Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin Announce Surprise Release of First 4 Episodes of Grace and Frankie's Final Season

Fans of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin's "Grace and Frankie" have waited 19 months since the last new episodes dropped on Netflix -- but that long wait is now over.

In a surprise move, since production on the show's seventh and final season is still underway, the ladies took to its social media pages to announce that the first four episodes were not only completed, but they are streaming now!

"We just wanted to give you something special until we finish the rest of the season," explains Fonda in the promotional clip.

"It was between this and Del Taco gift cards," quips Tomlin. "I wanted to go with the gift cards."

Like many other television productions, work on Season 7 was halted in March of 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the show had only managed to finish four episodes of the hefty 16-episode order for this final run.

Thanks to the bonus-sized episode count for the final season, even getting these four episodes early won't leave anyone feeling short changed whenever the show does return with its final dozen installments.

Fans definitely have a lot of exciting things to look forward to when those episodes finally do drop, even as it appears they may be a ways down the road. After all, according to Dolly Parton, she and her "9 to 5" co-stars have yet to figure out how she's going to finally fulfill fan wishes and appear on their show -- but she insists it will happen.

"This is their last season, so we’re figuring out how they want to use me," Parton told Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" last month. "But I am absolutely going to be on it this year."

Once the final episodes are in the can, "Grace and Frankie" will have amassed an impressive 94 total episodes, which will be the highest episode count for any Netflix original drama or comedy series.

The final episodes are currently slated to drop some time next year.

"Grace and Frankie's first six seasons, and the first four episodes of Season 7, are streaming now on Netflix.