Everything you need to know about GLOW
Based in 1985 Los Angeles, GLOW follows struggling actress Ruth Wilder who, after failing to land any jobs, turns to audition for the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling (GLOW).
Tightly wound and wanting to take her craft seriously, her new role soon causes her to clash with the show’s director, Sam Sylvia, and confront her past with ex-best friend Debbie Eagan – a retired soap actress whose marriage ended when Ruth had an affair with her husband.
With tensions rising in and out of the ring, the group tries to get attention away from local network television and make it to the big time.
The series follows the women of the show, their interpersonal relationships, and how that affects their abilities and skills in and out of the ring.
Launching in 2017 to critical acclaim, the show ran for three seasons before being cancelled by Netflix in 2020.
Who stars in GLOW?
The main cast of GLOW consists of:
- Alison Brie (Community, Promising Young Woman) as Ruth Wilder
- Marc Maron (Maron, To Leslie) as Sam Sylvia
- Betty Gilpin (The Hunt, Gaslit) as Debbie Eagan
- Christopher Lowell (Promising Young Woman, The Help) as Bash Howard
- Britt Baron (The Thing About Harry, Aftermath) as Justine Biagi
- Sydelle Noel (Arrow, Black Panther) as Cherry Bang
- Kate Nash (Truth Seekers, Coffee Wars) as Rhonda Richardson
- Britney Young (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Your Place or Mine) as Carmen Wade
- Gayle Rankin (House Of The Dragon, The Greatest Showman) as Sheila ‘The She-Wolf’
- Kia Stevens (TNA iMPACT Wrestling) as Tammé Dawson
- Jackie Tohn (Gen V, Old Dads) as Melanie Rosen
- Kimmy Gatewood (Atypical, The Baby-Sitters Club) as Stacey Beswick
- Sunita Mani as Arthie Premkumar
- Rebekka Johnson (Sex Lives Of College Girls, Bite Size Halloween) as Dawn Rivera
- Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Dark Matter) as Jenny Chey
What is the age rating of GLOW?
The official rating of GLOW in the UK, as certified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is 18 for the overall series.
This means the series is deemed suitable for mature audiences only.
Reasons for this rating include the show containing:
- Frequent depictions of female nudity
- Full frontal male and female nudity
- Explicit scenes of sex and sexual activity
- Violence – albeit faked and orchestrated for the wrestling ring
- Some depictions of drug use, particularly cocaine
- Some scenes of graphic injury
- Subject matter and discussions some may find upsetting
What happened to GLOW season four?
GLOW was initially confirmed for a fourth and final season in 2019 – however, a year later, while the show was currently filming, it was cancelled by Netflix.
This was largely put down to the Covid-19 pandemic causing production to shut down, and subsequent budget cuts having to be made due to losses caused by the disruption.
A Netflix spokesperson explained the nature of the series, which required stars to film in extreme close proximity with each other in the wrestling ring, caused further logistical issues they couldn’t get around.
Co-creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch later released a joint statement regarding the show’s axe, writing:
"Covid has killed actual humans. It's a national tragedy and should be our focus. Covid also apparently took down our show.
"Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of GLOW. We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that's gone.
"There's a lot of s**tty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don't get to see these 15 women in a frame together again. We'll miss our cast of weirdo clowns and our heroic crew. It was the best job."
Despite this there has been consistent fan outcry over the show and what the final episodes could have been in the four years since its cancellation, with the cast also speaking out about the disappointing end to the series they loved working on.
However, there are currently no plans for a revival, or for a reboot.
How to watch GLOW on Sky
GLOW is a Netflix series – and luckily for Sky customers, access to Netflix shows come at no extra cost if you have a TV and Broadband package.
You can find out more about the packages – which start at just £26 – by clicking here.
If you’ve already got Netflix, you can connect your two accounts together to save yourself some money.
You can find out how to activate your Netflix account to your Sky Stream account here.
