Scott Porter‘s character Ginny & Georgia has not been lucky in love — so what does he think about his Hart of Dixie costar Rachel Bilson being cast as his new love interest?
During an exclusive interview about season 3, which premiered on Thursday, June 5, Porter weighed in on Us Weekly‘s pitch, saying, “I think Paul is in such a place where he can’t even think about a relationship right now. Just the tumult that he has been through — just the high dryer cycle. He’s been tumbling through right now.”
Porter would rather Paul take a beat after ending his marriage to Georgia (Brianne Howey).
“His head is spinning and his career is on the line. I think Paul is going to focus up a little bit,” he noted. “I don’t think he’s going to have the ability, the heart or the brain power to be able to forge a new relationship.”
The actor is no stranger to bringing complicated fictional romances to life. Before Ginny & Georgia, Porter played our favorite small town attorney George Tucker on Hart of Dixie. The CW series, which ran from 2011 to 2015, featured George in a love triangle with Zoe (Bilson) and Lemon (Jaime King) but Zoe also had a romance with Wade (Wilson Bethel).
“George was a mess — especially relationship wise,” Porter joked. “He was bouncing all over the place. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He was in love with Zoe one minute. He was in love with [Wade’s ex-wife] Tansy the next.”
He continued: “There’s nothing wrong with it. He was trying to find himself and grow into himself. So I think if you get Paul and George together, it’s going to be a disaster.”
While Paul isn’t in the same amount of love triangles on Ginny & Georgia — his love life is a different kind of tumultuous. He fell in love with Georgia only to have her arrested for murder — at their wedding — in the season 2 finale. The third season wasn’t any better with him initially standing by Georgia until doubt started to set in.
“This season was full of big revelations for Paul and a lot of challenges. I think my favorite part of this entire season was just getting to really push into really difficult [onscreen] stuff with the cast. We just have an incredible cast,” Porter told Us. “I love acting across from Raymond Ablack. I got a lot of time with Joe this season, which was awesome. Of course, Brianne Howey was just the most impeccable lead we could ever have. Each and every single one of them. I don’t think there was one single moment [I didn’t enjoy]. It’s just continuing to build this show with them that makes it so special.”
The end of the season confirmed Paul’s split from Georgia after she lied about being pregnant.
“I wasn’t surprised at all. I think everybody had been waiting to see how much Paul could endure as far as Georgia’s past and just her refusal to tell him the truth. The most heartbreaking part of this season for me was Paul saying the line, ‘I could have protected us if you just would’ve trusted me,'” he recalled. “And she says, ‘I couldn’t trust you.’ He doesn’t understand why. He really doesn’t. He was all in for her. He says it himself.”
Porter isn’t sure what to expect for Paul going forward after that “heartbreaking” finale, adding, “What I’m looking forward to is seeing how and if Paul can pick up the pieces. I’d love to see some resilience out of Paul. These are just things that I would wish for. I have zero idea of how this all is going to play out going into season 4 — but we’ve heard a lot about how good Paul is at what he does.”
He continued: “He was elected mayor for a reason and I’d love to see him turn that focus and that energy [into something positive]. He’s got a lot of frustration right now and if he can spin that into a positive, that could be very fruitful for him. I want to see his resilience and his backbone. I want to see him dust himself off and try again.”
But what about that pregnancy reveal at the end of the season? (In a twist of irony, Georgia realized she was actually pregnant but doesn’t know whether Paul or Joe is the father.)
“It’s one of those fool me once, fool me twice situations here. I think Paul is going to think long and hard about anything else that comes out of Georgia’s mouth,” he said. “It’s really heartbreaking that that’s the case. He asked her for so long to let him in, to just be honest with him and now it’s to the point where he can’t believe a word she says. That’s just heartbreaking to me. Hopefully they can get back to terms where at least they speak and they see each other again in a little bit of a positive light. But I don’t know if it’s possible.”
Ginny & Georgia is currently streaming on Netflix.
