It's a weird time in the TV world, friends. The summer shows are just starting, or a few weeks away from starting, the spring shows are ending, the full 26 episode shows are winding down. I love the diversification of TV channels/sources, but it means that the concept of a standard TV season/hiatus doesn't really exist anymore. And in the meantime Little C and I are surgically attached to our phones waiting on news of pickups, renewalls, and cancellations for the shows we're obsessed with. It's a nasty cycle, folks.
One of the shows that just wrapped up their freshman season is NBC's
Good Girls. I have to be totally honest, I've been 100% in on this show since the premise and cast was announced. I like pretty much every single actor, I absolutely love the idea behind the show, and at this point I'll follow Jenna Bans pretty much anywhere. Never fear, readers this is a pretty spoiler-free review of the first season.
In case you've missed it,
Good Girls is about three suburban women (Christina Hendricks, Rhetta, and Mae Whitman) who all hit financial crises and decide to rob a grocery store to solve their problems. Unfortunately, the grocery store is laundering money for a local gang. The women are stuck working for the gang until they can find their way out of the situation.
There are a handful of things that work particularly well for this show. The first, at the heart, is the concept of these women that are willing to do absolutely crazy stuff to protect their families. Every choice they make along the first season rounds back to protecting each other, protecting their children, and getting their family whatever they'll need to survive. They take risks, put themselves in danger, and fight like hell for each other. Not only do you never really see normal moms on TV making these kinds of dangerous choices, but it blew my mind the way these women stood together at every turn.
The actresses playing the leads are simply fantastic, and it's so nice to see three people whose careers I've followed all on screen together. Individually they keep the audience engaged to each of their characters' storylines, but when they're all in a scene they really shine. I've only ever seen Rhetta do comedy, so her performance throughout the show as the mom of a critically ill child is nothing short of exceptional. However, these women work in incredibly real moments of comedy that in my mind only elevate the drama when things get crazy.
Good Girls also has an exceptional villain in Rio, played by the always great Manny Montana. Rio is the leader of the gang, a "love to hate him" villain. But, and I think this is the critical difference between this show and others, Rio never feels too safe. It's a tough line to walk between making Rio charming and making him dangerous, and Manny Montana handles it beautifully. The chemistry between him and Christina Hendricks is outstanding at every turn, but you never lose sight of how volatile their relationship really is.
Like I said,
Good Girls just wrapped their first season and NBC just announced their pickup for season 2 (congrats!!). Honestly, I can't wait to see what comes next. Also if we could get that first season up on Netflix right quick, that would be great because I can already sense the importance of a summer rewatch of this one!
Happy Watching!
CT
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