Back in October 2020 news broke that GLOW was cancelled. Not only was it a beloved, Emmy-winning series for Netflix, but production on the highly anticipated fourth season had already begun when COVID-19 forced an industry-wide shutdown. Even as other productions resumed while adhering to COVID safety protocols, the folks over at Netflix deemed that impossible for GLOW and the show was closed for good.

While on Collider Ladies Night in celebration of the July 2nd release of The Tomorrow War, Betty Gilpin looked back on her experience working on the series touching on Alison Brie’s invaluable leadership qualities, that final conversation between Debbie (Gilpin) and Ruth (Brie) that closed out Season 3 and, of course, what it was like for her when she found out they wouldn’t be moving forward with that fourth season.

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It turns out, the cancellation of GLOW wasn’t the only disappointment Gilpin experienced over the last year and a half. “Pandemic-wise, I had a couple disappointments career-wise that in the global scheme of things don’t matter at all.” She joked and added, “When an actress cries in a forest, does anyone hear?” While these lost opportunities could have been devastating blows to Gilpin’s attitude and drive, Gilpin credits her early days in theater with giving her the wherewithal to put things into perspective:

“I think if all this had happened when I was 19 and just starting out, I would have been so devastated, but at 34, I’m kind of grateful to the decade of failing that I had, where I still supported myself as an actor, so it wasn’t total failure. But I did a lot of black box plays that no one saw and an episode of Law and Order once every four years, and that was my life for a long time. I think starting in theater was this gift where I learned the lesson early that feeling like your soul is doing what it’s supposed to and coming out into a room for one second and being recognized by someone else’s soul is such a different thing than societal success and it can be confused. It’s very easy to confuse the hit validation feels like, or public validation, especially when so much of being an actor is rejection and no and trying, so when the world says, ‘Hey, we see you and we’re clapping,’ you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s my childhood dream!’ But it’s not. Your childhood dream has way more to do with your soul just being recognized for a millisecond and then it goes away.”

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Image via Netflix

RELATED: Betty Gilpin Describes What Debbie Was Thinking Going Into 'GLOW' Season 4 and How Ruth Is "The Great Love Of Debbie’s Life"

Gilpin applied that mindset to the cancellation of GLOW and a few other career-related bumps in the road:

“I think even though we got cancelled, it’s like, ‘Yeah, we still did it though.’ And The Hunt is a movie that meant so much to me and that part meant so much to me and there are parts in that movie where I really felt like, ‘Oh, I did the soul thing.’ … I feel like sometimes you do a play, sometimes your soul comes out in a room and is recognized for a second and then the air changes and you’re terrible again and it’s all bad and the whole front row’s asleep, but you did it, for one second. And I’m like, we did three seasons. The Hunt came out in theaters for two days. I have an Ann Coulter impression. I never filmed it.”

Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin in GLOW
Image via Netflix

As a massive GLOW fan, whose days were often brightened by the show’s powerful storylines and electric ensemble, I can confirm Gilpin and her co-stars “did the soul thing” all the way through their three-season run. It’s hard not to wonder what could have been for Debbie, Ruth and co. in Season 4, but Gilpin’s thoughts on the matter serve as a welcomed reminder that we did get three seasons and can reconnect to that "soul thing" anytime on Netflix.

And if you'd like to hear that Ann Coulter impression Gilpin worked on for American Crime Story, you can check it out using the link below:

KEEP READING: Betty Gilpin Shares the Unused Ann Coulter Impression She Prepared for 'Impeachment: American Crime Story'