Netflix's GLOW has become the latest series to be canceled due to the production shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The wrestling dramedy series, which tells the story of struggling actress Ruth Wilder's (Alison Brie) pursuit of superstardom in the world of women's pro wrestling, had already been renewed for a fourth and final season in August 2019.
Production on the fourth season of GLOW had already been underway for three weeks when the pandemic prompted Netflix to suspend filming in March. The cast and crew had only completed one episode and just starting filming a second when the shutdown occurred.
Deadline reports the close physical contact and exertion required of filming a wrestling series proved to be a challenge when attempting to figure out a safe way of resuming production. "We've made the difficult decision not to do the fourth season of GLOW due to COVID, which makes shooting this physically intimate show with its large ensemble cast especially challenging," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet. "We are so grateful to creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, Jenji Kohan and all the writers, cast and crew for sharing this story about the incredible women of GLOW with us and the world." In addition to the physical demands, the added cost of COVID-19 safety measures reportedly increased the budget of the already expensive series.
Netflix reportedly decided the added cost of filming wouldn't be a worthwhile investment due to the possibility of there not being a large enough audience for GLOW when the final season finally debuted, which would have been 2022 at the earliest. "COVID has killed actual humans. It’s a national tragedy and should be our focus. COVID also apparently took down our show. Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of GLOW," said series creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch in a statement on the cancellation. "We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that's gone. There's a lot of sh*tty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don't get to see these 15 women in a frame together again." The series regulars on GLOW season 4 have been paid in full for the fourth season.
Netflix made a similar decision to cancel I Am Not Okay With This and The Society due to the pandemic, in spite of giving a second season order to both shows. A similar fate befell ABC's Stumptown, which also had its second season renewal reversed due, in part, to the added cost of the safety measures required to protect cast and crew from contracting COVID-19.
The cancellation of GLOW is just the latest setback to the entertainment industry as the COVID-19 shows no signs of slowing down in the fall. On the feature film side, Cineworld recently announced plans to close its theaters in the U.S. and UK due to the lack of new releases to screen.
GLOW is now available on Netflix.
Source: Deadline