Interview with ‘Ginny & Georgia' Stars Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey

Cosmopolitan

a day ago

After two seasons on the air tackling wild storylines and surprises, it would seem like nothing could shake up Ginny and Georgia's Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey. But as seen in the show's highly watched third season, the Netflix hit went through a bit of a shift both in front and behind the camera.
The SAG-AFTRA strike and a longer than normal hiatus put the cast further apart than ever. Then when they were finally able to come back and film, they had a new showrunner to work with. And the storyline of the season gave Antonia and Brianne fewer scenes together than usual. As Ginny was forced away from her mother who was under house arrest and facing a murder charge, the series took its drama and kicked things up a notch. But despite the distance, it actually brought the two actors closer together. The feelings were heightened, forcing them to bring more trust and care to set while their characters realize just how alike they are when their relationship and futures are on the line.
Thankfully, the show received a two-season renewal before this season even aired (yes, peaches, season 4 is already guaranteed!), so there's still more of the story to come. But as Ginny and Georgia face a new kind of future, Cosmopolitan caught Antonia and Brianne to ask them about those (not one but…) two pregnancy reveals, how they're taking on season 4 together, and how missing each other brought a new level of their characters to the screen.
Brianne Howey: It's always interesting to have that long of a hiatus. Personally, it will give me a little bit more butterflies going back. But at the same time, we stay in touch throughout the process. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. I think it's nice to miss our characters a little bit so then when we come back.
Antonia Gentry: I feel like we're all a lot closer even now. I'm looking forward to no longer having to wait two years to see everyone.
I missed working with Bri. I love my whole cast, but I really did feel Bri's absence as Georgia as I didn't work with her as much as I was used to. It kind of helped with the character. I missed her in real life not seeing her as much on set.
BH: Georgia being on house arrest certainly changed the dynamic. I actually think the kids not living with Georgia made them closer. They did miss each other so much that when Georgia was with the kids, those scenes were really important and really full. Otherwise, I was solo in the house. It was a very different experience this season. It was more Georgia's breakdown season to get to her breakthrough.
BH: There's some moral ambiguity here, but I think the difference for these women is that their intentions are pure. Georgia wants nothing more than to protect her kids and keep her family together. It's the same with Ginny at the end of the season. This season is so much about the lengths you go to for your loved ones. But it does pose some other questions. Are Ginny and Georgia better off together or apart? Is it really them against the world? This season made me miss Georgia's feistiness and her sass and her controlling abilities and her playing chess with everyone.
AG: Getting to play that side of Ginny this season was really, really fun, and I'm super excited to see where we go from there. Ultimately, the show always showcases the irony of the lengths that Georgia has gone through to protect her kids from the life that she lived. Her methods and her examples that she's been setting end up kind of come back full circle as we see Ginny making a lot of the same choices that Georgia would make.
BH: You mean love?
BH: We end season 3 on such a shocking note, where every single secret Georgia has been hiding has now been revealed. The woman with the most secrets no longer has any. We've also seen small actionable change within Georgia, that there is potential for her to find it. I don't think it will come easy or fast, but I think Georgia can find a more a more peaceful, safe version of the life she's living and what she's been doing.
AG: In the moment that Ginny's poem goes viral on TikTok, she really does blame herself for sort of putting that nail in the coffin. Like, I basically confess on behalf of my mother that she has killed people. But this is her tool. This what she needs in order to make sense of her life and her feelings and what she's going through. It just shows how much she's basically grown and changed by the end of this season, because I don't think season 2 Ginny would have ever gone back to poetry had it happened then. By this point, she's basically like, Eff it. This is me. This is who I am, and you're gonna have to deal with it.
BH: For Zion and Georgia, there's no going back. That's peak betrayal. I don't know that Georgia has ever been more hurt, especially because Zion was the first love of her life. Georgia's always viewed them as ships passing in the night. They've always had this will-they, won't-they, and this season certainly solidifies they won't.
Georgia, in her process of continuing to have any form of emotional intelligence, can see how good it is for Ginny to spend time with her father and how much it affects her life for the better. Georgia has to step outside of herself and put her children first, and that means Zion is going to be a very big part of her life as he should be.
AG: It's a matter of sort of finally standing up and basically doing the things that they should have done all along. They were teenagers when Ginny was born. Ginny has always been trying to get her dad to see the truth and look past the veil that Georgia puts in place. When he finally does, he basically makes everything worse for them.
For them to have joint custody, it's literally respecting Ginny's wishes. It's literally finally giving her a say in her life and what she wants. While it will be a challenge, for Ginny, this is literally all she's ever wanted.
AG: She is used to Georgia taking up so much space and not really allowing Ginny to explore who she is through a lot of unsolicited advice. At the end of the day, Georgia is Ginny's mother, and Ginny looks up to her mother and has always had this sense of awe when it comes to her.
When Ginny witnesses Georgia in this weakened state where she basically just gives up and she's like, I'm done running. I'm done playing these games. Ginny's like, Oh, absolutely not. I need to help her. I need her in my life as my mother. So she truly just does whatever she can, but in Georgia fashion.
BH: So much of this season is about Georgia finally taking a good look in the mirror and seeing a more honest reflection of herself and in doing so, she's finally able to give Ginny what Ginny has been so desperately asking for which is space and agency. Ginny became her identity. That's why she has no boundaries. That's why she's so obsessed with her. That's why she's so possessive over her. And that was actually still a better outcome for Georgia than what would have happened to her if she didn't get pregnant. Georgia was on a really destructive path and has been through a lot of trauma. I think Ginny saved her life. Granted they became then too enmeshed because Georgia doesn't have the right tools. But it's beautiful in that moment that we finally get to see that Ginny has her own agency and can make a decision for herself, especially about this hot topic that the show handles so beautifully.
AG: Ultimately, when we look at these two characters, they have always been a mirror image of each other. At the same time that Ginny has saved Georgia's life, we also have those moments where it's like, because of the decisions you made, it has affected Ginny and Austin in these ways and not all of them are positive. In fact, many of them are their own sources of trauma. For Ginny, who has a different life than Georgia and has different opportunities and has a different support system, when you compare the two of them at that age, it makes so much more sense for her to be able to sort of continue to build a life for herself before coming into motherhood. Allowing Ginny to come to that conclusion on her own is is a big symbol of their relationship.
BH: Look, we all want Georgia to chill out a little bit, give Ginny some space, take a breather. That being said, now that I've had my daughter, I'm not giving her any space, no. I'm gonna force that child to be my best friend forever. I understand Georgia's obsession more. Your kids are your everything. I would do anything for my daughter. I used to think of Georgia as extra extreme, but maybe I think of her as a touch less so.
AG: I mean, on set, we literally have to trust each other. We're always emotionally at a 10. Especially now that we have three seasons, there's no one I trust more on set than Brianne, which allows me to go there. And when you go there for 12 hours a day every single day for half a year with someone, you bring that trust home with you. Bri will always be someone that is very special and will be in my life until I'm dead.
BH: You're gonna make me cry.
AG: She makes it easy!
BH: I don't even know how to explain it. Since the day I met Toni, it's been the easiest thing. I do think how heavy our material is has expedited our intimacy together. I mean, how many scenes have we done where we're balling in each other's arms? I'm really grateful that it's with someone who is so authentic and so talented and such a wonderful scene partner and human being. It's the safest of spaces for the scariest of material.
AG: It just speaks volumes how much people have resonated with the show and the stories that each character portrays. For it to be such a specific and unique mother-daughter duo that has universality where so many people are able to really resonate and connect with these characters just shows how there's not a lot of options out there that depict this kind of mother-daughter relationship. It's really gratifying. I truly am grateful to be a part of this type of story and it makes me want to work harder to make sure that we bring these characters to justice.
BH: I wish that there was a show like this on when I was in high school. It touches so many subjects that people weren't really talking about. Nobody was talking about mental health. I grew up with a young single mom. I think if I had seen it on TV, in this capacity, it would have given me a little bit of confidence, because Georgia is glorified in some ways. It's an honor that we get to be a part of this niche group.
AG: I think Ginny & Georgia is a show that is very much aware of what it is and what it wants to be. The tone is so specific. While we do have such dark themes and very relevant, topical conversation starters in the show. At the same time, it's very aware that it's a TV show. I think that's one of the things that makes it work so well. It's not overly trying to teach you or tell you how to feel about something. It offers entertainment as well as real conversation starters. If the show was written for an award, it would be a very different show.
BH: We're definitely not chasing it. I think we kind keep our heads down, we do the work, and if anyone else thinks that, amazing. And if they don't, that's okay too. We're really proud of the work that we're putting out there. For this season, in particular, I've never seen people work harder. The entire crew, every actor on that set, the writers room—it motivated me every day. I'm just very proud to be on the show with everyone.
BH: Honestly, the main thing on my mind is how the hell is Georgia gonna have this conversation with Paul and Joe? And what on earth is Paul gonna say after the false pregnancy? Especially because she already has two kids she really needs to worry about. If Georgia has learned anything, it's that she needs to be there for her kids in a significantly and wildly different way. So now that we're throwing potentially a third into the mix, Georgia's got a lot of thinking to do.
AG: Ummm...more baby girl. From Ginny's perspective, I don't know that she'd love her boss to be any sort of zaddy.
AG: Anytime Ginny gets to just have fun, I'm really happy for her. Female friendships, especially at that age, are just so complex. To see Max and Ginny sort of grow apart from each other is sad and I hope that they can eventually come back together. But, ultimately, Ginny has found and is still finding people who really show up for her. She's gotten closer with Bracia. She's gotten closer with Nora and Abby. She and Marcus still show up for each other, even though it's painful and they want to just hold hands and kiss all day.
Maxine is still learning how to be that kind of person. She's still learning how to show up for her friends in a way that they need her to, instead of how she thinks she should. You see ANG getting closer to each other, and maybe M getting a little bit left out, but they're always going to be MANG forever. So I think we'll see a stronger crew.
BH: Man, that would hurt Paul's feelings, wouldn't it?
BH: Absolutely! I suppose I wouldn't be too shocked if that happened. But I think what Georgia has realized this season is she's been trying to protect her kids from everyone but herself. So I'm hoping there's a lot more growth and change on the other side of this. I am excited to see Georgia therapy scenes. They're gonna be so twisted and awesome!
AG: Therapy scenes! I'm not the only one in therapy!
BH: But you paved the way!
AG: I want to know what happens to Marcus. I want to know if Ginny will continue her Georgia streak and what that might look like. I have so many questions!
BH: It actually doesn't feel like that, because there's so much that's going to happen. Each season is so jam-packed, and also we don't totally know it's gonna happen, but we know a little bit and it's a lot!
AG: My question is always like, 'How are we gonna wrap this up?'
BH: There's too many loose ends! How can it be wrapped up?
AG: And Ginny's still a sophomore!
AG: I've been a sophomore for five years! And we do have a time limit. Diesel is gonna go to college...
BH: Grow his own mustache. He hit puberty!
AG: He's going to have his own family by the time we wrap up!
Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia is now streaming on Netflix.