The Netflix original series “Ginny and Georgia” caught my interest when a Taylor Swift tweet flaming the show for its outdated joke about the songwriter went viral. When I noticed how popular the show had become, breaking Netflix records, I decided to join the bandwagon.
When young mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) moves to Massachusetts with her two children, the up-and-coming suburb is the perfect getaway. Her daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry), tired of moving from city to city, begins her new high school with no friends to speak of. As Ginny transforms from “quiet nobody” to “actually popular,” she faces the normal high school drivel. Her side of the story follows the familiar cliches of any teen drama: love triangles, school dances, and a not-so-sweet sweet-sixteen. The formulaic teen soap is entirely average, up until Georgia enters the equation. Escaping a checkered past, Georgia is all too eager to begin a new life in Massachusetts. But when potentially criminal secrets begin to unearth themselves, Ginny and Georgia’s close relationship turns sour.
The main fault of “Ginny and Georgia” is that the show has no direction whatsoever. Georgia jokingly compares her relationship with Ginny to the “Gilmore Girls,” but unlike Ginny and Georgia, “Gilmore Girls” has a solid foundation. The show obviously mimics “Gilmore Girls” with its sharp cultural references and dialogue, but fails to capture the softer moments. Somehow, “Ginny and Georgia” attempts everything and accomplishes nothing. The show begins as the typical teen drama, becomes a dark, gritty “Euphoria”-esque show, then takes a jab at the murder mystery genre. If the characters were somewhat interesting, the show would be redeemable. Unfortunately, the characters are ridiculously cliche, almost to an amateur fanfiction degree. “Ginny and Georgia” uses some of the most outdated archetypes and dialogue I’ve ever seen in a teen drama. Some of the moments were so genuinely cringe-worthy, I had to turn my laptop off. Hot, loner boy climbs through the window of the girl next door to exchange witty repertoire — yikes.
With that being said, I understand why the show is so popular. As trashy as it is, “Ginny and Georgia” is self-indulgent and addicting and entirely aware of its effect. Although I won’t be watching the next season, I hope “Ginny and Georgia” finds a voice as the story progresses.