Since the beginning of Ginny & Georgia, fans have felt that Georgia (Brianne Howey) and Joe (Raymond Ablack) have been ingredients in the recipe of a perfect match. But that recipe has had many extra components in it that spoil the taste, whether it be Georgia’s new husband Paul (Scott Porter), or the wee detail that she spent Season 3 of the Netflix drama on trial for murder.
Despite the circumstances, after years of “will they/won’t they,” things firmly pointed in the direction of “will.” Broken from being left by Paul, Georgia falls in Joe’s arms, and the two are able to finally to channel their pent-up feelings into a steamy night together. And it turns out, at the end of it all, the ingredients that the two comprise may make up, of all things, a bun in the oven!
Raymond Ablack talks with Parade about whether he thinks Joe is the father of Georgia’s surprise child, his Degrassi connection to new showrunner Sarah Glinski and how he was able to have his moment akin to The Bear – in more ways than one!
First off, I have to start by asking: Do you think Joe is the father of Georgia’s baby?
In my heart, he is. Because so badly, as Ray, I want for Joe to be the father. I just want him to have that. Because we’ve been rooting for him, or at least I have been rooting for him,to have a happy ending with Georgia since day one of Season 1. So in my heart, I hope it is.
If true, that complicates the already-complicated dynamic of Georgia and Joe even further. What do you make of where things stand with the two of them at the end of Season 3?
Despite all the craziness of the finale and her legal situation, I think he’s relieved. Because they’ve needed to have a conversation about where they both stand with each other for a while. And, I don’t know, egos or whatever, have kept them from sorting that out. And while, yes, she needs some space and some time to focus on her kids and her life, he knows where her heart is. And I think there’s peace in that, even though there’s still a delay in us being able to share something together romantically.
What was it like to finally get that moment of Joe and Georgia’s hookup to happen, after waiting for it for years?
Even just as an actor, it’s a relief. It’s really rewarding. It’s been three seasons, but it’s taken five years just because of the strikes and any number of reasons for why it’s taking so long to get all this done, but all that has made the anticipation just grow. And so it was really rewarding and fulfilling to finally get to that place to participate with Brianne in that way, with something both of our characters. We know both of our characters want to move to this place, and we finally got to do it this year.
To that point, what was it like actually filming the scene with Brianne?
I feel like we were giggling and really enjoying it and laughing with each other. Because I guess it’s been a long time coming, and we both know that, and the anticipation was so high. There is a relief in finally getting there and getting to play with each other that way.
This, of course, also complicates Joe’s relationship with Paul. And, despite them being friends, we do see a bit of tension this season, particularly when Paul decides to, at one point, support the bill to bring “big business” into town, which could put Joe’s restaurant out of business. Talk to me about how their dynamic changes this season.
I don’t know. I don’t think that we have a tumultuous or rivalry-laden relationship. I don’t feel that Joe has any kind of ownership or possessive quality over Georgia when it comes to Pau. We had our moment this year, but that doesn’t preclude her or make her exclusive with Joe. As we saw, that was not the case, and I don’t think that he has any kind of pent-up feelings about that or anger towards Paul. I think Paul and I end up stepping on each other’s toes, certainly professionally and romantically. But I don’t know that the two of them, or I don’t feel that the two of them have any animosity towards each other. I definitely don’t feel that way about Scott Porter!
Well, even if Joe isn’t feuding with one of Georgia’s former husbands, he certainly does with another when he punches Gil in the face upon finding out he was abusive. Talk to me about your reaction to that moment.
I think he didn’t even think about it. It’s not in Joe’s nature, I don’t think, to be some physical, domineering kind of guy. I think he is cunning and has the capacity to do some evil –or his version of evil – the way anyone can. But you wouldn’t have expected it to be physical. You wouldn’t expect him to punch someone. But I think, in that moment, I don’t think he even thought about it. He just went on instinct. That was the first time he’d seen Gil since he found out about the abuse. And that’s what came over him, which, you know, I think that happens to people, especially when all reasons fly out the window when it comes to someone that you love.
You got the chance to have your “Jeremy Allen White moment” in the Season 3 premiere. What was that like?
I hope I honored Jeremy Allen White even a fraction. [The Bear], that’s probably my favorite show, maybe of all time. I think they’re all so terrific. I’ve worked in restaurants like that my whole life, and the show is just so accurate to at least my experience working in restaurants. And I like all of them, Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy, all of them so much. To do something even, even just adjacent to what they do over there, it was like an honor.
And also, this is a little anecdote story. So Matty Matheson, who was a producer of The Bear, and also famous Toronto chef, we shoot the show up here in Toronto. And Sarah Lampert, our Creator, knows that I’m a massive Bear fan. And so she reached out to Matty Matheson to see if he would have some ability to come train me for knife skills, because we’re seeing the kitchen this year, the Blue Farm kitchen. And Matty Matheson hooked us up with his Chef de Cuisine at his famous restaurant in Toronto called Rizzo’s House of Parm. So his chef de cuisine, Kevin Charanduk, he came to set three times to train me on knife skills and different cooking skills in our kitchen. And the kitchen is largely functional, too, because we shoot in a studio. And so yes, it was sort of six degrees from The Bear. I hope we get more scenes and work in the kitchen in the coming year. But yeah, like to get to do it, what I fantasize that Jeremy Allen White was doing the same things in preparation for his first year of The Bear, I just felt like, “Okay, this is really cool.”
Well, you have a new chef in the kitchen in the form of showrunner Sarah Glinski. I know the two of you worked together on Degrassi. So what was it like to have that reunion?
I was a kid. I was 17 to 20, 21 years old when I was on Degrassi. And she was a writer on the show at the time. When she got the showrunning position on Ginny & Georgia, I was thrilled. Because in my head, I thought, “Oh, I think Glinski likes me.” Back in the day, I used to see her name on scripts where I had a larger plot in Degrassi. So I asked her about that this year, and she said, “No, no, that’s just how the randomness of the show worked.” She just happens to be the writer on episodes where I was featured largely on Degrassi. But, yeah, we worked together lightly in the past, but I was a kid, and I didn’t understand anything beyond showing up and saying the line. So I guess this is our second chance to actually have a relationship.
And that must be such an interesting reminder to you of how far your career has come. You’re working with Sarah at two very different instances in your life.
It’s so funny how things change and things really just stay the same. We’ve worked together in the past, and now we’re working together again. And she’s seen me grow, and I’m seeing growth, obviously. So the show shoots on a street called Purity Avenue in Toronto. It’s kind of like an industrial section of town. And one block away is Bermondsey Avenue, where we shot Degrassi for the 30 years that that show has been going. And one block away, 10 years later, we’re shooting another show, many of the same people, even in the crew. We find each other again one block away, 10 years later.
Well, let’s look ahead to more time on that block. I’m not sure how much you know about what’s to come in Season 4. But what’s one you personally hope you get to do?
Well, I definitely want to have more seasons in that kitchen. I think it’s gorgeous. I love that. It’s like, mostly fully functional. You don’t always get that on TV; it’s all fake. So I love the kitchen. But if there were some world where I could work with Dan Beirne, who plays Nick. I think that guy high-key steals scenes. I think he’s just so funny and such an interesting and great character, kind of two-faced. So he would be so fun to play off of. And then also being more involved in Georgia’s life. I think anyone who’s even been in her “sphere” ends up getting their hands dirty, whether they want to or not. And so I would be excited about being implicated in some of her drama.
