Ginny & Georgia is the word of mouth hit millions adore

The Herald Scotland

5 hours ago

All of which is a roundabout way of introducing one of the planet's most popular shows you may never have heard of - Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), the third series of which landed this week. It's not Squid Game (1.65 billion), but with its second series racking up 504 million hours watched, it's a genuine hit. When you consider the subjects it covers, Ginny & Georgia's success is even more startling.
Created and written by Sarah Lampert, G&G is a comedy drama about a mother, Georgia (Brianne Howey), who moves with her two children, Ginny and Austin (Antonia Gentry, Diesel La Torroca) to a small town near Boston.
Georgia is one of life's survivors, a steel magnolia and then some. Until now she has stayed on the move, keeping one step ahead of the horrors of the past, but now she has found a place to settle. Her children will have a better start than she did - no matter what it takes. But like the bible (almost) says, what shall it profit a woman to gain the whole world, including a very nice house in the suburbs, and lose her soul?
That makes G&G sound heavy, and at times it is. Yet there's a lightness of touch in the writing that is unlike any I've encountered before. Unimaginably awful things are dealt with in genuinely insightful ways. At the same time, if you want the latest goss on high school hook-ups and other teenage dramas, G&G can do that, too.
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Georgia, I reckon, would be a Springsteen fan. The BBC certainly loves the Boss, enough to devote more than seven hours to stadium-singing his praises.
The highlight of Bruce Springsteen Night (BBC2, Saturday) was a documentary, When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain, largely because it featured the man himself, plus mountains of concert footage.
Springsteen's first visit to Britain was in 1975 to play the Hammersmith Odeon. The audience loved him but Springsteen thought he had been terrible. 'I had PTSD from it,' he joked. But after that it was all gravy for Springsteen, and the documentary in general, as we heard from the man himself, plus friend and bandmate Steven Van Zandt, fans (celebrity and otherwise) and journalists.
The 'ordinary' fans shone brightest, including Hazel Wilkinson, who danced with Bruce onstage at the Manchester Apollo; the striking miners' wives handed a cheque for £20,000 in Newcastle; and the nine-year-old lad who sang Hungry Heart with the Boss in Coventry.
And what of the gigs in Scotland? We saw a ticket stub from the Edinburgh stop on the 1980-81 River tour, and Ravenscraig appeared in a miners' strike montage, but that seemed to be it. What, no Hampden, no Murrayfield? No excerpts from the glowing reviews in The Herald and other papers, or interviews with those who were there? Even the briefest of searches would have struck research gold.
It was the same for Wales and Northern Ireland.
Now, it is possible footage or stills from the Scottish gigs were featured, but were not captioned as such in the preview version I saw. Perhaps stuff hit the cutting room floor. Every concert can't be featured and maybe it was enough for some viewers to run a caption saying 'over 60' shows have been played in Britain since Bruce and The E Street Band got back together.
My two cents: if you make a film titled When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain it seems only right to cover all parts of Britain.
Anyone switching over to the grand final of Scotland's Home of the Year (BBC1, Monday) would have caught the last few minutes of a Panorama cheerfully titled, 'Is Britain broke?'
Not in Scotland, mate. In Scotland, as any viewer of SHOTY would tell you, everyone and their dugs live in gorgeous, architect-designed homes decorated with impeccable taste. Well, okay, we don't. But it's nice to dream for a spell.
Glasgow's Home for an Art Lover, now the established location, location, location for the final, inspired the judges to up their outfit game. Anna Campbell-Jones and Banjo Beale went full home decor with a dress and a suit that could have been cut from the curtains. Danny Campbell, being an architect by trade and therefore required by law to wear black at all times, opted for a kilt with pockets (eh?), T-shirt, socks and his usual Crocs.
After several slo-mo walks in the grounds, it was off to 'the Deliberation Room' where chief judge Anna read the riot act. 'We've had our fun choosing these six beautiful finalists,' she said, 'but now it's time to get serious.'
They were as good as Anna's word. A person's fate has been decided with less deliberation than went on within those four walls. The judges argued, they pleaded, they begged to differ. It was done very politely, and as a result took longer than was necessary. A punch-up would have been much quicker.
Banjo had his beloved An Cala cottage on Skye torn from his arms. The Wee City Nook was nuked. Brutal. Finally, it came down to two properties: Craigmount near Dalbeattie and Hilltop House in Aberdeenshire. Both had scored top marks in their heats. How could the judges choose between them? Well, they managed it.
Hilltop House's triumph perfectly illustrated a SHOTY rule: the competition is not over till the bespectacled blonde sings the winner's praises.
The homeowners were delighted. 'Surreal,' said Jessica, who lives in the contemporary house with Chris, their son Chase, and two dogs, Enzo and Dino. Jessica is from California and therefore no stranger to the more bizarre side of life. They should show SHOTY in California. I bet it would become cult viewing.
From SHOTY to Location, Location, Location (Channel 4, Wednesday). This week Kirstie and Phil were down our way in Stirling and East Dunbartonshire.
'By UK standards, house prices are reasonable,' said Phil, quoting an average of £260,075 for places on the outskirts of Glasgow - 7% less than the UK average of £281,000.
Phil was searching on behalf of Lorraine and Emma, a mother and her law student daughter looking to downsize. Kirstie's duo were going the other way. All life is there in Location, and it is always surprising - and central to the show's success - how much a home search reveals.
Lorraine the downsizer, for example, acknowledged she might need a shove to get herself over the line between looking and buying. The sales and marketing director also wanted Phil to find her 'a mansion for the price of a tin shack'. Don't we all?
SHOTY finalists and judges (Image: PHOTOGRAPHER:Kirsty Anderson)
Kirstie's couple, business banking manager James and nurse Gwyneth, had been househunting for a year and made just two offers, both of which were second-to-last in the queue.
'That's where we need your help,' said Gwyneth, 'knowing how much to offer over.'
Kirstie sympathised. 'It's a nightmare.'
Phil's first pick was a three-bed terrace in the 'charming village' of Cambusbarron, offers over £234,000 with a home report valuation of £250,000. Nice but too small.
Kirstie's Kirkintilloch choice was in an extended bungalow in turn-key condition. James liked it, Gwyneth wasn't feeling the love.
On they went: a period maisonette flat Kirstie thought 'beautiful' but was too much of a project for Lorraine and Emma; James and Gwyneth felt the same about a semi-detached in Lenzie. Kirkintilloch, Torbrex, Milton of Campsie - the hour and the properties flew by.
Not everyone got what they wanted at first, but everything worked out in the end. Would the househunters have found the properties anyway? Perhaps, but the crash-course in househunting from Kirstie and Phil helped things along enormously. The pair had arrived in Stirling arm in arm like the old non-couple they are, and offered the same support to their househunters. Viewing hour stats aside, that's how you last 25 years plus on telly.