Glamorous is an American comedy drama television series created by Jordon Nardino, starring Kim Cattrall and Miss Benny.[2] The ten-episode series was released on Netflix on June 22, 2023.[3] On November 15, 2023, the series was canceled after one season.[4]
Premise
Marco, a young makeup enthusiast, is hired as an assistant to beauty mogul Madolyn Addison. Through his work for the company, Glamorous by Madolyn, Marco develops in his identity, navigates dating, creates new friendships, and more. Madolyn also undergoes character development as a result of being around Marco.[5][6]
Cast and characters
Main
Kim Cattrall as Madolyn Addison, a former supermodel and founder of the beauty brand Glamorous by Madolyn
Miss Benny as Marco Mejia, a makeup and fashion enthusiast who lands a dream job as Madolyn's second assistant
Jade Payton as Venetia Kelaher, Madolyn's first assistant who wants to further her career
Zane Phillips as Chad Addison, Madolyn's son and director of sales for Glamorous by Madolyn
Michael Hsu Rosen as Ben, a graphic designer for Glamorous by Madolyn who shows interest in Marco from their first meeting
Ayesha Harris as Britt, a graphic designer for Glamorous by Madolyn who has feelings for Venetia
Graham Parkhurst as Parker, an overconfident "finance bro" and a love interest for Marco
Recurring
Diana-Maria Riva as Julia Mejia, Marco's mother and a lawyer who comes to work for Glamorous by Madolyn
Lisa Gilroy as Alyssasays, a social media director of Glamorous by Madolyn
On February 1, 2019, The CW ordered the pilot for Glamorous, from writer Jordon Nardino and executive producer Damon Wayans Jr.. The series focused on "a gender non-conforming recent high school graduate lands the gig of a lifetime interning at a cosmetics company whose products he panned on YouTube."[10] On February 21, Eva Longoria was announced to direct the pilot.[11][12] On May 16, 2019, Glamorous remained in contention for a series order. According to The CW president Mark Pedowitz, "it needs some retooling so we can try to move forward with it."[13] However, on June 28, it was announced that Glamorous would not move forward.[14] On April 11, 2022, Netflix ordered Glamorous to series.[15] On July 28, it was announced that Todd Strauss-Schulson would direct the first two episodes.[16]
Casting
On February 1, 2019, Brooke Shields and Jade Payton were cast as series regulars.[11][12] On February 26, Ben J. Pierce was cast as the gender-nonconforming lead, opposite Shields, as well as Pierson Fodé, and Michael Rauch joined as an executive producer.[17]Peyton List and Susan Santiago joined the cast on March 13,[18] and Chester Lockhart and Brady Dalton Richards joined the cast on March 22.[19]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 47% based on 17 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "While Glamorous has several elements that merit celebration, its featherweight touch proves too slight to achieve genuine allure."[23]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 57 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24] The show was in Netflix's Global Top 10 for two weeks, with 43.1 million viewing hours worldwide.[25] It also reached the Top 10 in 69 countries in the weeks following its release.