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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 20, 2020 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media T hey say good things come in threes, and that's certainly true in one of prime time's most intriguing comedy-infused dramas. Rife with moral conundrums and criminal characters, the series has earned critical praise and has become a must-watch on Netflix. Tired of struggling to make lemonade every time life hand- ed them lemons, three women take matters into their own hands in the third season of "Good Girls," airing Sunday, March 22, on NBC. In the be- ginning of the series, suburban moms Beth (Christina Hen- dricks, "Mad Men"), Ruby (Retta, "Parks and Recre- ation") and Annie (Mae Whit- man, "Parenthood") turned to crime to make ends meet when they robbed a grocery store. However, they had no idea that the grocery store in question had ties to organized crime and a dangerous thug named Rio (Manny Montana, "Grace- land"). Thus began an unfortu- nate series of events that led them farther down a dark path. "Good Girls" is a bit of a departure from the tamer fare that is usually seen on broad- cast television. This kind of grit is more often at home on ca- ble channels such as HBO, AMC or FX, not one of the big four networks. That's one of the reasons Hendricks wasn't so sure about the show when she first read the script. A May article on theatlantic.com in- dicated that Hendricks ex- plained why during a press tour panel. "My big fear was that it was on network television," she said. "I was terrified that they were just not going to allow the real rawness of it." Fortunately for fans, NBC has allowed the series to flour- ish, with plenty of action to go around. During the show's in- augural season, some critics compared the series to a gen- tler or feminist version of AMC's hit "Breaking Bad." The comparison made sense given that the women were doing the wrong things for the right reasons. They were trying to improve their lives and the lives of their loved ones with a so-called "victimless" crime by robbing a fully insured grocery store. They merely wanted to use the money from the rob- bery to fix some finicky finan- cial situations. Beth discovered that her family was on the verge of losing their home, thanks to her husband Dean's (Matthew Lillard, "Scooby Doo," 2002) poor financial de- cisions. Ruby's daughter is ill and needs expensive medical treatment. Meanwhile, Annie, who's also Beth's sister, needs money to hire a lawyer be- cause her ex, Gregg (Zach Gil- ford, "Friday Night Lights"), is taking her to court for custody of their child. The first two seasons had some thrilling moments as the women tangled with both criminal underworld figures and law enforcement, but the heart of the series is rooted in their relationships with each other and their family lives, which is perhaps what makes "Good Girls" so relatable to viewers. Beth and Dean's mar- riage has its ups and downs as she becomes the de facto lead- er of the group. Ruby has had some pretty close brushes with the law, considering that her husband, Stan (Reno Wilson, "Mike & Molly"), was a cop. When he found out about her illegal wheelings and dealings, he risked his career by covering for her. In Season 2, Annie and Gregg's son, Ben (Isaiah Stan- nard), previously known as Sa- die, came out as a transgender boy in a forward-thinking stor- yline for network television. While the show's criminal storyline is unquestionably in- triguing, these family struggles are just as fascinating for view- ers. Ratings for "Good Girls" have dipped over the course of the first two seasons, but the program does very well on Netflix, which may have helped it earn a Season 3 re- newal from NBC. "We're so excited to contin- ue following the friendship and adventures of these three in- credible women while also ex- ploring relatable issues in both funny and surprising ways," NBC executives Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta said when "Good Girls" was renewed for Season 3 in April. The new season picked up shortly after the events of Sea- son 2 when it debuted in Feb- ruary. Beth had recently shot Rio and left him for dead. With him presumably out of the pic- ture, she was keen to take con- trol of the game. The women kicked off Season 3 by getting normal jobs as they plot to ex- pand their enterprise. Beth works in a stationery store, Ruby takes a job in a nail salon and Annie becomes a valet. It wasn't long before they be- came mixed up in a counterfeit scheme. It's a whole new world for the women at the top of the crime ladder in the third sea- son. Hendricks talked about the new season of "Good Girls" in an interview with "To- day" in February. coverstory Manny Montana from "Good Girls" Good to be bad: NBC's 'Good Girls' are wrong for all the right reasons By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Why didn't the original Mandy come back to "Last Man Standing?" She had such natural comedic timing. A: The short answer is the actress who played daughter Mandy Baxter in the first six seasons of "Last Man Stand- ing" was one bit of the fallout from ABC's decision to cancel the show. The show got the ax by ABC in the spring of 2017, and ev- eryone (the cast included) assumed the show was dead until Fox swooped in to revive it in 2018. As you say, Molly Ephraim, who played Mandy for the ABC run of the show, has a lot going for her and so didn't have much trouble finding new work. "When the show was canceled, everybody figured, 'OK, we gotta move on'," "Last Man Standing" executive pro- ducer Matt Berry said after the revival was announced. "[Molly] got involved in some different things, so when we came back she was not able to do it." Q: Have they ever tried remaking the British sitcom "Yes Minister?" I loved that show. A: The adaptations have gotten looser, but the DNA of "Yes Minister" has continued all the way into the recently departed HBO comedy "Veep." "Yes Minister," a satire of backroom British politics, ran from 1980 to 1988 (though two of those seasons were called "Yes, Prime Minister," to reflect the lead character's promo- tion to the top job — note that "Veep's" title character got a similar promotion, but the show didn't change names). A direct remake came in 2013, though that only lasted a few episodes. However, before that was "The Thick of It," a slightly darker and much more foul-mouthed take on the subject matter. Creator Armando Iannucci admitted he was trying to do his own version of "Yes Minister" with that show, which lasted for four hit seasons on the BBC, the same network that gave us "Yes Minister." Then the U.S. came calling. At first, HBO was just trying to get the U.S. rights to "The Thick of It," but soon it started talking to Iannucci about making a brand-new show. In the end, they settled on using the "Thick of It" template — doc- umentary-style footage and lots of swearing — on Ameri- can politics, and "Veep" was born. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2 The Powell Company 2 x 2

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