'Grace and Frankie' Season 5 Release Date, News: RuPaul Joins Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin as Netflix Renews Series
"Grace and Frankie" will be back on Netflix for a fifth season. The streaming platform announced the show's renewal, as well as the addition of RuPaul as guest star.
RuPaul, best known for his work on the award-winning reality TV series "RuPaul's Drag Race," will play the role of Benjamin Le Day on "Grace and Frankie" season 5. His character has been described as a formidable and quick-witted adversary of the two lead stars.
It's not clear, however, if actor's participation in the new season will comprise all episodes. In the previous season, "Grace and Frankie" enlisted Lisa Kudrow as guest star but she appeared in a few episodes only. The star of "Friends" played Grace's (Fonda) manicurist, who lived with her for a few months.
"Grace and Frankie" season 4 gave the show a new twist. The two women now live in a retirement home, which opens a host of possibilities for developing storylines.
Series co-creator Marta Kauffman told Indiewire that she's surprised about the show's following. Despite "Grace and Frankie" focusing on women at the prime of their lives – as Fonda is 80 and Tomlin is 75 – people in their 20s and 30s follow the series on Netflix.
"Jessica Biel just posted herself nursing her baby and watching 'Grace and Frankie.' Miley Cyrus likes the show," Kauffman said. "I believe in the universal story as a universal story, no matter what the age is. But I think a number of young women feel that the show makes aging less frightening."
Meanwhile, Fonda and Tomlin have been trying to convince Dolly Parton to appear on their show for as long as the series started. Fans of the trio, who first worked together in the movie "9 to 5" in the 1980s, have been eager to see them reunite on screen. "Grace and Frankie" brought back Fonda and Tomlin together since that iconic movie and all that's missing is Parton.
The show's four seasons remain streaming on Netflix. The streaming platform will still announce season 5's premiere date at a later date but it will likely drop in 2019 as season 4 premiered last January only.
