Go Pro Today

Netflix Cancels ‘GLOW’ Due to COVID, Reversing Renewal for 4th and Final Season

Filming was completed on one episode before production shut down in February

| October 5, 2020 @ 1:41 PM Last Updated: October 5, 2020 @ 2:22 PM
GLOW

Netflix

“GLOW” has been canceled by Netflix due to COVID-related circumstances, with the streaming service reversing the fourth and final season renewal it had given the Alison Brie- and Betty Gilpin-led comedy last September.

An individual with knowledge tells TheWrap filming on one episode of the final batch of “GLOW” installments had been completed in February and production had begun on a second before everything was shut down due to the pandemic. Netflix had been attempting to get “GLOW,” which is shot entirely in Los Angeles, back into production, but the ensemble cast of 20 and show’s inclusion of actual wrestling scenes that require heavy breathing and physical exertion put it at a “very high level of risk” to shoot amid the coronavirus, the insider said.

The fourth and final season of the Liz Flahive- and Carly Mensch-created series would not have debuted until 2022 at the earliest, according to the individual. Due to the COVID-related delay and the increased cost of production because of the pandemic, Netflix did not believe there would be enough of a draw for the show two and a half years after Season 3 launched to “justify” investing in it further, per the insider.

Also Read: 'GLOW' Renewed for Fourth and Final Season at Netflix

The streaming service made the decision to cancel the show to avoid holding the cast and crew indefinitely and preventing them from finding other work, the individual said, adding that all of the series regulars have been paid for the season in full.

“We’ve made the difficult decision not to do a 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 TheWrap. “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.”

“COVID has killed actual humans,” Flahive and Mensch added in their own statement. “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. 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 shitty 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. We’ll miss our cast of weirdo clowns and our heroic crew. It was the best job. Register to vote. And please vote.”

Also Read: Fall TV 2020: All the Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows - So Far (Photos)

Inspired by the short-lived but beloved show from the ’80s, “GLOW” stars Brie as a struggling actress-turned-wrestler in 1980s Los Angeles. Gilpin co-stars as a former soap actress who is sucked into the world of professional wrestling when her picture-perfect life is revealed to be less than it seems. Marc Maron plays a washed-up, B-movie director who now must lead this group of women on the journey to wrestling stardom. Season 3 moved the action to the Vegas strip, where the ragtag crew has set up shop as headliners at the Fan-Tan Hotel and Casino and quickly realize Sin City is much more grind than glitter.

In addition to Flahive and Mensch, “Orange Is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan, Tara Herrmann and Mark Burley also serve as executive producers on the series.

“GLOW” was nominated for 18 Emmy awards throughout its three-season run and received three.

Fall TV 2020: All the Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows - So Far (Photos)

  • fall premiere dates 2020 Fox/ABC/Amazon/FX
  • Teen Mom 2 MTV
  • 16 and Recovering - MTV MTV
  • Transplant - Season 1 NBC
  • House of Payne BET
  • Assisted Living BET
  • AP Bio Season 3 Peacock
  • HBO Max
  • Away Hilary Swank Netflix
  • Noughts and Crosses Peacock
  • Stormfront Aya Cash The Boys Season 2 Amazon Prime Video
  • Viola Davis and husband OWN
  • Method Man in Power Book II: Ghost Starz
  • American Ninja Warrior - season 11 NBC
  • LA's Finest - Season 1 - Episode 101 Spectrum Originals
  • Woke Lamorne Morris Hulu
  • Madison Reyes in "Julie and the Phantoms" on Netflix Netflix
  • The Duchess Netflix
  • our cartoon president trump colbert showtime Showtime
  • Dancing With the Stars ABC
  • The Third Day Katherine Waterston HBO
  • We Are Who We Are HBO
  • Enslaved Epix
  • Comedy Central
  • Challenger_ Final Flight Netflix
  • FXX
  • Departure - Season 1 Peacock
  • The Great Pottery Throw Down HBO Max
  • Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Hulu
  • Pen15 Hulu
  • Ratched Sarah Paulson Netflix
  • Worlds Funniest Animals The CW
  • LA's Finest Fox
  • filthy rich Fox
  • Nick Cannon Masked Singer Fox
  • I Can See Your Voice Fox
  • Rainn Wilson Utopia Amazon
  • A Wilderness of Error FX
  • Simpsons Fox
  • Bless the Harts Fox
  • Bobs Burgers Fox
  • Showtime
  • Family Guy Fox
  • Fargo Year 4 - Chris Rock FX
  • The Weakest Link - Season 1 NBC
  • Gangs of London AMC
  • Salisbury Poisonings AMC
  • Monsterland Getty
  • Emily in Paris Netflix
  • Undercover Boss CBS
  • Warrior
  • snl saturday night live weekend update michael che on stay at home protesters NBC
  • Pandora
  • Ethan Hawke Good Lord Bird Showtime Showtime
  • britannia Epix
  • The Walking Dead World Beyond AMC
  • Soulmates AMC
  • Swamp Thing DC Universe
  • Ellen's Game of Games - Season 2 NBC
  • NEXT Fox
  • Devils Patrick Dempsey The CW
  • Coroner The CW
  • Supernatural The CW
  • Connecting - Season 1 NBC
  • CW - The Outpost The CW
  • Disney+
  • Haunting of Bly Manor Netflix
  • fear the walking dead ftwd season 6 premiere and trailer AMC
  • CLARE CRAWLEY bachelorette ABC
  • Tell Me a Story The CW
  • The Amazing Race CBS
  • Sistas BET
  • Star Trek Discovery Season 3 CBS All Access
  • Helstrom Hulu Comic-Con at Home San Diego Comic-Con Trailer Hulu
  • Grand Army Netflix
  • Shark Tank ABC
  • ABC
  • Getty
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ABC
  • Card Sharks ABC
  • Unsolved Mysteries Netflix
  • The Voice NBC
  • The Goldbergs ABC
  • The Conners ABC
  • Blackish ABC
  • Queens Gambit Netflix
  • The Undoing HBO
  • NBC
  • American Housewife ABC
  • Superstore - Season 4 NBC
  • Mandalorian Disney+
  • The Good Doctor ABC
  • Young Sheldon CBS
  • B Positive CBS
  • Mom CBS
  • CBS
  • NCIS New Orleans CBS
  • A Teacher Kate Mara FX on Hulu
  • Chicago Med - Season 4 NBC
  • Chicago Fire - Season 7 NBC
  • CBS
  • Chicago P.D. - Season 6 NBC
  • Station 19 ABC
  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 21 NBC
  • ELLEN POMPEO Greys Anatomy ABC
  • The Unicorn CBS
  • The Blacklist Red NBC
  • the crown season 3 queen elizabeth conspiracy theories harold wilson anthony blunt russian Netflix
  • The Neighborhood CBS
  • Bob Hearts Abishola CBS
  • All Rise CBS CBS
  • His Dark Materials HBO
  • Bull cbs CBS
  • NCIS CBS
  • FBI - "Emotional Rescue" CBS
  • FBI Most Wanted CBS
  • Kylie Bunbury Big Sky ABC
  • For Life ABC
  • A Million Little Things ABC
  • Animaniacs Hulu
  • Seal Team CBS
  • HBO Max
  • Virgin River Netflix
  • Shameless Showtime
  • The Stand CBS All Access
1 of 125

Here’s when 125 broadcast, cable and streaming series debut and come back

Fall is in full swing, but not much has changed since this summer with many people still staying at home as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Luckily, dozens of new and returning shows are premiering this autumn to keep you company. TheWrap has rounded up all the dates we know -- so far -- for Fall TV shows' debuts. We will continue to update the list as more become available.

For the purposes of this gallery, we've designated Sept. 1 as the beginning of fall rather than the official Sept. 22 start, since "Fall TV" is sure to be more loosely defined this year.

Also Read: ‘The Masked Singer’ Pulled Off Its Pandemic Season With Animation, Fan Voting and a Baby Alien

View In Gallery

Related Content