Earlier this month at ATX Television Festival, I had the chance to sit down with Retta and Good Girls creator Jenna Bans to talk about Season 2 and what we might expect when Season 3 returns.

While there aren’t any major spoilers for Good Girls Season 3 in this interview (the writers hadn’t even started working on Season 3 when this interview was conducted), there are some small ones. If you’d prefer to go into the new season completely unspoiled, I would turn back now.

Ruby and Stan are the only stable couple on the show, and they are downright adorable.

“I didn’t expect the response to the relationship that people have, and so it makes me happy that people enjoy it and that they are grateful for it, like it’s a respite in the show for them,” Retta said. “An anxiety respite.”

Bans jumped in, sharing her take on why Stan and Ruby are so beloved. “It’s also a testament to you [Retta] and Reno [Wilson], and the chemistry you guys have together.”

At the very first Good Girls table read, Bans commented that her husband, Justin Spitzer, who you may know as the creator of Superstore, was there, and he was struck by the chemistry between Retta and Wilson.

“It was the first time we saw Retta and Reno Wilson perform together, and he just leaned over to me and was like ‘uhh, this is your show, like the two of them are your show,'” Bans recalled.

“It’s the way they [Retta and Reno Wilson] play these characters, and the bond that they have in real life translates to the screen,” Bans added.

There’s a moment on Good Girls Season 2 Episode 13, King,” where Stan and Ruby are relieved that somehow, they both managed to survive the investigation without anyone landing in jail. Then, unfortunately, Stan said, “never again though, right? You’re through with it. Choose us from now on.”

“When I watched the finale, that scene gave me anxiety,” Retta said. “And I was like, ‘fuuuck.’ We’re back in it, where we started, where I’m going to have to be lying.”

However, Bans said that’s not going to be the case, which was a huge relief for Retta.

“Our goal is not to repeat the same dynamic we’ve played, which is Stan sort of suspecting and Ruby lying, so we have sort of a different way to go about it that changes it a little bit,” Bans teased.

“But I also like this idea that Beth has this idea at the end about ‘guys we can do it ourselves. We can make our own counterfeit money,’ which is essentially starting a small business, and Ruby might not be so into that idea come the beginning of Season 3.”

“So it’s not to say that she [Ruby] won’t listen to Stan for a while before circumstances inevitably draw her back in, which again is a good test of the friendship between the three women and lets us explore a lot of the dynamic,” Bans continued.

As for Retta, she doesn’t want Ruby to go along with Beth’s latest scheme.

“In my heart of hearts, I want Ruby out. I’m so stressed for her. I don’t want to ruin her family life,” Retta stated. “I feel like Ruby wants out. She needs out.”

“I think the tragedy about Ruby is that she’s happy. She’s a happy person. She’s happy in her marriage. She’s happy with her family. She was never doing this because some like unspoken need deep within her. She’s happy. It’s a circumstance thing for her,” Bans added.

“If you struggle with money, you struggle having money. Once you get a taste of it, it’s hard to shut the door, and go ‘okay, I’m going to go back to struggling’ when it was so easy,” Bans noted.

Of course, we had to talk about Beth and Rio. When asked about the appeal of their relationship, Bans had this to say:

“Beth and Rio’s relationship is super tortured. It’s super toxic. There’s positive things about it. He obviously sees a potential in her that her own husband doesn’t, sees her worth in a way other people don’t.”

“But they’re really different people,” Bans added. “It’s not like these two can just ride off into the sunset. That A wouldn’t make for a very fun show, and B wouldn’t give us that great push and pull that we sort of love to watch.”

We last left off with a badly injured but very much alive Rio and with Beth (most likely) believing he’s dead or just out of the picture on Good Girls Season 2 Episode 13, “King.” I’m fairly optimistic that we will see him again. When I said as much to Bans during the interview, she did give a little tease:

“I will say this. It’s not the end of the road for them. I don’t think fans should protest too much. I think there’s a long road ahead of them that will be filled with a lot of difficulties and also a lot of fun moments.”

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Good Girls Season 3 will air on NBC.

Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here. There is a lot more to come!

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