A little bit of comedy and drama, a dash of mystery and crime and a sprinkle of romance – that’s the formula that makes Ginny & Georgia what it is. The many layers of this story, that revolve around the complex lives of the titular characters, can be a bit much at times – but it still retains a certain charm that keeps you watching.
There is a lot to learn about the life of Georgia, both within the events of the show and what happened prior to her arrival in Wellsbury. This endlessly mysterious past is the driving force for almost everything that happens this season – outside of Ginny’s teen dramas. For the most part, the ride this narrative guides us on through the season is very well paced and quite entertaining. It’s filled with twists and turns that are well written and integrated, as well as characters who are very likeable throughout. Sure, there are some predictable story beats, but they’re well placed amongst the more original turns. It’s near perfectly balanced between focusing on Ginny’s arc and Georgia’s, giving each character room to grow, while also maximising the potential audience. Georgia’s arc is more focused on the adult dramas and mystery elements, whereas Ginny’s arc is all about coming of age and the typical high-school dramas. Both sides of the series are constantly crossing over and constantly interacting – which leads to a cohesive and rewarding narrative in which it all connects. As I mentioned, this approach with the mother/daughter co-leads maximises the audience since it can draw in and appeal to both older and younger crowds.
The season does contain a number of standout scenes, with very well written dialogue, that are either emotionally impactful or especially hilarious – leading to some memorable highlights. On the other hand, there is a recurring thing that happens throughout the season where certain individual scenes go for a bit too long. Many times there are scenes that seem to linger on one thing for much longer than it needed to. Once or twice if fine, but it seems to be a stylistic and/or storytelling decision that doesn’t work. The episodes are already quite long, so slowing things down with unnecessarily drawn-out scenes doesn’t help at all. Also, I will say that although there are some scenes with great dialogue, there are a couple that definitely fall below the bar. Despite the slow scenes and occasional missteps, there’s no doubting it’s an entertaining series that spends as much time dealing with the events of this season as it does with teasing what might be to come.
Part of this series being entertaining comes from the cast and the performances they deliver, really fleshing out these immensely likeable characters. Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry are two rays of light who do all of the heavy lifting throughout the season. The humour, emotion and heart of the series is delivered almost entirely through this dynamic duo. Every single scene that they share together is absolutely electric and their constant back and forth banter is the driving force for so many impactful scenes. The both of them bring to life two very likeable characters – making it very easy to root for both of them through the highs and lows of their relationship. The supporting cast are good also, popping in and out of Ginny and Georgia’s lives – injecting a dose of variety to the series. Sara Waisglass is the standout there as one of Ginny’s friends, really upping the entertainment factor every time she’s on screen. Raymond Ablack (Joe) and Jennifer Robertson (Ellen) also make their mark whenever their characters, who radiate positivity, show up.
With that, there’s not much more to go into with Ginny & Georgia, the narrative has its ups and downs but remains pleasantly engaging the whole way through. It’s a fun and entertaining series that definitely capitalises on and appeals to its audience really well. There’s comedy, there’s intrigue and there’s drama, meaning there really is something to grab onto at all times. It all but sets itself up for another season, promising some drastic changes to the formula so far. Sitting pretty at 10 episodes, it makes for a very easy and pleasant Netflix binge sesh.
7.5/10
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