Ginny & Georgia (2021) Review: Soapy Secrets, Sharp Edges

Is Ginny & Georgia worth watching?

Yes. Ginny & Georgia is a compulsively watchable family drama that mixes small-town comedy, teenage angst and crime-tinged secrets, and Brianne Howey’s charismatic performance as Georgia holds it together. It is at its best when exploring the complicated love between a mother and daughter who are more alike than either admits. The reservation is its tone, which swings between lightweight soap and serious subjects, and its fondness for characters making the most frustrating possible decisions.

What is Ginny & Georgia about?

Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) became a mother as a teenager and has spent her life reinventing herself to keep her children safe. Now in her early thirties, she moves with her 15-year-old daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and young son Austin (Diesel La Torraca) to Wellsbury, a picturesque town in Massachusetts, hoping for a fresh start. Georgia is charming, resourceful and determined to fit in, but she is also hiding a past she will go to great lengths to keep buried.

Ginny, meanwhile, is trying to find her place at a new school, forming a tight friendship group led by her energetic neighbour Max (Sara Waisglass) and drawn to Max’s brooding twin brother Marcus (Felix Mallard). Scott Porter plays the town’s mayor, whose interest in Georgia complicates both of their lives.

Ginny & Georgia was created by Sarah Lampert and is an American series in English. This review covers the three seasons released so far, 30 episodes in all; the series is ongoing.

Brianne Howey’s Georgia is the draw

Much of the show’s appeal lies in its title character. Georgia is a Southern charmer with a steel spine, capable of warmth, humour and ruthless calculation, and Howey plays her with such confidence that viewers are drawn in even as they question her choices. Her voiceovers, recalling a harsh upbringing and the lengths she has gone to for her children, give the show a darker undercurrent than its bright visuals suggest.

The mother-daughter relationship is the show’s emotional core. Georgia and Ginny are close in age and fiercely protective of each other, but their clashes over honesty, freedom and identity are raw and often painful. Antonia Gentry gives Ginny a restless intelligence, and the show treats her experience as a biracial teenager in a mostly white town with more nuance than typical teen dramas.

Teen drama with serious themes

Beyond the secrets, Ginny & Georgia deals with weighty subjects: self-harm, mental health, racism, abuse and the long shadow of trauma. The later seasons in particular give time to Ginny’s struggles, and some of these storylines are handled with care. Jennifer Robertson brings warmth as Max’s mother, Ellen, and the friendships among Ginny’s group provide humour and energy.

The show’s mix of genres is also part of its appeal. One episode can move from high-school gossip to a tense crime subplot, and the pace rarely slows, making it easy to binge.

Where the soap takes over

That mix is also the show’s biggest weakness. The tone can be jarring, with serious issues sharing space with broad comedy and melodrama. Characters, especially the teenagers, often behave in ways that seem designed to prolong conflict, and the love triangles and misunderstandings grow repetitive. The dialogue can be overwritten, with pop-culture references and quips that feel forced, and some storylines are left dangling between seasons.

Who should watch Ginny & Georgia?

Fans of soapy family dramas, small-town secrets and teen stories with an edge will find it hard to stop. With 30 episodes of close to an hour each, it is a substantial but bingeable commitment. It is rated for older teenagers and adults and contains self-harm, sexual content, strong language, violence and references to childhood abuse.

If you enjoy it, try:

• Never Have I Ever for another coming-of-age series with a strong mother-daughter relationship at its core, lighter and funnier.
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a comedy-drama about a young woman juggling early motherhood and money.

More in the same vein is available on Netflix and in our drama section.

The verdict

Ginny & Georgia is an addictive, messy family drama powered by a magnetic lead performance and a complex mother-daughter bond. Its tonal swings and frustrating choices keep it from greatness, but it is a satisfying binge for viewers who like their teen drama with secrets and bite.

Rating: 4/5