Why Retta Doesn’t See ‘Good Girls’ Returning After Shocking Cancellation: ‘We Were Devastated’ (Exclusive)

Despite the backlash after NBC canceled Good Girls, Retta doesn’t see the show coming back for more.

“No. We were devastated. But I don’t know. I don’t see that coming back,” Retta, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her HGTV series Ugliest House in America. “That’s an NBC thing.”

Retta recalled being “surprised” by the news that Good Girls was coming to an end, adding, “We really thought we would go a long time and so it kind of threw us for a loop.”

After NBC’s more recent round of cancellations — which also resulted in criticism from viewers — Retta acknowledged that it was unclear to her how those decisions were made.

“I also don’t know how any of that works. How the metrics work, how they decide what’s going to make it on air, what’s not, what’s coming back and what to put on,” she said. “Because sometimes they won’t have things that are kind of similar to compete on the same network. And I’m like, ‘Well then don’t start a new show if it was just like the one that’s already there.’”

Good Girls, which premiered in February 2018, followed three suburban mothers who get caught up in the world of crime while trying to make ends meet. Viewers saw Christina Hendricks, Retta and Mae Whitman bring the fictional friend group to life as they dealt with the aftermath of a successful robbery that turned into gang heists.

News broke ahead of the show’s season 4 finale that Good Girls would not be returning for another season. “Feel too sad and confused to look at the phone but just a little look back at some of the best times with my girls,” Whitman wrote via her Instagram Story in June 2021. “Love my pals on this cast so much and love you guys who loved the show. It was such a joy being Annie and I’m forever grateful to you for supporting us. K me go cry now.”

Retta previously admitted she was still upset about the turn of events because Good Girls was “very close” to getting a season 5 renewal. “One person ruined it for all of the cast and crew and so it’s not back,” she claimed during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2022.

According to Retta, issues behind the scenes made it difficult to move forward. “I think it was a little too close to when [the writers] would have to start [season 5 scripts] and figure out story, so … no,” she explained after being asked why the costar wasn’t written off. “Trust me, Kelly, I’m salty!”

Retta has since remained booked and busy with guest spots on The Morning Show, Elsbeth and as host of Ugliest House in America.

“In the beginning, it was really hard. It’s a lot of travel and we didn’t know what we were doing. We didn’t have a system. I didn’t host so it was very hard to figure out how to be on camera,” she shared with Us. “There was a point where my [executive producer] was like, ‘Be yourself.’ He was really like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘I was trying to be HGTV.’”

Retta found her rhythm once she leaned into just being herself on screen. The opportunity to explore some of the ugliest — and sometimes scariest — homes has also taught Retta some important lessons as a homeowner.

“I would consult someone to find out what really has to be done and what kind of undertaking it is. Because it’s too easy to say this place has good bones because it might have good bones,” she added. “But there might be so much meat to get to the bones that you can’t afford it. A lot of times people are like, ‘Yeah, we’ve started and we’ve got to save up again.’ You can’t buy a place with a plan to redo it without an actual plan.”

Ugliest House in America airs on HGTV Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.