Girlboss's rags to riches story isn't quite as simple as it seems – but it needs more seasons to tell the tale properly
Netflix star Britt Robertson wants more time to explore entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso's success – and her company Nasty Gal's bankruptcy
A quick watch of the first episode of Girlboss, Netflix's new comedy based on the life of fashion entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso, and you would think you had a pretty good idea of how the series will play out.
Sophia (played by Britt Robertson) is a sharp 23-year-old with a streak of anarchy and a lack of direction. Between dumpster diving and shoplifting, she stumbles across a beautiful vintage going for peanuts in a local vintage store. She buys it, snazzes it up and sells it on eBay for a ridiculous profit.
Lightbulb moment.
Sophia's future life of fashion success stretches out before her in a blaze of diamante, making a mockery of the doubters with style.
Except it's not quite that simple.
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Sure, the real Sophia Amoruso has built an incredibly successful career, and was named one of America's richest self-made women by Forbes in 2016 with an estimated net worth of $280 million a year.
However, just after the Netflix series finished filming, news broke that Amoruso's company Nasty Gal had filed for bankruptcy.
It means this rags to riches story arc isn't quite as simple as the first series would have you believe, but that's OK, at least according to star Britt Robertson.
In fact, it could make her role much, much more interesting.
"I think we had finished filming," she says, recalling when she first heard the bankruptcy news, "because I remember we were at a meeting and then they were like, ‘Nasty Gal went bankrupt’, and I was like, ‘Wut?’
"And then I googled it, and then I texted my friend Ellie [Reed] – she plays Annie on the show – and she was like, ‘Yeah, that shit’s real’."
Now Robertson is desperate for more seasons from Netflix, so that she can delve in to Nasty Gal's demise.
"It’s so entertaining!" she says. "There’s nothing better than playing this girl who thinks she’s found success and spent a decade pouring her love and energy into something that maybe she thinks she'll have for the rest of her life, and then she has the rug pulled out from underneath her.
"Then it’s like, ‘You’re starting over, what are you going to do now?’ That challenge would be so fascinating to play. I’m already looking forward to it."
The real Amoruso serves as an executive producer on the series, so if the show does get that far, it will have to get past her, right?
"She’s very open though," Robertson counters. "I don’t think she would have a problem with exploring those deep dark aspects of her life. As long as she’s producing the show, I think she’s like, ‘Cool I got a hit? Sounds good to me’."
Girlboss season one is now available to watch on Netflix
