It might not have captured the zeitgeist like many of Netflix’s glossier, more star-studded or high-profile originals, but GLOW has been quietly building a well-earned reputation as one of the streaming service’s best in-house shows ever since it first debuted in June 2017.
A comedy-drama loosely based on the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling organization that instantly ascended to cult status when it debuted in 1986, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch took the basic concept and reinvented it as a heartwarming and hilarious series that followed the trials and tribulations of a group of disparate personalities bonding over their desire to make it in show-business as they all dived headfirst into the unique and bizarre world of professional wrestling.
The ensemble cast was phenomenal across the board, while the writing was razor-sharp and the comedy broad enough to draw in a wide audience while also appealing to longtime wrestling fans, and all three seasons found themselves showered in critical acclaim.
GLOW was also one of Netflix’s major awards season contenders for every year that it was on the air, winning three Emmys from eighteen nominations as well as picking up seven nods at the Critics Choice Awards, scoring a solitary prize from the Screen Actors Guild from a total of eight nominations, as well as gaining recognition from the Writers Guild of America.
Anchored by three truly superb performances from Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and Marc Maron, GLOW was an absolute delight from start to finish, and like most big Netflix shows the third season ended on a major cliffhanger as Brie’s Ruth Wilder declined the opportunity to rejoin the gang on TV and boarded a flight out of Los Angeles.
Fans needn’t have worried though because GLOW was officially renewed for a fourth season just a month after the third had debuted, and based on the overwhelmingly positive reception to all three runs it appeared as though the series was going to stick around for a while longer.
Shooting for Season 4 kicked off in February of this year, but was forced to shut down a month later due to the ongoing effects of the global health crisis. The first episode was already in the can, and the cast and crew were desperate to return to work, especially when more and more productions were being given the green light to resume operations over the last couple of months.
However, it was shockingly revealed earlier this week that Netflix has informed creators Flahive and Mensch that they wouldn’t be returning to work after GLOW joined The Society and I Am Not Okay With This in being the latest show to be canceled after originally being given a renewal order.
The company simply weren’t willing to shell out the extra cash to implement the required safety protocols on a show that requires so much physical contact between the cast on a daily basis. Having already been delayed to 2022 at the earliest, Netflix decided to cut their losses and axe GLOW altogether, and the news hasn’t gone down well with a huge number of subscribers.