Netflix has just renewed GLOW for it’s third season. The decision to expand the series already, after only two months since the latest release, is likely a great indication of high interest in the show, which has also garnered critical acclaim. The scripted program follows the lives of a group of actresses who, in their search for stardom, find themselves playing the roles of female wrestlers for a local TV station.
Their newly-found acting opportunity, although granting them a bit of the recognition they desire, also forces the women to add a physicality to their performances that they never expected. They spend hours training to perfect the moves they enact on screen, having to prove to an audience that they are worth watching. In an environment where male wrestling is still vastly preferred over that of their counterparts, these women have to appear both believable and extraordinary to pull in viewers and make names for themselves.
The program stars Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder, a woman who loves the spotlight, but has a complicated life hidden from all those besides the viewers. While in the ring, Ruth portrays an allegorical figure of Soviet Russia, Zoya the Destroyer, who needs to take down anything and everything American, including wrestler Liberty Bell (Betty Gilpin).
The wrestling characters may sound stereotypical or even slightly inappropriate when reading their descriptions, but the show runners of both the Netflix program and the show within the show are well aware of this, and discuss it often through the character’s dialogue. Their seemingly one-dimensional wrestling personas are almost always seen as either acceptable or utterly-inflammatory to their target audience, which helps to make it even easier for them to pick their most essential option: to root for or against them.
The characters who take on these wrestling roles, however, are everything but one-dimensional, tackling issues of love, career, and family throughout the 10-episode season. In fact, the characters and plot development of Season 2 of GLOW were expansive enough to bring in nominations for ten Emmy awards, including those for Outstanding Comedy Series and Supporting Actress (Gilpin).
The first season of GLOW was released in June of 2017, with the second installment following one year behind. However, there has yet to be an official release date announced for the third season of the program.