Photo: Scott porter/ instagram
As the (newly reelected!) mayor of Wellsbury, Massachusetts inGinny & Georgia,Scott Portermakes sure everything runs smoothly in the small new England town. Off screen, the actor, 41, made it his mission to fight Huntington’s Disease with The Huntington’s Disease Society of America.
The genetic disorder hits close to home for theFriday Night Lightsalum. Months after Porter and his wifeKelsey Mayfield tied the knotin 2013, his mother-in-law was diagnosed the brain disease that currently has no cure. Mayfield herself then tested positive for the Huntington’s gene, meaning that eventually, she will facethe effects of HD, such as depression, mood swings, forgetfulness and slurred speech.
“I hope that one day I don’t have to sit my kids down and fully explain to them what is happening to their mother,” the father ofson McCoy Lee, 5, anddaughter Clover Ash, 3, says. “That’s why we’re fighting so hard today.”
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“Everybody said ‘yes.’ They all jumped right in,” Porter says of his Netflix costars. “I’m so excited for us to all get back together, talk about season 1, converse with the fans — kind of like our own little private television convention forGinny & Georgia— and raise money for a great cause at the same time.”
Filming of the hit Netflix show wrapped in December 2019 and Porter planned to seehis castmatesagain in Los Angeles after they all came home and “decompressed.” Once the pandemic hit, “none of that got to materialize,” Porter says. “A lot of us haven’t seen each other this entire time, so to get on a stream with everybody else and see their faces is going to be so incredible.”
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Porter says he and his castmates, as well as the series' creator Sarah Lampert and showrunner Deb Fisher, want to use the May 26 livestream as an opportunity tothank the fans. “We didn’t know what the show would turn into, and the support from the people that have watched the show has been immense,” he adds. “It took us all off guard a little bit, and we are so appreciative of them.”
They’ll also talk about how the show came together, how they each got involved with it and tease a bit of theupcoming second season— about which Porter admits he does not know much aside from “a couple of really funny jokes that Sarah has shared with me.”
Porter hopes the second season will explore more of Mayor Paul’s background “because he’s still very mysterious, even to me,” the Nebraska native says. “What kind of man goes and gets an Ivy League education, seemingly throws it all away to go teach English in Thailand for a while; goes backpacking through Tibet and then comes back with such a strong and directed political career in mind. Who does that?”
Netflix
Porter thinks Paul knows a little something about Georgia’s dark side, too. “I’m not going to say that he knows everything that Georgia is up to, but I think he lets her know that he sees her coming,” he explains. “He sees someone who is so driven that [she] may be willing to color outside the lines a little bit while he has to stay within them. And I think that partnership is very attractive to him.”
Fans who want to dive deeper into all thingsGinny & Georgia— and maybe even ask the cast and creatives about their own theories — candonate $20 or moreto gain access to a Q&A after the panel discussion.
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“We hope that a lot of our fans can come and hang out with us,” Porter concludes. “And if we can make some amazing money for a great cause while doing it, then that will really mean that all is well in Wellsbury.”
ThevirtualGinny & Georgiareunionin support of Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month takes place May 26 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
source: people.com
