GLOW Review: 7 Ups And 2 Downs

2. Sam And Debbie

GLOW Debbie
Netflix

Outside of Alison Brie, the two major characters of GLOW are Debbie, played by Betty Gilpin, and Sam, played by Marc Maron.

While Brie is the axis upon which the show turns, both of these are more than worthy of their headline billing, and carry a lot of drama and humour between them.

Debbie is the biggest face of GLOW, an all-American hero in the ring, a former soap star and one-time best friend of Brie's Ruth, until a serious betrayal occurred. It's refreshing to see the drama between the two female friends provide the central storyline and conflict of the series, and Debbie is excellent as the supposed 'good' one, and while it's black and white in the ring, Gilpin colours it with plenty of grey outside of it.

Maron, meanwhile, is frequently the scene-stealer. His Sam is a drug-taking, foul-mouthed, "more sexist than racist" fading B-movie director. Sam is a bit of a bastard to start with, albeit a funny one, yet develops more warmth as the show goes on - he's the typical underdog coach in that regard, and Sam sells the hell out of it.

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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.