The Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling are back and taking over our TV screens.
In a whirlwind first season, we saw the eccentric group of women come together to form GLOW.
They clashed, bonded, mastered the art of wrestling and ultimately filmed their first real bouts. The scenes could only be described as “perfected pandemonium”.
Before landing the role of struggling-actor-turned-amateur-wrestler Ruth in the 1980s-set Netflix drama, Alison Brie appeared in Community and Mad Men.
But despite her roles in these cult series, she’s still adjusting to fame.
“It’s been a really slow burn for me,” the 35-year-old tells TV WEEK. “Community and Mad Men had really feverish fans. I feel like GLOW is reaching a wider audience.”
Alison with Joel McHale in Community.
Devotees of the show will see the ladies go into production mode in season two, as they attempt to film and promote it.
“You see a lot more wrestling and a lot more of the show in production,” Alison reveals. There’s also a lot more drama.”
And not only is there more drama, but more of those glamorous 1980s costumes as well.
“We’re in our full wrestling costume a lot more,” she says. “You get to see all the types of female fashion from the ’80s in leotard form.”
Underneath the sparkly leotards and leg warmers is a story of friendship.
After sleeping with the husband of her best friend Debbie (Betty Gilpin), Ruth has been trying to mend their relationship. It hasn’t been easy and, according to Alison, the relationship is still a work in progress.
“Ruth and Debbie hadn’t really figured out all of their issues by the end of season one,” she explains. “If anything, I think they take a few steps backwards in season two.”
GLOW breaks the mould when it comes to dealing with the drama of an affair.
The story follows Debbie and Ruth’s fight to repair their friendship rather than fight over a man.
“Our characters’ relationship was the ‘will they, won’t they?’ of the show,” Alison says.
“I think that’s a great new spin on that sitcom trope.”
Debbie gets cornered by Ruth.
The show’s strong focus on female friendships and empowerment has been poignant amid the growing women’s movement in Hollywood and around the world.
“GLOW fits perfectly into the movement,” Alison agrees.
“It continues to make the show more relevant. It’s about women fighting the good fight, but it’s also really positive and uplifting.”
That positivity carries over from the screen to the cast behind the scenes.
“Women are really powerful when they come together,” she says.
And learning to wrestle proved a perfect bonding experience.
“On day four of meeting someone, your face is in their crotch,” Alison jokes of the grappling scenes. “You have to kind of be comfortable with each other right away.”
The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
With the exception of Kia Stevens, who plays Tammé Dawson and has a background in professional wrestling, the cast had no prior ring experience.
Watching them on screen, you’d never guess. However, as authentic as they make the world of ladies’ professional wrestling appear, learning the ropes wasn’t easy.
“It’s actually really difficult,” Alison explains. “It’s like acrobatics – you need strength, balance and there’s also some showmanship involved.”
Having mastered some skills in the ring, Alison now jokes that she likes to tease her actor husband Dave Franco about her prowess.
“I don’t need to use the moves to keep him in check,” she laughs. “I like to send him videos from our training and workouts at the gym just to be like, ‘Just so you know…'”
GLOW season two premieres on Netflix on June 29.
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