Six years after Netflix cancelled the wrestling comedy-drama GLOW, star Gayle Rankin has revealed that the cast have not given up hope of a comeback. Speaking to Metro, the actress, who played Sheila 'The She Wolf' in the show, said the cast are still in contact and would be open to returning.
Cast's enduring bond
Rankin, who now stars as Alys Rivers in House of the Dragon, described her time on GLOW as 'a really profound experience'. She said: 'Working with that many women, on a show that was pretty revolutionary at the time. Netflix was on such a high and remains so, but it was such a special period of time in television. To be coming up with a group of women that are now my sisters.'
The actress revealed that the cast, which included Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Kate Nash, and Jackie Tohn, are 'still on a text thread'. She said: 'I don't think that we've given up hope in our own way. Can you imagine if we all came back together? Can you imagine in like five years or something? If we could do it, we would do it.'
Role in House of the Dragon
Rankin currently plays Alys in House of the Dragon, a mysterious witch-like character believed to be hundreds of years old, who has captured the heart of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). In season two, Alys took Daemon (Matt Smith) on a trippy journey at Harrenhal, while Aemond experienced a hallucinatory scene involving his mother before realising it was Alys.
Rankin enjoys the 'divisive' nature of the character, noting: 'There's a lot of talk out there about [how] she's either a really intense green flag or like the worst red flag you'll ever meet, which I love as an actor. She definitely has a wild duality. I'm certainly playing that, and I think it's cool that people are picking up on that.'
She added: 'I think it's really amazing too when people start to also see her humanity. She's starting to become more desperate. As the episodes go on, she's very in control. But I do think there's a kind of out-of-control-ness to her actions.'
Career and future plans
Rankin, who grew up in Scotland, made history as the first Scottish actor to be enrolled at Juilliard. She described the honour as still sinking in, saying: 'Much like so many of the other incredible, shocking, confusing things that have happened in my life, lucky, kind of hard to process, or hard for me to take on. So it's really kind and special when people say something like that because I'm always of the mind too, where like if you see something, say something.'
Looking ahead, Rankin is 'hungry' to try new things and avoid being 'boxed in'. She said: 'I want to taste everything. I think it's kind of indicative of how my career has been so far – I'm not interested in being boxed in or pinned down. I'm really for the next challenge in the TV and film space.'
House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max, Sky and NOW.
