was enjoying it.
One major departure from the movie was the moment between Ginny and Anne. That scene doesn’t exist in the film, and it’s such a powerful moment—two women who loved the same man, who don’t need to interact, being forced to. Anne extends an olive branch, and Ginny not only receives it, but makes space for Anne’s grief. That was a huge moment for both characters.
Another difference—there’s a scene where Lila does a play that’s just a direct attack on Ginny. In the script, Ginny was supposed to cry and run out. I pushed back. I said, I don’t think a 32-year-old woman would do that. She’s too smart, too grounded. She threw herself into this family. If she can’t take the heat, she shouldn’t be in the hot tub.
So for me, it was important Ginny never be the victim. She can feel the discomfort, but she needs to stay above it. She’s bigger than that.
AF: What do you know about season two? I won’t give away spoilers, but obviously, your character ends in a very different place—and there’s that Easter egg of the pregnancy.
Henningsen: I know I’m involved, but to what extent, or what plotlines or timelines we’ll explore—I truly don’t know. The writers are steel traps. They’ve said they’re excited to return to this group of characters, but that’s all they’ve shared.
AF: Final plug—you mentioned your Broadway show with Jonathan Groff. What’s it called, and where can we see it?
Henningsen: It’s called “Just In Time.” It’s the bio-musical of Bobby Darin—but don’t let that scare you. I play Sandra Dee, his wife. It’s like the Taylor Swift and Harry Styles of their time—short-lived but iconic. We’re at Circle in the Square Theater, and the whole setup is like the Copacabana nightclub. It’s immersive and fresh. If you’re someone who says, “I like musicals, but I’m sick of the same thing,” this is totally for you. It’s one of the best theatergoing experiences in New York right now.
We just extended through November, but I’ll only be in it through the summer.
AF: So nice chatting with you, and congratulations on the success of both the show and your work on Broadway.