Ginny & Georgia, season 3, starts off with Georgia (Brianne Howey) marrying Mayor Paul (Scott Porter). Finally, Georgia has a good thing happen in her life. Except by the end of the wedding she’s arrested and in jail for murdering the terminally ill neighbor across the street.
Ginny & Georgia is fraught with tension and intense emotion this season. It’s a big story, so there’s plenty going on. Georgia’s situation is bad, but the troubles do get spread around.
When Georgia isn’t in jail, she’s under house arrest wearing an ankle bracelet. As more and more information about her past and the deaths of her previous husbands comes to light, her trial turns into a media circus. She’s known nationwide as the Murderous Mayoress.
Georgia’s kids, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin (Diesel La Torraca) are taken away by child protective services to their respective fathers, Zion (Nathan Mitchell) and Gil (Aaron Ashmore). Everyone abandons Georgia as the news spreads. Paul doesn’t support her, none of her friends or exes show up at the trial. The situation looks very bad. Joe (Raymond Ablack), the local cafe owner, remains an ally but he’s just one person.
Ginny’s friend group includes Maxine (Sara Waisglass), Abby (Katie Douglas), and Norah (Chelsea Clark). They all have struggles, too. There are more LGBTQ characters in season 3, one of the girls has an abortion story arc, and there are plenty of mental health issues – depression, bulimia, and trauma. Marcus (Felix Mallard), Ginny’s ex-boyfriend, has serious problems with drinking.
The friends always accuse Maxine of being too dramatic, but man oh man, season 3 of Ginny & Georgia has the drama in spades. This brings up some acting challenges, especially for Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry, who step right up with powerful performances.
In past seasons and through flashbacks in season 3, we saw Georgia grow into a thief, a lair, a manipulator, and a murderer out of desperation and necessity. We loved her in spite of it. Her kids were great kids no matter how she managed to provide for them. In season 3, we come face to face with the fact that maybe they are going to be just like her – less than morally upright and willing to do anything to protect each other.
Since season 4 of this series has been approved, I think we’ll get to see more about whether Georgia’s children share her flaws and nefarious talents. The very last seconds of season 3 also contain a hint that Georgia’s fame has spread to people she wishes didn’t know who or where she is.
I love that all the season 3 directors are women: Sharon Lewis, Darnell Martin, Jasmin Mozaffari, April Mullen, and Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum. Overall, I thought season 3 was powerful and well done. The whole season is up on Netflix now.