Retta Gives Telling Insight Into Why ‘Good Girls’ Was Canceled

Retta is giving fans of Good Girls a bit more insight into why the NBC show was abruptly canceled last year, just one month after announcing the renewal for their final season. The actress, who played Ruby Hill in the drama series, revealed during an interview on Live With Kelly and Ryan Monday that while the fifth and final season was “very close” to happening, it didn’t come to fruition due to one unnamed cast member.

“One person ruined it for all of the cast and crew, and so it’s not back,” she explained when asked about the future of Good Girls. Co-host Kelly Ripa asked in response, “Wait, but, if one person ruins it for cast and crew, can’t you just get rid of that one person and then bring in another person?” but Retta revealed that whatever went down with this one person was too close to production to make it work for the network. “I think it was a little too close to when [the writers] would have to start [Season 5 scripts] and figure out story, so… no,” Retta said, adding, “Trust me. Trust me, Kelly! I’m salty!”

Retta said she even offered to pitch a plot to explain this character’s exit. “I was literally like, ‘Okay, maybe there was a bomb scare at some point, and then a bomb actually went off, and that’s why that person’s gone,’” she recalled, as soap opera veteran Ripa offered to pitch some other dramatic write-offs for the character. While Retta didn’t name the cast member who she said caused the end of Good Girls, reports last year indicated that the show was canceled due to negotiations with Manny Montana, who played Rio on the show.

Retta and her co-stars Christina Hendricks and Mae Whitman reportedly agreed to take pay cuts for the fifth and final season, according to TV Line. But financial negotiations, as well as a strained relationship between Hendricks and Montana on set left the network in a bad place, an NBC insider told the outlet. Hendricks responded to news of the cancellation on Instagram at the time, writing, “Well, we gave it our all. We really did. Thank you to our amazing fans through the years for all your passion and support.”