Girls5Eva‘s Paula Pell tells Awards Daily her favorite comedic aside from Season 3, what the jump to Netflix has been like, and which type Gloria is on the 178 Types of Women list.
Season 3 of Girls5Eva packs a lot into just six episodes. There’s hooking up with 178 types of women, rescuing animals in the Ozarks, discovering a teddy bear from Stephen Dorff has coke in it—and those are just things that happen to Gloria.
I e-chatted with the lovely and hilarious Paula Pell about playing the popstar-turned-dentist-turned-popstar and how Gloria’s ex Caroline (played by her real-life wife Janine Brito) plays into her journey toward finding love.
Awards Daily: What’s it been like to have the series jump from Peacock to Netflix? Have you experienced a Netflix bump where you get recognized more often?
Paula Pell: It’s been really fun to jump to Netflix. We love knowing that so many more people are watching it and so many of my family and friends already had Netflix so they wouldn’t just watch the first couple free episodes like they did sometimes on Peacock.
I’ve noticed a definite difference since we’ve been on Netflix in terms of being stopped in the street in New York or LA or even in Florida when I’m visiting my family, and I love it because it means more people are watching. We love making the show so much that it brings me extreme joy when someone connects with me.
AD: Gloria goes on her own journey this season by hooking up with every kind of woman. What kind of woman do you think Gloria would be on that list?
PP: I think if Gloria was on her own spreadsheet, she would probably be earthy dentist/tomcat in the sack. Or animal-loving popstar who is deeply skilled around cavities.
AD: Gloria learns that her ex has moved on from her. How does this figure into that journey? Do you think she’s ready to move on herself now?
PP: It seems like Gloria‘s engine emotionally has been split between trying to get back to what lights her up professionally and trying to get back to the relationship that she feels has failed. She wants a cohesive happy ending. This season it seems like she’s willing to take the risk of going out and making sure that Caroline is the one by experiencing all the other types of women, so she can feel safe in her landing back with her original love but low and behold, a dog dentist beats her to the punch.
I don’t know if Gloria is willing to give up the dream of being back with her original love of her life. Especially because she’s been with so many women now. I picture her fighting Lea DeLaria‘s character in a baby pool full of toothpaste to decide who gets to be with Caroline. It could be the hottest scene ever seen on Netflix?
AD: Gloria is constantly nurturing animals this season. (I laughed out loud when the poor fox was in the In Memoriam segment during their concert!) Do you think she’s throwing herself into helping animals to fill a void?
PP: If she’s anything like me in real life, animals have always been her passion and her favorite source of love and yes, of course, they fill all the voids so wonderfully and unconditionally. Or is she really only rescuing animals because she’s leaning into the boob desert of the Ozarks? For Gloria, saving animals is also part of her need to be the codependent savior. When any creature, both human or roadkill, needs to be saved, protected, or revived, she is there ready to scale a dumpster and put five feral kittens down her cargo pants.
AD: What was it like filming just six episodes this season? I know Meredith Scardino described it as like filming a movie. Did you feel that way?
PP: It felt very quick, but also very dense because the writers did a beautiful job at not shortchanging each character’s arc within the season. So much happens in each episode and the finale is so satisfying the way everything braids into Episode 6.
It did feel a bit like a movie. It was also a pretty short amount of time to get six full episodes shot. They were many times we were running at breakneck speed, but I’m so happy how it all turned out.
AD: Do you have a favorite anecdotal aside from this season? Like, Kurt Loder calling you the r-word?
PP: (That was a good one!). I have to say my favorite line this season was saying I go by “ho spice,” but don’t write it down because it spells hospice. Such a brilliant joke!
AD: “People will go a long way if it matters to them.” I love that line from Gloria when the lesbians show up for the group! Have you experienced this kind of fandom for this show? People go hard for it on social media. Twitter is always posting about it, but I wondered if you had any first-hand stories.
PP: I feel like over the years, I’ve enjoyed an increasing amount of very dear queer fans of all ages. Some were writers who supported me when I worked at SNL, and if I go to visit there, they’re still outside, asking me to sign something and talk to them, and I really appreciate it. They followed me right into my later-in-life acting career. I love the idea of young, creative people being inspired by seeing this old gay doing her thing. And I love hearing from older queer people who feel seen and really relate to my character and all her adventures. Sometimes we get so busy shooting things that we forget that people will eventually be watching it and taking an emotional ride with us. I’m very grateful to do this as a job.
All seasons of Girls5Eva are streaming on Netflix.
