Television series

GLOW

Name: GLOW
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sports
Released: 2017
Cast: Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Kate Nash, Marc Maron

GLOW follows a scrappy troupe of actresses-turned-wrestlers making a cheap 1980s cable show, and it's every bit as scuzzy and glorious as that sounds. It's a hangout comedy with real stakes underneath: ego, ambition, friendship curdling and repairing. Funny, sweaty, occasionally tender, always specific about the indignities of low-budget showbiz. Great for anyone who likes ensembles more than plots.

TVMaze rating

7.3

If you liked this

Physical2021

Same decade, same obsession with a woman reinventing herself through a disreputable physical practice, but curdled into something much darker and stranger. Rose Byrne is extraordinary.

But It's genuinely uncomfortable — the protagonist's inner voice is cruel, and the show doesn't let you off easy.

Ted Lasso2020

A scrappy underdog sports ensemble finding dignity and comedy in a world that doesn't take them seriously — the same warmth, just soccer instead of spandex.

But Sunnier and gentler than GLOW; if you liked the show's edges, this sands most of them off.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017

Another period piece about a woman clawing her way into an entertainment industry built to exclude her, told with the same rapid-fire wit and a killer costume department.

But Glossier and more polished — less grime, less desperation, more dazzle.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

GLOW: The Story of The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling2012no page yet

This is the source material itself: the real GLOW, unscripted, showing you exactly how much the show invented and how much it simply photographed.

The actual documentary about the real women the show is based on — archival footage, real interviews, the genuine strangeness of 80s wrestling television that the fiction only gestures at.

But Rougher production values and a much thinner narrative arc than the drama built from it.

Schitt's Creek2015

A cast of oddballs forced together in reduced circumstances, slowly becoming a real family — the emotional arc GLOW pulls off, minus the wrestling ring.

But No physical stakes at all; it's a much softer, cozier watch by comparison.

Orange Is the New Black2013

Jenji Kohan's other sprawling women's ensemble, packed with backstories and simmering rivalries that GLOW's structure clearly learned from.

But Longer, heavier, and increasingly grim in later seasons — a bigger commitment with diminishing returns.

Halt and Catch Fire2014

Another underdog ensemble drama about people reinventing themselves in a scrappy, undervalued industry, with the same slow-burn character work and 80s texture.

But It's a straighter drama with far fewer laughs — patience required before it hits its stride.

Dolemite Is My Name2019no page yet

Eddie Murphy as a nobody willing himself into a movie star through sheer stubborn hustle — the DIY show-business joy GLOW runs on, in feature form.

But One film, so it can't build the slow ensemble intimacy a season of television gives you.

Party Down2009

Failed actors and comedians catering L.A. parties while their dreams quietly die — the same bitter, funny undercurrent of showbiz humiliation.

But Much smaller scale and bleaker in outlook — less triumph, more shrugging acceptance of defeat.

Younger2015

Lighter fare, but it shares GLOW's interest in women reinventing their professional identities against an industry that keeps moving the goalposts.

But Considerably fluffier and lower-stakes — comfort food rather than anything with teeth.

The Wrestler2008

Same ring, same question — what does the body owe the performance? — but drained of every laugh, showing you the version of this story where nobody's having fun anymore.

Mickey Rourke as a broken-down professional wrestler clinging to the only thing that ever made him feel like somebody — the body-as-performance theme GLOW plays for comedy, taken dead seriously.

But It is bleak and unhurried, with none of the show's warmth or jokes — a hard, sad watch by design.

Support the Girls2018no page yet

Same low-status, body-on-display entertainment work, same scrappy female camaraderie under an absurd boss — just without the costumes, the cameras, or the eventual triumph.

A day in the life of women managing a Hooters-style sports bar, finding solidarity and small dignities in a job designed to strip them of both — GLOW's found-family engine, shrunk down and unglamorous.

But No spectacle, no wrestling, no arc across time — just one long, quietly devastating shift.