Why ‘Good Girls’ Was Canceled

Much to the frustration of fans and cast members alike, NBC decided to cancel their dramedy, Good Girls. NBC made the news official at the end of June, choosing to end the show after four seasons, despite pulling excellent streaming numbers on Netflix. Despite the good numbers, the streaming giant also passed on picking up another season of the show, which starred Christina Hendricks, Retta, Mae Whitman, and Manny Montana. Good Girls was a dud ratings-wise for NBC, and because Netflix had the sole rights to streaming the show, NBC didn’t see value in producing another season. Netflix also decided to not save the show despite fandom pushback.

However, according to TVLine, the cancellation may be in part due to some drama behind the scenes, beyond the cost of making a show with such a small viewership. Back in May, there was an unspoken assumption that the series would be brought back for a truncated, 8-episode final season to wrap up the story. After it was eventually completely canceled and not picked up by Netflix or NBC’s streaming service Peacock, an NBC insider told TVLine at the time, “[We] very much wanted to bring Good Girls back for one more season to close out the story, but unfortunately, we were unable to make the financials work.” The three leading actresses had allegedly all agreed to take pay cuts for the fifth season, but now many are speculating that Montana, who plays fan-favorite Rio, couldn’t come to an agreement with NBC over pay cuts and scheduling.

Not only that, but there are longstanding rumors of frostiness between Montana and Hendricks, who plays his onscreen love interest. Montana described working with Hendricks in a 2020 interview with The Total Celebrity Show podcast, saying, “We come in, do our job, and then go home. It’s very business-like.” Similarly, when discussing her work with Montana, Hendricks told The Black C.A.P.E Magazine in 2019, “He’s a great actor and we have great chemistry working together and… He’s just… It’s just a very sort of respectful work. You know, it’s funny, because I know people love [Beth and Rio]. We, of course… love that. It’s exciting and stuff. But it’s not as… it’s much more professional than anyone would think.”

Hendricks also said during a Good Girls-themed Q-and-A at 92nd Street Y in 2020, Hendricks explained that Montana refuses to call her by her real name on set. “Manny calls [me]… Chris,” she said, clearly annoyed. “No one in my life calls me Chris. It’s not my name. I think it’s totally stupid. And he’s never taken the chance to realize that I hate it. It’s really weird.” Still, hinging the decision to cancel on a supporting character seems like a stretch. “They were looking for an excuse to cut bait,” one source guessed to TVLine.

Leave a Comment