Team Jenji Kohan is on a roll.
Just a week after Orange is the New Black (OITNB) , created by Kohan and one of Netflix’s first breakout hits, bowed out with a terrific final season, the third season of G.L.O.W dropped on the streaming service. Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, G.L.O.W. — or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling — is a show backed by Kohan, and which is sure to continue her legacy of great female-led ensemble pieces.
After two seasons of fabulous world-building, the show shifts gears in its new season in the best way possible. The first season, set in 1985, followed the classic bunch-of-ragtags narrative, as women from different backgrounds and with varying ambitions come together to put up an amateur wrestling show for TV. Things got better in their lives in the second season, and in spite of a stellar performance by the gang, their show got cancelled. In season three, the action shifts entirely to Las Vegas, where the women now perform for a live audience. They’re now pros at putting up a show, the wrestling is a big hit, and they are making good money.
The ease with which the cast is functioning currently is incredible. The always-fabulous Alison Brie plays Ruth, a struggling actor who found a semblance of sanity when she first joined the group of wrestlers. It wasn’t always easy, with ex-soap opera star Debbie (Betty Gilpin) — Ruth’s once-best friend whose husband Ruth slept with — being cast on the show and throwing her weight around. Plus, Ruth had to convince grumpy, over-the-hill director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron) to shed his frustrations and embrace the wrestling show as a means of storytelling like some of his earlier films. It was Ruth, indeed, who motivated the women and men around her, and her conviction that made G.L.O.W. what it is.
In Season 3, the writers have flipped this very aspect of the show on its head. Ruth’s persistence has led to much success for the troupe, her relationship with Debbie is now less volatile, and she has developed (unlikely) romantic feelings for Sam (and vice versa). And yet, with everything seeming perfect externally, her internal struggle has intensified. She’s feeling lost and unsure of herself, and insecure about her acting career. What was meant to be an exciting stop-gap scenario has now turned into her life. The writers create an interesting contrast between Ruth’s state of mind, and those of the other women on the show — all of who seem to be thriving now.
While the humour is flowing better than ever before, there’s a brilliant moment this season, where while at camp, the group’s wild child Melrose (Jackie Tohn), opens up about what it means to come from a Jewish family that had to flee the Nazis. It opens up a Pandora’s box, with some other women coming out with anecdotes from their lives that deeply impacted them.
Much like with OITNB, the creators of G.L.O.W. have managed to turn the show into something that’s bigger than what it started out to be.
Three seasons of G.L.O.W. are now streaming on Netflix.
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