‘GLOW’-ING PAINS IN SEASON 3
Little wrestling, lots of grappling in Ladies’ personal lives
The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling seem to have forgotten about the wrestling portion of their program.
The third season of “GLOW,” which comes out Friday, sees our favorite motley crew of wrestlers move the production, costumes and all, to Las Vegas and the Fan-Tan Hotel, but lost in the transition is the most fun aspect of the Netflix series: the actual wrestling.
Through the first six episodes (the Daily News viewed all 10) you see as many wrestling matches as penises: one. The show focuses on the characters’ personal lives and has seemingly moved away from the ring. But none of the storylines can carry a narrative; instead the show forces C-level characters onto the main stage, where they just don’t belong.
“Our series goal is to dig into all the women on the team,” showrunner Carly Mensch told The News. “Because [the wrestlers] were doing the same show night after night after night, we didn’t need to show it.”
It’s a nice theory, focusing on the women; after all, both GLOW and “GLOW” were always supposed to be about letting women shine. But the wrestling is what made “GLOW” stand out.
“At this point, it would be more retreading ... you could watch us do the same 10 moves we know again and again,” star Alison Brie, who plays Ruth, told The News. “It felt more exciting to cover new ground.”
Some narratives work better than others: Debbie’s (Betty Gilpin) arc from stayat-home wife to powerful businesswoman is admirable and entertaining. Bash (Chris Lowell) and Rhonda’s (Kate Nash) marriage of convenience forces the newlyweds to confront their deepest fears. Sam (Marc Maron) isn’t even in Las Vegas for most of the season and still provides a riveting storyline. But in true Vegas form, “GLOW” tries to do too much and ends up disappointing. Even Geena Davis, joining the cast as the manager of the Fan-Tan Hotel, is depressingly underused.
Outside the ring, the show is still luscious, helped by Vegas’ bright lights and fake gold. The set rarely changes, leaving the Fan-Tan for just one episode, but that too helps sell the story.
“Vegas sends all the girls into weird places. It’s a weird place itself,” Brie said. “We’re looking at the seedy underbelly of what Vegas can turn these people into . ... They’ve trapped themselves in this hotel, and they’re wrestling their own demons.”
No pun intended, certainly, since they’re not actually wrestling.
But the little wrestling there is serves as a reminder this is all supposed to be fun.
“We came to Vegas to watch a wrestling show and now I’m stuck in a loop,” Ruth at one point tells Debbie.
Viewers who came to Netflix to watch a wrestling show may feel the same way.
Season three of “GLOW” hits Netflix on Friday.