Glow on Netflix

On Friday Netflix released Glow.  A short comedy series revolving around the creation of and the lives of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. The series is set in the 1980's and the production goes all out in order to ensure that you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.  To start with, I love the bingeable quality of Netflix’s business model.  I sat down on Friday night, intending just to check it out.  I ended up flying through the first four episodes. 


The series starts centered around Ruth, a down on her luck actress who does a despicable thing in a moment of weakness.  She ends up auditioning for a director who is putting together GLOW.  Allison Brie is magnetic in this role.  The decision to have her film sans makeup makes her feel entirely more real than any other show I’ve seen.  She looks haunted, gaunt, and downright plain.  This look is perfect for the role of Ruth who is all of these things.


The show is practically a case study on female relationships.  Each woman is inherently unique and trying to muddle through her own personal expectations of self as well as society’s expectations of her.  Even though this is mentioned very directly in the dialogue, we’re not brow beat with it.  Everyone is allowed to evolve and grow as the show progresses. 


The cast itself is stellar.  The role of the director as played by Marc Maron plays as though it was written for him specifically.  The women in the cast shine with the roles they play.  There are times in large ensemble shows where some characters tend to fade into the background.  Glow is different in that they do their best to at least show everyone in at least one scene throughout each episode.  With such a large cast and only thirty minutes per episode it risks become cumbersome and overstuffed.  This is not the case with Glow, however, and everyone seems to have their place.


Showcasing so many women of differing ethnicities and body types is something that Netflix does well.  Other than Orange is the New Black, I struggle to think of any other show that allows for such diversity.

This show is so unabashedly 80's that I couldn't help but love it.  Between the big hair, the fashion, and the visual world they created, I felt like I had gone back in time.

Glow is certainly one of the most unique shows I've seen in a while and I can't recommend it highly enough.  Have you had a chance to watch?  What did you think? 

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