Georgia Miller’s (Brianne Howey) past comes back to haunt her in Ginny & Georgia Season 3, but the murders of Tom Fuller and her two late husbands aren’t the only things she’s stressing over.
Season 3 of Sarah Lampert’s hit Netflix series shined a major spotlight on Georgia’s murder trial, but because the trial and her status as “Mayoress Murderess” became national news, another person from Georgia’s past resurfaced in her life: Shane Reilly.
In Season 3, Episode 6, Georgia first gets a call from Shane Reilly, an inmate from the New Mexico State Penitentiary. She declines the call, but is clearly rattled. And the scene will have fans of the series wondering who is Shane Reilly on Ginny & Georgia?
So who is Shane Reilly to Georgia? Why is he in prison? And who plays Shane Reilly on Ginny & Georgia? Here’s what Ginny & Georgia fans need to know about the curious Season 3 character. Just be warned, Ginny & Georgia Season 3 spoilers lie ahead.
After Georgia is accused of being a serial killer and her sorted past becomes national news in Episode 5, she receives an unexpected call from inmate Shane Reilly in Season 3, Episode 6, “At Least It Can’t Get Any Worse.” Georgia’s eyes grow wide, she gasps, and the call disconnects when she fails to accept.
So who is Shane Reilly? It’s Georgia’s biological father. As Season 3 news reports remind viewers, Georgia’s birth name was Mary Reilly, and she ran away from home at age 14. As Georgia tells Joe (Raymond Ablack) when he visits her later in the episode, she hasn’t talked to her dad in more than 20 years as he got locked up when she was six years old.
In the Season 3 finale, Shane Reilly calls Georgia again, and this time, she reluctantly answers. He calls her Mary and issues a serious warning: “I’ve wanted to talk to you for so long, and if I can find you, anyone can. Your mom, your stepdad. Mary, you have to be careful.”
So why exactly is Georgia’s dad locked up? In Season 3, Episode 6, Georgia tells Joe that her dad called and was arrested for attempted murder when she was a kid — but not just any murder!
“I don’t remember it, but my mom told me what happened. I guess he tried to kill me,” Georgia explains. “I’m dead serious. My dad tried to kill me and my mom.”
While there’s a lot more to learn about Georgia’s biological father and her childhood, we know that Georgia severed ties with her mother, Daisy, and her stepfather, Ed Atkins, who she shot in the hand because he physically and sexually abused her when she was young. During Episode 5, when Georgia’s trial made national news, Ed (John Tench) can be seen watching the news on his television and screaming, “Hey, Daisy! Get in here! It’s your daughter, Mary! She’s on TV!”
Before the Season 3 finale ends, an old red pickup truck with her stepfather Ed and a blonde woman, Daisy (Jayne Heitmeyer) inside drives past the house, suggesting that Georgia’s past is coming back to haunt her again, just like Shane Reilly warned.
In Season 3, we didn’t actually see the character Shane Reilly, we only heard his voice through the phone. But assuming he’ll be back in some capacity in Ginny & Georgia Season 4, perhaps there’s a chance that viewers (and Georgia) will actually lay eyes on Shane Reilly in present day and possibly even flashbacks. Stay tuned!
Ginny & Georgia Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.