‘GLOW’s Cancellation Still Stings

Perhaps a gut wrench or a head pinch would’ve hurt less than the cancellation of GLOW. The Netflix original, created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, lived a semi-good life at the streamer – now famed for all its cancellations amidst constant price hikes. Showing how a fractured friendship evolved into the assembling of a variety of women that give life to a wrestling show – the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – GLOW became a quick hit with a dedicated fanbase. For three seasons, we got to see GLOW become one of the most solid outings Netflix gave the audience. It had both biting humor and relatable drama. Good news came when Netflix renewed GLOW for a fourth and final season. But the uncertainty and industry shutdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic ended with the streamer reversing its decision and cancelling the show. It’s been five years since we last saw these ladies, and the blow still stings.

‘GLOW’ Spotlights a Long-Running Feud in the Literal Ring

Oh, what we wouldn’t give to solve our problems in the ring. While violence is never the way, sometimes it does help to blow off some steam in the ring. GLOW showcases the central conflict between Alison Brie’s Ruth, an aspiring actress, and Betty Gilpin’s Debbie, an established soap star. The two best friends engage in a complex war after Ruth has an affair with Debbie’s husband. Their ensuing catfight lands them the lead roles in a wrestling show, and their story sucks everyone around into their whirlwind.

But both the cast and the audience should be on Debbie’s side, right? After all, what Ruth did is unforgivable, or is it? GLOW’s strength relies on the power of second chances. Over the course of the series, you can’t help but root for both of them. Debbie has all the energy brought by rage that we can all relate to. Through her wrestling alter ego, Liberty Bell, she gets sweet revenge while playing a hero who represents the American way. Ruth, in turn, has that auto-destructive force within and its forthcoming guilt that we can also relate to. Impersonating Zoya the Destroya, and adopting the role of the show’s heel, she executes her deserved penance through her character.

A Powerhouse Ensemble Cast Holds ‘GLOW’ Together

While the rest of the Gorgeous Ladies also have their stereotypical (and borderline offensive) alter egos, there’s so much more to them that the series explores. Most of them are underdogs in search of a home and a chosen family, making this their main motivation to be part of the wrestling show. Take Carmen (Britney Young), code name Machu Picchu, who comes from a family of wrestlers who initially ban her from participating in the sport. There’s Rhonda (Kate Nash), alias Britannica, an illegal British immigrant who overturns her modeling career to find a place in the United States. And then there’s Sheila (Gayle Rankin), who finds it easier to blend into the wrestling group thanks to her wolf persona, the aptly-named She-Wolf.

Has-been director Sam (Marc Maron) and producer Bash (Chris Lowell) are the masterminds behind GLOW. Sam’s vision for the show is what pushes the ladies forward in their storylines, while Bash is the main resource provider – at least until his family cuts him off. For a long time, Sam has told himself he isn’t worthy of love but, on getting to know his daughter and fellow wrestler Justine (Britt Baron), he discovers there’s still some good left in him. Bash, being a gay man, is in a constant fight against himself thanks to the burden of ’80s society. GLOW puts all of these misfits into a blender of emotions that was set to culminate with a bang.

‘GLOW’ Was Originally Set to Come Back for a Fourth and Final Season

It was supposed to be a break – a Christmas break, for that matter. GLOW’s third season ends with some bittersweet goodbyes, but there was a promise for the ladies to regroup after the holidays. Following their stint in Las Vegas, Debbie and Bash are aiming to revive GLOW as a TV show. The final moments show Debbie trying to recruit Ruth to direct, with the latter apparently declining. The path for the final season was clear – the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling were finally going to have their big break. News of Netflix ordering a final season came in September 2019. The prospect of getting to see this badass group of women complete their arc – from a ragtag bunch of underdogs to a bonded family of TV stars – was setting the show to have an epic series finale.

Extremely extraordinary pandemical circumstances provoked the sudden stop of every movie and TV show that was filming at the time so, naturally, GLOW was part of this. In the meantime, part of the cast – including Ellen Wong, Shakira Barrera, and Kia Stevens – were successful in talks with Netflix in which they argued for better representation through more meaningful storylines in Season 4 for their characters. Sadly, by October 2020, dim news came in the form of Netflix reversing the renewal decision. Listen, we’re used to having our favorite shows axed here and there. But before the announcement, the hope of GLOW returning was kept alive during the bleakest of years. It stood as a promise that better days would come. To have that taken away during those dark times was a low blow. And it still hurts given the fact that there are no plans to give closure to the fans.

At the time of the production halt, only one episode of what would’ve been the final season had been filmed. According to producers, the three-year gap that would have existed between the third and fourth seasons was too much for Netflix to handle contract-wise. While the conclusion of Season 3 is mostly satisfactory, Season 4 was due to be the ladies’ proper blast of a goodbye. But perhaps, as Betty Gilpin herself put it, it’s best to leave with the satisfaction that at least they got to do the show, and we got to watch those three seasons. Something is better than nothing, and GLOW’s something was longer than other more unfortunate shows.

GLOW is still available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

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