'Ginny & Georgia' star Scott Porter disagrees that Paul is a 'villain': 'Correct reaction, wrong action'

Yahoo

30-06-2025

Even weeks after Ginny & Georgia Season 3 premiered, the series is still one of the most-watched shows on Netflix right now. Among the discussions about the season include fans expressing their opinions about how Paul Randolph (Scott Porter) handled his relationship with Georgia (Brianne Howey) and her kids during her murder trial.
Some have been quick to call him a "villain." But Scott Porter believes his character is still "thoughtful."
"People want to categorize him as this season's villain, I could not disagree more with that sentiment," Porter told Yahoo Canada. "I think our show's very good at showing characters who make mistakes, big ones at that, but still shows the other side of them and their humanity, and how, hopefully, they can correct after those things happen. And I'm hoping for that same thing with Paul."
One of the most shocking and impactful moments of Ginny & Georgia Season 3 is when Georgia lies to Paul about being pregnant, and when he finds out, he gets angry and hits the wall next to Georgia's head. A trigger for her past trauma from abusive relationships.
"Up to this point, it's been OK when she has kept things from him and lied about things that are in her past, or that are outside of their relationship. But the straw that really breaks the camel's back is when she lies and manipulates a situation within their own family," Porter identified. "He sees that as an actual, ultimate betrayal."
"And I've seen fans throw this phrase around, and I think it's very right, 'Correct reaction, wrong action,' for Paul in the kitchen scene. And you can see the immediate regret on his face after he slams his hand on the wall. ... He would never touch her physically, but to even come that close and give her, for lack of a better word, a little bit of PTSD maybe from a history he does actually know about, with Gil, really puts him in a place where he is deeply hurting and regretful. But hurting people hurt people."
But as the relationship between Paul and Georgia certainly evolves in Season 3, Porter stressed that he has the best scene partner in Brianne Howey to navigate that shifts.
"I've worked in this business for a long time, she is one of the best scene partners I've ever had," Porter said. "She's capable of pretty much anything. The deepest drama, the funniest comedy, she can do it all."
"We worked together on a different show, Heart of Dixie, before this, and that kind of gave us our ability to really sense each other's timing and cadence in Season 1, which I think really leaned into the charm of their early relationship. So once we established that, and understanding each other's timing, we were able to just really then explore the rest of it. And she is so consistent, and I like to think that I'm consistent as well. So those two things work together, because when you are consistent together as a unit, you can really then start to play in small moments and explore different emotions, and different parts of scenes, and tweak and pull and twist together knowing that the other person's not going to drop you."
While Ginny & Georgia has been a big hit, this isn't the first show Porter's starred in that's been incredibly beloved and embraced by fans. The actor famously starred in the series Friday Night Lights as Jason Street, the quarterback for the Dillon Panthers who becomes paralyzed during a football game.
Having that Friday Night Lights legacy behind him, a show that continues to gain fans to this day after ending in 2011, and now seeing a whole new fandom with Ginny & Georgia, Porter stressed that he feels "so fortunate" and "filled with gratitude."
"My parents were hard workers their whole life. They're incredibly talented. They met in a rock band in the '80s and they worked all week to go make art on the weekends, hoping to eventually make a living with their art. And they never achieved that, even though they deserved it 100 per cent," Porter shared. "And there are a lot of people like that in this world that are so infinitely talented that just never get the chance."
"So when I look at what I've been allowed to do, I just have nothing but the deepest respect for it. And I want to show up every day and work as hard as I can, and just have every bit of every day be full of appreciation, because I know that there's some luck that goes into this."
But Porter also highlighted that he does see similarities between working on Ginny & Georgia and Friday Night Lights.
"Going into Friday Night Lights, I think a lot of us knew it was going to be a very special show. I think a lot of us knew that NBC was taking a chance on us back then. TV was very aimed at being international, creating a product that could sell overseas," Porter said. "And we got cancelled twice and we got saved twice, and so every day we were on that set was full of appreciation and gratitude. ... People are still watching that show to this day, which blows my mind."
"Ginny & Georgia, there's a very strong parallel there, because we're a small show at a streaming network who was, from the outside looking in, very focused on making big, splashy shows, and we're tiny. We don't cost much to make. We're a show about a small town in Massachusetts and we weren't sure if it would connect. But the one thing about this show that was kind of the same with Friday Night Lights is it had a voice all its own. I think Ginny & Georgia is very unique. And I think Friday Night Lights has that same quality to it."
Porter identified that Ginny & Georgia creator Sarah Lampert and Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg have similar ways of operating, with Porter saying "they know they're right."
"When Sarah throws these story lines out at people, I think their initial reaction is, 'This is crazy.' And she goes, 'I know, but it will work,' and it does. Very often in our show, the craziest things work the best and she's willing to take those chances," Porter said. "I'm really impressed by her bravery and her ability to stand up and fight for what she really thinks is the right thing that has to happen for a character."
"Pete, of course, much different filmmaker, much different creator, much different leader, but one thing they have in common is, Pete's mantra when we were doing Friday Night Lights was, 'Nobody pushes us around.' We know our show better than anybody else. You know your character better than anybody else. So if a director comes on to the show and says you have to do something because they want to create a moment and you know it's wrong for your character, you call us and you let us know, and we'll come have a talk with the director. They had our backs 100 per cent, every single day, because Pete, again, knew what was right for his show, and he was willing to fight for it."
But with both Ginny & Georgia and Friday Night Lights, Porter also stressed that part of what makes them great is the casting, really getting the right people for each role in two great ensembles.
"I don't think casting directors get enough credit in the way that they work with the show creator early on to make sure that everybody lands in the proper place," Porter highlighted. "And I think both of the shows did it in a way that was outside of the norm."
"Usually the network or the streamer will place actors into your show, and both Sarah and Pete said, we can't do that. ... We're finding the right people. And Sarah and Pete were both very strong in that position. And the casting directors, the way they trusted them to find those people, was very equal."
With Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia ending with that massive cliffhanger, with fans left wondering if Georgia is pregnant, and who he father is, Porter said he was still surprised by that season finale moment during the final table read.
"It was interesting because that very last moment was in the script, but the plain as day way Ginny says, 'Mom, don't you only drink milk like that when you're pregnant,' for some reason that made it land even harder," Porter said. "So we were all prepared after reading the script, but it was just in stage direction, having Ginny say it out loud was just a boom moment."
Looking forward to Season 4, Porter highlighted that Paul has "some pieces to pick up" and "soul searching" to do.
"I think he's going to have to put himself together, but once he does that, I hope we see his resilience. We see his fervor for wanting to create real change in the world, and his desire to do it in a different way than his father did," Porter said. "We've heard for years how good Paul is at his job. I hope we get to see ... his proficiency in the world of politics. And if we do get that, I think the way he interacts with Georgia in his town now, where they are squarely behind her and not him any longer, brings out a little bit more of the banter that we had between those two characters in Season 1."
"I think Paul is very quick on his feet. He can be witty. He can be very charming, and I hope we start to see that part of Paul again at some point in Season 4. I don't think it would be right away. I don't know if we'll get there at all, but that would be some of my hope and desire."