A ‘GLOW’ Netflix movie? Marc Maron floats the idea to ‘finish the story’

“GLOW: The Movie”?

Actor Marc Maron is planting that idea to give the Netflix series some creative closure.

Netflix announced its reversal of a Season 4 renewal for “GLOW” this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic and largely cited financial challenges involved in keeping the physically intimate show afloat.

The wrestling comedy, which stars Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin as some of the ’80s-era Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, had already begun production on a few episodes of its fourth season when lockdown orders in L.A. County went into place.

Then a decision was made to ditch the remainder of the season because the increasing costs of shooting safely during the pandemic made it too expensive to continue producing.

“You don’t want to do the show anymore, but let us make a movie. Right? Let us wrap it up in a two-hour Netflix movie,” Maron said Tuesday on Instagram Live with his fans. (Watch it below around the 13-minute mark. Note: There is some swearing in the video.)

“They had the whole season laid out. We know where it’s going to go. Why don’t you give the showrunners [Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch], the writers and the cast an opportunity to finish the story in a movie? I think that would be the best thing,” he added.

The “WTF” podcast host, who played struggling filmmaker Sam Sylvia in the Emmy-winning series, urged fans and followers to tweet at Netflix that they’re upset about the cancellation and perhaps demand a revival. (It wouldn’t be the first time Netflix has changed course on a series or rescued a canceled one from a competitor.)

Maron explained that turning the show into a movie would take the financial pressure off and allow the streamer to be more economical with shooting. A movie would mean fewer directors and less production time, he said.

“I think they could do it in less time than it would take to do the show,” he said, teasing that the ideas in place for his character and his love interest, Ruth (Brie), were “gonna be good.”

Maron confirmed that Netflix didn’t want to pay to keep the large set pieces “alive anymore,” explaining that the show required the maintenance of two sound stages and an office space indefinitely, or until production was to resume on the show in spring 2021.

“Who knows where we’re going to be in May? Who knows if we’re even going to be a country come January — that’s functioning. It’s barely functioning now,” Maron said. “And all these protocols when I talk to people on sets ... it does not sound like fun to be on a set right now, and judging from ‘SNL’ last week, it does not look fun.”

It is unclear if Netflix plans to air that lone completed episode or how creators might button up lingering storylines in another capacity. Season 3, which began streaming in August 2019, ended on another show-resetting cliffhanger that saw the women leave their Las Vegas lifestyle behind, with many characters going their separate ways. Maron’s Sam and Brie’s Ruth also were pulled apart after briefly coming back together.

Maron suspected that a change of executives resulted in Netflix’s decision to stop the show. He added that some cast members received partial payment.

Netflix representatives for “GLOW” did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.