While there were efforts to find the series a new home after it was canceled by Amazon, Good Girls Revolt will not be returning on any network, according to TVLine. Series creator Dana Calvo broke the news of the show's official demise on Instagram in a post that is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. "We made what felt like a 10-hour play, and I will miss the world and the characters that our cast brought to life," Calvo wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. "Mostly, I will miss hearing from all of you who said it had an impact. Sending love and thanks today for the privilege of being able to tell stories that bring us closer and make us stronger."
Based on Lynn Povich's book of the same name, Good Girls Revolt was set in 1969 and inspired by real sexual discrimination cases. The series took viewers inside a '60s era newsroom where female researchers did extensive work and writing with little pay compared to their male counterparts — and with no recognition. While an argument can be made that the series did not reach its full potential in Season 1, its subject matter is so important in Donald Trump's America. A second season had the potential to be just as revolutionary for television as the real-life events that inspired the series in the first place were for women.
Good Girls Revolt had an amazing cast, which included the likes of Anna Camp and Grace Gummer, as the remarkable Nora Ephron. It put women and the issues of pay parity, equality, and freedom of the press front and center. In an age when women's rights are under attack in the political arena, and the president-elect is openly telling people to ignore the press, Good Girls Revolt was in a unique position to offer compelling commentary on the modern world via its retro setting.
The lack of a renewal feels like a major opportunity missed. Good Girls Revolt already has a small, loyal fanbase, and with the right word of mouth, that fanbase would have continued to grow as the stories the series was telling became richer. The sad truth is Good Girls Revolt appears to be a victim of bad timing. Had the show launched a year later with the same cast and subject matter, it's hard to imagine it getting canceled so soon.
More so now than ever before, telling stories about women and the important role the press plays in offering an unbiased, truthful examination of today's issues is critical. Good Girls Revolt is a series that happened to do both. Knowing there definitely won't be a second season is beyond frustrating, but the strong work Calvo and her talented cast did in Season 1 stands as a testament to just how good those girls were.
