‘Girls5Eva’ Cast Knew They’d Get 3-Gether Again Despite Peacock Cancellation | Video

“It feels like the world makes sense.”

That’s how Paula Pell described her reaction to the news that Netflix had saved “Girls5Eva.” Starring Pell, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Sara Bareilles, the (formerly) Peacock musical comedy follows the members of a former girl group who decide to give their musical dreams one last shot. Only this time around, they have to contend with divorce, New York lonely boys and knee surgeries, as well as a whole new generation of young stars who are equally desperate for fame.

Created by Meredith Scardino (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Mr. Mayor”) and executive produced by Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and Jeff Richmond, “Girls5Eva” is exactly the sort of zany, irreverent and cartoonish show that should appeal to fans of “30 Rock” and “Kimmy Schmidt.” So when the comedy was cancelled on Peacock after two seasons, it was a blow to everyone involved.

“I’m so grateful to Peacock for the two seasons they gave us, and NBCUniversal is so kind to root for the show and want to see it find the right home. There were a lot of people that were like, ‘We don’t think this should end,’ so they let us shop it around,” Scardino told TheWrap.

That’s how the series came to Netflix, the streaming home of a certain red-headed mole woman. “There were a lot of friendly fans and faces over there. It just felt like the perfect home,” Scardino added. “I hope the people that it’s meant to find embrace it. I hope it finds a big comedy audience.”

Not only did the streamer agree to make a third season of the show, but Netflix also obtained the streaming rights to the first two seasons, meaning fans could watch the entire series all in one place.

“I ran through the street topless,” Pell, who plays dentist/pop star Gloria, joked when asked about her reaction to the news. “It was so exciting that we could bring it all to Netflix where it can be binged and people don’t have to jump around.”

“We were just overjoyed because we all felt like it wasn’t over. We knew,” Philipps, who plays Christian influencer and self-proclaimed “hot one” Summer, told TheWrap.

“It’s just proof that you’re always in the right place at the right time because I do feel like this was the time for us to be here,” Goldsberry, who plays the obscenely talented and self-absorbed Wickie, said. “We’ve always felt grateful. Every single time, we’ve always been very aware that being together, getting to do this, was a gift.”

Part of that gift has to do with how “Girls5Eva” presents its main four women. Rather than casting Dawn (Bareilles), Gloria, Summer and Wickie as “the wife or the girlfriend or the kooky sidekick,” as Philipps explained it, the series takes its leading ladies seriously.

Goldsberry dubbed that aspect of the series “so healing to my soul.” “The lead character that’s a woman on a show — in a play, anything — is typically the support of someone. We are that. And not only are we that, we’re also writing, we’re taking back the narrative of our lives,” Goldsberry said. “It seems like a comedy because it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen, but that truth in there is undeniable.”

Bareilles admitted to feeling “very protective of women of a certain age” when she first started working on the show and noted that she didn’t want to poke fun at them. But Scardino’s vision and writing assuaged her fears.

For her part, Pell has a very specific reason for loving her role as Gloria. “I have the special joy of playing a queer woman who is also of a certain age, older than you, and being the one that’s getting the most action in the show,” she proudly said. “My biggest thrill is I’m hitting it harder than any of these girls. I’m really representing the older set because I am that queer woman.”

Between its musical requirements and its complicated depictions of womanhood wrapped up in mile-a-minute jokes, “Girls5Eva” has provided its talented cast with a myriad of opportunities they’ve rarely experienced before. In addition to letting her character pull the most strange, Pell was able to embrace singing on camera for one of the first times in her career; Philipps has also been able to live out her fantasy of being a pop star (“You guys are not going to have to suffer through my solo album in real life,” Philipps noted); while Goldsberry has been allowed to fully embrace her ego.

“The thing I get to do on the show that I never am given license to do is say yes to every selfish, self-absorbed thought that comes to my brain,” Goldsberry said. “They always come. But I’ve been forced to swallow them back down. In this show, they’re like, ‘Shine a light on it.'”

But for Bareilles, “Girls5Eva” has offered her something a bit more emotional.

“I went down the musical artist route, but I didn’t feel oriented toward the girl group thing. I loved girl groups, and I loved popular music, but I never felt confident enough to pursue anything that looked like this,” Bareilles said. “I get to scratch the itch and feel all of those crazy insecurities again. That is actually very healing and strange. But it’s like a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment where my life took a different turn, and now I get to know what this feels like.”

Though the comedy is three seasons in, Scardino still has plenty of plans left in mind for her famous five-ever girls. The showrunner was unable to answer just how many seasons she wants for her show, but did say she has “a million ideas for these four ladies” stored on her phone’s Notes app. “I would love to create more for them,” Scardino said.

All three seasons of “Girls5Eva” are currently available to stream on Netflix.

The post ‘Girls5Eva’ Cast Knew They’d Get 3-Gether Again Despite Peacock Cancellation | Video appeared first on TheWrap.