Antonia Gentry on the Surprise Success of 'Ginny & Georgia'

Netflix hit Ginny & Georgia is a little bit Gilmore Girls, a little bit Big Little Lies. It's a teen dramedy that follows the journey of single mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) and her two children, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin (Diesel La Torraca).

Georgia grew up with all the odds stacked against her, and she's still dealing with the trauma of her childhood. She escaped a violent home, survived periods of homelessness, and dealt with romances that shattered due to her emotional (and also criminal—more on that later) baggage. She'll do anything for her family, including murdering men who threaten to cause her or her children harm. And her secrets have been passed on to her teenage daughter, Ginny, who constantly reckons with the aftermath of her mother's mistakes. Like any teenager, Ginny is moody, whip-smart, and just trying to figure out who she is, all while covering up secrets that could tear apart her already-fragile family.

The show may not be all that realistic, but it's pretty damn enjoyable, and most Netflix viewers agree. The series previously held the record for the longest first-place streak ever on the streamer's Top 10 rankings (and is steadily hanging on in the top 5 as of writing among hits like Bridgerton and Stranger Things).

"What's so unique about our show is that the tone is kind of all over the place. It's very serious at times. It's very outrageous at times. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and then it turns around and it forces you to ask serious questions about the way we live our lives," Antonia Gentry tells BAZAAR.com from her Brooklyn apartment. "Because of the fact that our show tackles so much, all at once, people can find something to gravitate toward, and then really, really connect with it. And that's something I didn't expect to see to this degree."

Above all, Ginny & Georgia is a show that creates Internet discourse. (If you don't follow author Bolu Babalola's live commentary on Twitter, you're truly missing out; even actress Keke Palmer has publicly weighed in on the series.) Between Georgia's buried history, Ginny's teenage angst, and all the love triangles, there's always an over-the-top scenario for viewers to weigh in on. By the end of Season 2, Ginny's mom has been handcuffed in the middle of her first dance with her husband (the town mayor!) for the murder of a neighbor. The twist? She is guilty, having smothered her neighborhood friend's husband with a pillow while he was in a coma in order to speed up his demise and give her friend a sense of relief from the inevitable.

Ben Rayner

"People have such strong opinions about every single character. They're staunch Georgia lovers, staunch Ginny lovers, staunch Marcus lovers. It's always so funny watching people justify all the things that Georgia does. Or they're like, 'Why does Ginny keep getting in the way? She doesn't understand what Georgia is doing!'" Gentry says. "That's what's so fun about TV and film. There are so many different ways to interpret things, and people are having these conversations every single day."

Gentry and Ginny have their similarities. Though Gentry is beyond teenhood (she's 25), she is a new face in the television industry, much like her character is new in her fictional town. (Gentry landed the role shortly after graduating from Emory College in 2019.) She's also biracial (her mother is Jamaican; her father is white) and understands the hurdles Ginny has to tackle when it comes to identity. But, of course, that doesn't mean Gentry can't see the faults in her fictional mother's behavior. After all, her character arc this season is heavily influenced by the revelation that Georgia murdered her stepfather.

At times, Season 2 is a heavy watch. Ginny struggles with self-harm, poor self-image, and a relationship that she flingers herself into to escape endless family drama. Come the season's end, viewers are left wondering, With another murder on Georgia's hands, can Ginny still be a ride-or-die daughter? But beyond its fictional story, the show isn't afraid to ask serious real-life questions: What do we do with the women in the world who defend themselves—and their families—from domestic violence? And what will they stoop to if they have no resources for help?

Antonia Gentry (Ginny) and Brianne Howey (Georgia) on Ginny & Georgia.

"Every time Ginny thinks she knows her mom, she realizes she doesn't. It's such a difficult dance—the trust between Georgia and her kids. Because although kids shouldn't know every single thing that's going on in an adult's life—especially in their parents' lives—these secrets are so massive and so heavy and so bad. Like, Georgia just needs to stop killing people! We know you do it for good reasons, but that doesn't make it okay."

For Gentry, Ginny & Georgia is, at its core, about generational trauma and how we choose to handle it.

"People get so passionate about these characters and these storylines, because we know, as the audience, why Georgia does what she does. We see in flashbacks that she's gone through some very, very horrible situations in her life," Gentry explains. "At the same time, Ginny also has her own traumas and her own experience. It's incredibly difficult for a child who has never put roots down and can't trust everything her mom is saying. These women love each other so deeply but have such serious flaws. The show really does beg audiences to consider perspective and circumstance, and how that informs who we are and how we behave."

Netflix

The underlying lessons of Ginny & Georgia is what makes Gentry excited for a potential third season—along with other projects under her belt that she's excited to tackle.

"Ginny and Georgia are a unit by the end of Season 2. They are on the same side, they are on the same page, but this is gonna make Ginny supporting Georgia even more difficult if we get another season. Once again, she's having to side with her mom who has done the worst crime," Gentry says. "But I would also love to have more opportunities to just walk in different shoes. What's so great about Ginny is the fact that, in a lot of ways, I can relate to her. She does feel personal to me, but she's still quite a challenging character, the way that she's written and the things that she goes through."

She continues, "To find the layers and complexities of Ginny in someone else would be really, really cool. And also, I just want to have fun. Ginny is miserable all the time, and it would be kind of cool to just play a character that's actually okay. But I'm kind of a sponge right now. I'm still learning. I'm still green. I feel so lucky to be where I am now, and I'm looking forward to what happens next."

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Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed. 

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