Brianne Howey Talks Season 4 of ‘Ginny & Georgia’ and How the Shocking Cliffhanger Will Affect Her Character (Exclusive)
The actress opens up about Georgia’s unexpected pregnancy, fractured marriage and what comes next
Key Takeaways
- Brianne Howey chatted with Woman's World' about Season 4 of 'Ginny & Georgia'.
- Howey would love to reprise her past characters from 'The Passage' or 'Scream Queens'.
- Howey partnered with Colgate Optic White for The Science of WOW campaign.
If you just met Brianne Howey, you’d never know that she portrays the calculated and manipulative Georgia Miller on Ginny & Georgia, but that’s exactly what makes her role so intriguing. While the actress and the character have the similar characteristic of a sweet personality, Georgia’s sweetness is simply one of her strategies for getting what she wants.
Ginny & Georgia follows single mom, Georgia Miller, who moves her children Ginny and Austin to Wellsbury, Massachusetts for a fresh start. But with her dark secrets looming over her head, the past starts to catch up with Georgia and things begin to get a bit more complicated.
As Ginny & Georgia moves toward Season 4, Georgia is facing yet another major complication: she’s pregnant. And after the legal turmoil and family upheaval that defined the previous season, a new baby is the last thing her already fractured household needs—especially now that she and her husband, Paul (Scott Porter), have separated.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Pasadena, Howey studied acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts before landing roles on shows like The Exorcist, The Passage, Batwoman and Dollface. What’s made her stand out, though, is her ability to balance humor, vulnerability and unpredictability all at once—qualities that turned Georgia into one of Netflix’s most talked-about TV moms.
Woman’s World had a chance to catch up with Brianne Howey and discuss what fans can expect from the fourth season, as well as her current partnership with Colgate Optic White.
Woman’s World: What can fans expect in the upcoming fourth season?
Brianne Howey: So, so much. This season we get to experience a lot of payoff from these really complicated relationships, so that was really fun to play into. We also meet a few new people from these characters’ past that bring out a new side of them. And I think that’s what’s the most fun. The characters are already so dynamic, but we really are seeing completely new sides to them based on what is being asked of them this season. All the characters sort of get flipped on their head each and every season and that’s where I have to hand it to the writers, because I don’t know how they keep coming up with all of this. But we definitely see new sides to every character, some nice, some not so nice.
There’s a lot of push and pull. It feels like one step forward, two steps backwards sometimes, as far as their growth goes, but it is fun. There is a lot of growth and I think that’s the beauty of getting to have so many seasons of a show. You really get to live with these characters and see how they’ve changed.
Woman’s World: Georgia’s been on quite the roller coaster with the trial, her romantic life and now the pregnancy. What do you hope for her in the upcoming season?
Brianne Howey: I think Georgia had a lot to prove after this last season. It was very sobering for her to have her children taken away, to be in the spotlight and the limelight. Georgia loves the limelight, but not with all the negative press. That’s not the kind of Limelight this woman was going for. So I think it was time; things had to get that extreme. Unfortunately, Georgia had to really look in the mirror and make some of these changes, and we get to see the changes and I am so proud of her.
It’s not easy, and she has Ginny as her biggest role model and her cheerleader, even though they are at odds, but it’s because they love each other so much. That growth isn’t always linear and you have to ask for help. We see Georgia asking for help for the first time this season, but she learns that from Ginny, and it’s really beautiful. Simultaneously, she’s still only human and her flaws are still on display—sometimes, she’s her own worst enemy.
Woman’s World: Of course, Joe and Georgia finally get together in Season 3. How do you think this baby news is going to affect the two of them, as well as her relationship with Paul [her ex-husband]?
Brianne Howey: I think it’s pretty surprising for everyone and I think it’s the last thing anyone saw coming. It’s the last thing Georgia, truthfully, needed on her plate. But again, I think sometimes Georgia is such an extreme person, it takes these extreme life circumstances to really wake her up a little bit in order to make some of these positive changes. And I feel like life is just full of curve balls, especially in Ginny and Georgia’s lives. I think the moral of the story for them is at least that they have each other and that no matter what, as long as they have each other, they can navigate all of this.
Georgia is learning more from Ginny, but subconsciously, Ginny is learning a little bit from Georgia. But then sometimes she learns some things that Georgia wishes she didn’t learn from her and I think some of that plays out, too.
Woman’s World: Both Ginny and Austin are named after the places where they were born and in the show, Ginny makes a joke about what Georgia will name the next one. Fans have been speculating what the baby’s name would be since they’re living in Wellsbury, Massachusetts.
Brianne Howey: Someone made a joke about naming the baby Massachusetts or something [laughs]. But there is a really great scene this season that talks about the importance of names, and it was really fun to shoot. It definitely pays homage to that aspect of Georgia and her kids in their relationship.
Woman’s World: You’ve played so many fun characters in many iconic shows. If you could bring back one of your former characters in a reboot, which would you choose?
Brianne Howey: So many. I’ve been so lucky. I’ve had the best experiences, and I have loved every project I’ve gotten to be a part of. Shauna Babcock from The Passage series was such a dynamic, badass character. I think about her all the time. But also Melanie Dorkus from Scream Queens. The name is so iconic and such a fun storyline. Same with my character from The Exorcist. I loved Kat. Yeah, I feel really lucky and so grateful for all the characters that I have gotten to play.
Woman’s World: Can you share a bit about Colgate’s Science of WOW campaign and what made you want to partner with them?
Brianne Howey: Absolutely. Colgate is a brand that I was naturally using before the partnership. It’s something that is always on my counter in my bathroom, it’s in my set bag and it’s in my travel bag. Now my husband uses it. So when this partnership came along, it just felt like a really natural fit. And I think what I loved about it, personally, was that it’s beauty and science and that I got to learn so much about the science behind it. Most toothpastes tackle surface stains, but they don’t all tackle the deep set stains because of the hydrogen peroxide complex. We use so many products nowadays; we’re just constantly layering them. It’s hard to know which product is targeting what, but with something like Colgate Optic White Pro Series, you’re really seeing the whitening results.
Woman’s World: How does this campaign emphasize that toothpaste really is the first step of your beauty routine?
Brianne Howey: When we feel confident and comfortable, we look confident and comfortable. And for me, that starts with my smile and I think a lot of people would agree with that. It’s how we greet people. It’s just a part of our nature. It’s kind of step zero of my beauty routine. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up. It’s the last thing I do before I go to bed.
Woman’s World: This campaign would also be perfect for Georgia Miller, because she loves to use her smile as a calculated tool.
Brianne Howey: Absolutely, Georgia takes her smile and her looks very seriously, but especially her smile. There’s a lot of code switching happening, depending on who she’s talking to.
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