As is the case with many recent female-centric shows, a lot has happened in the world since the release of GLOW's first season on Netflix. Only months after the series debuted in June 2017, the #MeToo movement sparked across the nation, making GLOW's message of female empowerment even more important to viewers. Season 2 of GLOW is due on Netflix on June 29, and I could use its fierce feminist vibes ASAP. Luckily, the GLOW Season 2 trailer is here, and it looks like the perfect remedy for anyone needing some girl-power optimism at the moment.
When we last saw the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling in action, Debbie (Betty Gilpin) had beaten Alison Brie's Ruth to become the GLOW champion, but Tammé stole her Crown so director Sam could squeeze out any remaining drama he could. The Season 2 trailer picks up after a break in filming GLOW, when the ladies have returned to the gym at the height of success. However, even after their show is picked up for a 20-episode season, they're no less dysfunctional than they were last season. Ruth is excited for more opportunities, but her good mood crashes a bit when she learns that Debbie is getting divorced. Seeing as Season 1 largely focused on Ruth's affair with Debbie's husband, it's probably difficult for Ruth to not feel a tad responsible for the split.
Meanwhile, Debbie struggles with being a good mother to her son, while she and Ruth occasionally let their past with each other affect their performance in the ring. The trailer also includes hints about the team's experiences with their stalking "weirdos," sexual harassment, and pay disparity. Tammé's relationship with her son is also teased out, along with the twist of the ladies' show possibly getting cancelled in favor of a men's wrestling show. All of this drama seems even more appealing when paired against the trailer's song of choice, "Holding Out for a Hero."
Can it be June 29 already?
Speaking to Deadline recently, Gilpin spilled about what Season 2 will entail, saying:
We pick up a couple weeks after Season 1 ended, and they’ve been picked up to series, and now it’s about them making the show, and strangely, about females finding their voices as creators and creatives behind the scenes.
Britney Young, who plays Carmen on the series, also revealed some tidbits about the new season, telling TV Insider:
We really do dive into these characters a lot more and get to know them beyond the wrestling ring. You see new friendships form, new relationships form, but also new rivalries as well. You get to see them experience being a little bit famous for a hot second, and how people react to it. There is a lot more wrestling.
The show's first season addressed how audiences perceive the women's wrestling personas, and at a recent Netflix event, Brie suggested that a similar formula ought to continue in Season 2, saying:
Something that we really play with on the show is that line between the women feeling empowered and the audience wanting to sexualize that. Wrestling is such a specific and broad form of entertainment, and when you put women in a ring in very tiny outfits, people are going to feel a certain way about that, so it’s certainly fun fodder for television.
It looks like GLOW's new season will cover plenty of hot-button issues that remain as relevant today as they are in the show's 1980s timeline. We still have a bit of a wait until the season drops, but I definitely don't mind rewatching Season 1 to hold me over until then.
Season 2 of GLOW debuts on Netflix on Friday, June 29.
