GLOW Season 2 Review: I Just Love These Ladies!

Netflix's sleeper hit "GLOW" continues to delight in it's second season. It's based on the 1980s women's wresting series known as "Gorgeous Ladies Of Wresting" (or "GLOW" for short). A group of lovable losers and gruff drug addict producer Sam Sylvia band together to made something special. They become a family along the way. There's out of work actress Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) and soap opera has-been Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin). There's already drama between these two besties because Ruth slept with Debbie's husband. Uh oh.

There's also lots of big hair, crazy costumes, and over the top story lines. The group manages to pull off the show despite their non-existent budget, low viewership numbers, and lack of decent sponsors. Make sure you dont miss the fun title sequence, dance video and other add ons. The wrestlers are divided into "faces" (heroes) and "heels" (villains). Debbie's alter ego is "Liberty Belle" who is a hero. Ruth's alter ego is "Zoya The Destroya" (she loves the USSR) and is a villain.

Other wrestlers include: "The Welfare Queen" (Tamee Dawson), "Sheila The She Wolf (Sheila ?), "Machu Picchu (Carmen Wade), "Brittannica" (Rhonda Richardson), "Melrose" (Melanie Rosen), "Scab" (Justine Biag), "Junkchain/Black Magic" (Cherry Bang), "Junkchain II" (Yolanda Rivas), "Beirut The Mad Bomber" (Artheir Premkumar), "Fortune Cookie" (Jenny Chey), "Vicky The Viking" (Reggie Walsh), and "The Toxic Twins: Ozone and Nuke/The Rosenblatts" (Stacey and Dawn).

The show is chiefly a comedy but also deals with some heavy issues including: sexual harassment, racial stereotypes, working mothers, friendship, estranged parenthood, immigration and AIDS. The scenes with Tamee and her son Ernest are particularly heart felt. And here's an interesting tidbit for you (in case you dont already know). Kia Stevens (who plays Tamee) wrestled as a the Amazing Kong/Awesome Kong in the US and Japan for more than 10 years. How's that for meta?

Lighter topics included the kidnapping of Liberty's daughter Savannah Rose (no, that's not really her kid) and Zoya's twin sister Olga's trip to American (with goat in tow).

Grade: 4 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). Excellent! "GLOW" is outside my typical wheelhouse (horror/sci fi/fantasy) but I found the show surprisingly enjoyable. Who doesnt love a ragtag band of losers who give up everything to follow their dreams? With only 10 30-minute episodes per season, "GLOW" isnt a huge time investment. And dont forget the wrestling. The ladies have some killer movies going on there. What's that saying about Ginger Rogers? She did everything Fred Astaire did but in high heels and backwards. Yeah, that.