TV Binge: Girlboss (Season 1, 2017)

Almost two weeks ago, new Netflix Original series Girlboss was released. While I had heard a little about it, I didn’t know that Britt Robertson was the face of this show that loosely based on the true story of Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal Vintage. Now, I’m an avid reader but not exactly in that sort of genre so while I’ve probably seen #GirlBoss on shelves, its never quite hung around my brain for too long. Point is, never read the book and not too familiar with Nasty Gal and this is my first time knowing about it. With that said, Britt Robertson is really great and I’m a fan of her work. One of the young talented actresses that I’ve liked quite a bit so it was a no-brainer to check this one out.

GirlBoss (Season 1, 2017)

Creator: Kay Cannon

Cast: Britt Robertson, Ellie Reed, Johnny Simmons, Alphonso McAuley, RuPaul

Sophia, a misfit, discovers a passion for fashion, becoming an unlikely businesswoman in the process. As her business grows, however, she has to learn to cope with life as her own boss. – IMDB

Girlboss started with a monologue by Sophia that quickly reminded me of when Britt Robertson played Aubrey in The First Time, it had some positive first impressions. Girlboss may be wrapped up on seeing Sophia become a Girlboss but the charm of the show is in her character and how she grows while embracing who she is. Life is a series of unexpected events that take us for surprise. People may get hurt on your way to success but there are also people that make the compromise worth it and most of all, that its important to see that what might not mean a lot to you could mean a lot to someone else even in small gestures and those things can be fixed communication and sometimes they just can’t be fixed no matter how much you want. Sophia learns all these things and through the different characters she meets, they all change or at least teach her something more. She still surprises us in desperate situations and really is a courageous character. In some ways, it makes us wonder how great it would be to live like her and speak her mind with no filters. However, there is no argument that shortly after the show starts, we know that Sophia is a pretty unpleasant character and really not one that we want to cheer for. She has no sense of responsibility and really, just doesn’t want to grow up while thinking that she deserves more when she really hasn’t done anything to earn it. 

With that said, while her best friend and her boyfriend are all unique in their own way, we never quite see them in their world because it isn’t their story. However, it doesn’t stop the fact that they each have their glimpses and their struggles and in their own way, has to learn how to deal and support Sophia in her journey to being a young entrepreneur. Annie, played by Ellie Reed while has an attitude is loyal and kind. Her intentions are true and one of the strengths of the show is also being able to emphasize on this friendship and their story.

On the other hand, Sophia’s boyfriend Shane, played by Johnny Simmons has much more scenes in the beginning and tends to make less appearances but still see his footsteps here and there. While I feel his performance fell a little short, I do have to say that Shane’s character is small but significant because he often is scripted to catch us by surprise just as he does for Sophia and really helps wake her up in certain ways. Other than these characters, we have Alphonso McAuley who plays Annie’s boyfriend Dax, a business student by day and bartender by night. He has some humorous moments just like RuPaul as Sophia’s neighbor who is easily the highlight of the show with some great dialogue bits that always help to make the audience laugh. 

Girlboss is pretty odd but the character they have built with Britt Robertson as Sophia Amoroso is pretty compelling to watch, maybe a little annoying in the start. I’m not one to like to watch anything based on true events or memoirs or biopics, however Girlboss does take a dramatic but more comedic and a little sarcastic tone to it. It doesn’t get overbearing with too many characters and isn’t afraid to show us an imperfect character which makes her more human because she obviously has morals issues and even ethical issues in her conduct but its a learning process not only as learning to be  business owner but as a girl slowly growing up. She is very temperamental and brash. She’s a lot of bad characteristics and yet, perhaps its because she’s such a “garbage person” (as one of the episodes is called), it can highlight her road to something more. At the end of season 1, she’s still far from being a great person and perhaps Girlboss is best taken in small doses and not too bingeworthy, while I can totally understand how a person like Sophia would not exist in this world, we do see some pretty shitty people ruling the world as well so maybe its not too far from the truth. Plus, on a more personal level, there were some scenes that did impact me and it made me realize that in an incredibly subtle way, this show has its charming moments. For myself, that’s a win. Will I watch a second season? Sure, I’m just not sure they could make it work? 

Have you seen Girlboss? Are you a fan of Britt Robertson?