Brianne Howey, who portrays Georgia in Netflix’s show “Ginny & Georgia,” can relate to both haves of the titular duo — particularly to Georgia’s daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) with the family structure that Georgia has created as matriarch of their family.
“I have four younger siblings who I would die for. I’m the oldest of five. It’s obviously not exactly the same. My mom would always tell me you’ll never know how much I love you until you have a child of your own,” the actress told TheWrap. “Of course, there’s a level of that I won’t be able to relate to until I have a child of my own, but for now, Antonia feels like another sibling to me. And I have a really large age gap with my siblings. It’s everywhere from five years to 17 years.”
And like her character, Howey grew up with a single mother.
“A lot of the conversations between Ginny and Georgia weren’t as shocking to me, because I have had similar conversations with my mom. And when there’s such a small age gap, a lot of conversations that would otherwise feel uncomfortable are actually really normalized,” Howey explained. “So that part was relatable. And also I think living in survivor mode. I think we’ve all had to be, unfortunately, in Survivor Mode, at some point in our lives. For Georgia, everything is life or death. She has to live minute by minute and the stakes are really really high. Because my mom was a young single mom and has been through a lot, I watched her also live in survival mode, and I’ve had my own experiences of phases where things can be harder. But I relate to Georgia in that sense.”
Conversations between Ginny and Georgia can range from shouting matches and difficult exchanges of feelings to Ginny asking her mom for sex tips.
“The sex-positive elements are Georgia’s comfort zone. Mental health subjects are not her comfort zone. That’s relatable as well. Growing up, I never got to watch shows that had nuanced conversations about mental health like Jenny and Georgia do, so I’m super grateful to get to be a part of that. Mental Health America was also a huge supporter and walked us through every episode every step of the way,” Howey shared. “Georgia doesn’t have as many tools to cope with grief and trauma in a healthy way. One of the most beautiful parts of Season 2 is that Ginny asks for help, and that’s where Ginny is more mature than Georgia [because] Georgia does not know how to ask for that. I don’t blame Georgia because of all that she has been through in her life. She’s never had parental figures that she can trust — or even teachers she could trust. She fell through the cracks of the system, physically, emotionally and psychologically. So Georgia has a really, really limited tool belt that has gotten her where she is, but I think it would benefit her relationship with Ginny to expand her emotional intelligence.”
“And that’s where those therapy scenes come into play,” Howey continued. “I love getting to do because I love seeing Georgia out of her element. I love it when she’s kind of a fish out of water.”
Later in the season when Georgia discovers Ginny has been inflicting self-harm, she decides to sit in on one of Ginny’s therapy sessions. The therapist is reluctant to accept, but then realizes Georgia’s presence could be productive in helping the pair better understand each other.
“It’s about a relationship where one person in essence doesn’t really understand the other person at its core,” said showrunner Debra J Fisher. “The tone of our show is really tricky. We have this delicate balance between light and dark. One minute we’re happy, sad, laughing, crying, which is truly real life. [Brianne and Antonia] just really get it and they’re, I think that’s a tribute to them and why people feel so connected to it.”
Georgia has two kids with two different men: Ginny with Zion (Nathan Mitchell) and Austin with Gil Timmins (Aaron Ashmore). She maintains parental relationships with both, though less enthusiastically with Gil.
“They’re all such fantastic scene partners, and they all bring a completely different element to the scene. Georgia is almost completely different with each of them,” Howey explained. “What I love about Georgia and I love about the show is there’s so much gray area. The only thing that’s black and white for Georgia are her children. The rest is pretty gray.”
“Zion was the first love of her life. So it’s incredibly tender and the first cut is the deepest and nothing can ever really replace that. I think Zion was the first person to show her true love. And then there’s Gil. Gil’s an interesting character because Gil taught her almost how to be a con artist, for better or for worse. She was so naive going into her relationship with Gil. She truly took him at face value, and then once she started picking up on who he really was, she realized she was stuck. But she also realized how to use it to her advantage, which is a tool now she’s carried throughout the rest of her life.”
Georgia also juggles a newly kindled romance with Wellsbury Mayor Paul Randolph (Scott Porter) to whom she became engaged in Season 1, but she also has repressed feelings for Joe (Raymond Ablack), owner of Blue Farm.
Paul also represents protection, which is something that Georgia’s never had in her life. All she wants is to protect her kids because no one ever protected her, and that’s how Georgia ended up in a lot of these unfortunate circumstances,” Howey said. “And then there’s Joe, and it’s one of my favorite scenes when she says Joe that she never feels judged by him. I think Georgia is so performative, larger than life. It makes the moments where Georgia doesn’t have as many masks on all the more special because she just kind of gets to be. We rarely get to see Georgia just being. She’s always doing.”
Show creator Sarah Lampert teased that “anything’s possible” when it comes to Georgia and Joe, who met each other when Georgia first found out she was pregnant with Ginny back when she was 15.
“Their relationship and their first meeting means something different for each of them. For Joe, that memory and that connection and his continuous attraction to Georgia through the years is much different than [how] Georgia [feels]. I think she views Joe as this dove of hope almost and this safe space,” she said. “He saw her at her lowest point, which we know he doesn’t remember until the end of Season 1, and they don’t talk about it until Season 2, but I think to her he really represents a homebase of safety. So it’s not as romantic for her, and is there a possibility for it to get there? Well, anything’s possible baby.”
But as both Lampert and Fisher emphasize, nothing will ever eclipse Ginny and Georgia.
“In a way, Ginny’s also the first love of George’s life; she can’t ever be replaced either. But I think what’s so ironic about their relationship is, because Georgia wants everything, all of the opportunities that she was never afforded, that’s the goal she’s going for — and she is accomplishing it because now her kids are going to school and somewhat living a normal life and have friends,” Howey said. “Because of that, that’s also exactly what’s pulling Ginny away from Georgia because she’s now so independent and can think for herself right and learn these other tools and can think outside of the box and can question things and has opinions that vastly differ from Georgia’s.”
Season 2 of “Ginny & Georgia” is currently streaming on Netflix.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
