This Dramatic ‘Ginny and Georgia’ Scene Was Mostly Ad-Libbed

The first season of Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia split the difference between comedy and drama while telling the story of a complicated relationship between a mother and daughter. Season two upped the ante on the storylines, putting the characters in more harrowing situations, the most intense one being the scene where Austin shoots his father Gil. 

The scene is appropriately intense, and the production team did consult with gun control advocates to ensure the right tone, but its creation was much more improvisational and fun than the final product. 

Season two of ‘Ginny and Georgia’ is full of shocking moments

Gil was presumed to be in prison for fraud, but he surprisingly makes his first appearance in the second season of Ginny and Georgia in the fifth episode. It is revealed in flashbacks that he isolated and abused Georgia throughout their relationship, and her only way out was to frame him for embezzling from his own company.

After showing up in Wellsbury unannounced, Gil attempts to blackmail Georgia for money he feels is owed to him. The tension culminates in Gil physically threatening her and Austin intervening with a gun he found in a closet upstairs. Thankfully, the bullet only grazes Gil’s arm and the incident leads to Georgia being (slightly) more truthful about her past with her fiance Paul. 

It’s hard to come up with a scenario more jarring than a child shooting their dad, but that is far from the only shocking moment in the season.

The consequences of mental illness are a big theme of Ginny and Georgia. Both of Ginny’s parents separately learn about her tendency to self-harm and help her find a therapist and develop healthier ways to cope with the stress in her life. On a more dour note, she and Marcus break up because his battles with depression make it impossible for him to be in a relationship. 

The biggest shock of the season is saved for last. Just when Georgia thought she was getting her happy ending and marrying Paul, she gets arrested for her mercy killing of Tom Fuller. 

Significant parts of the scene were worked out during the shoot

Antonia Gentry (Ginny), Brianne Howey (Georgia), Felix Mallard (Marcus), and Sara Waisglass (Max) got together for a video on Netflix’s YouTube channel where they watched some of the signature moments from Ginny and Georgia season two and provide some behind-the-scenes information about making the show. 

While the show is more lighthearted in its tone than most of its subject matter suggests, any realistic rendition of gun violence demands a higher level of consideration. Howey revealed that the show worked with the national gun control advocacy group Everytown to make sure their gun-related storylines were portrayed responsibly. 

All of that work is serious and needed to be done, but the mood during the actual filming of the shooting was far from somber. The sticking point in their process was finding the right speed of movement that fit the needs of the scene without becoming too obviously performative. There was plenty of trial and error involved. 

“There was a lot of weird ad-libbing during that party,” Howey said. “I’m like, ‘You wait… there.’ He was approaching too fast and then it was too slow, so you had to keep coming up with things.” The actors recall this story with a lot of smiles and laughter, showing that the mood on TV and film sets is often very different than what we see on screen. 

Fans love the twist and turns of ‘Ginny and Georgia’

All the numbers indicate that viewers enjoy riding the rollercoaster of Ginny and Georgia’s plot. The show topped Netflix’s TV Chart for two weeks after it premiered on the service on January 5. 

Critics don’t get the same enjoyment out of Ginny and Georgia. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a 60% rating on the Tomatometer and an 84% score from audiences. 

Netflix has not announced its plans for the future of Ginny and Georgia, but given the show’s popularity, a third season is highly likely.