GLOW Review: 7 Ups And 2 Downs

7. The OITNB Vibes

GLOW cast
Netflix

GLOW may be inspired by the 80s promotion, but it owes a lot to a much more modern series: Orange is the New Black.

The show was co-created by Carly Mensch, producer and writer for OITNB (its other creator, and co-showrunner, is Homeland's Liz Flahive; the pair previously worked together on Nurse Jackie). As well as Mensch, it also has Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan as executive producer - and she also wrote an episode - and so too is another OITNB producer, Tara Hermann.

It's no surprise, then, that with those people involved the show has some serious New Black vibes going on. With its strong, mostly female cast and blend of comedy and drama, and all sorts of ridiculous occurrences in-story, there is an element of it being Orange is the New Black with wrestling.

That's a good thing, because the series takes the best of that but, packaged in a half-hour more overtly comedy show, makes them into something different (it doesn't go anywhere near as dark as OITNB, for example) and effortlessly bingeable.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.