Netflix made a very surprising decision this week, canceling the pro wrestling comedy series GLOW. Alison Brie was one of the stars of the show, playing the main character Ruth, a struggling actress who became one of the top figures in the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW). When Brie heard the news, she went to Instagram to express her gratitude for everyone involved in the series.
“Going to miss this,” Brie wrote along with three group photos. “Forever grateful to my GLOW family for changing my life forever.” Originally, Netflix renewed the show for a fourth and final season last year. Production for Season 4 began earlier this year but was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, Brie spoke to PEOPLE and explained why would be the last to resume production.
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“We’re a really physical show,” Brie said. “When we shut down, I was in a wrestling ring and was in mid-sweat on another person as we were gearing up to shoot a match. We definitely taste each other’s sweat fairly often.” GLOW was about three weeks into filming with the first episode being completed. Had the show not been canceled, the fourth season wouldn’t have been released until 2022.
“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,” series creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch said in a statement to Deadline. “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—y 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.”
GLOW became a very successful series for Netflix as it earned 15 Emmy nominations with three wins. the series began streaming in 2017 and features a big cast, including Brie, Betty Gilpin, Marc Maron, Britt Baron, Kate Nash, Jackie Tohn and Brittney Young. A Netflix spokesperson said to Deadline: “We are so grateful to creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, Jenji Kohan and all the writers, cast and crew for sharing this story about the incredible women of GLOW with us and the world.”
