Georgie & Mandy Star Montana Jordan, EP Steve Holland Talk Mary/Fred Twist — Will The Cooper Family Feud Continue Into Season 3?

CBS' "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" ended Season 2 with Georgie dealing with his worst nightmare: Fred Fagenbacher dating his mom!

Over the course of the season, Mary has slowly begun opening herself up to the possibility of moving on after George's death. But in Thursday's finale, that journey took an unexpected turn when Fred — Georgie's longtime business rival — began ingratiating himself with the Cooper family, attending Mary's bible study and insisting that he's a changed man. (He even managed to win over Meemaw!)

Whether Fred is sincere or simply trying to get under Georgie's skin remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that Georgie wants him nowhere near his mother. And after Mary refuses to cut ties with Fred, Georgie delivers a painful ultimatum: If Fred stays in her life, she risks losing access to him, Mandy, and CeeCee. Rather than back down, Mary pushes back by asking Fred out on a proper date, prompting Georgie to storm out of the Cooper house as the season comes to a close.

After screening the finale, TVLine separately spoke with star Montana Jordan and co-creator/showrunner Steve Holland about Fred's true intentions, why Georgie is struggling so deeply with Mary moving on, whether viewers should trust that final smirk from Fred, and what the finale's emotional fallout could mean heading into Season 3. Those conversations have been combined and lightly edited for clarity.

TVLINE | You first toyed with Mary moving on and dating again early in Season 2. At what point did it occur to you guys that pairing Mary with Fred would be an interesting avenue to go down?
HOLLAND | Honestly, it was pretty late. It was when we were doing the scoreboard episode, and Fagenbacher is messing with them. There's a scene at the end where Mary lays into him, and those actors [Zoe Perry and Matt Letscher] were so great together. It was a late addition at the end when she's like, "You know, there might be a good man under all that scruff," and he says, "I can shave!" We just thought, "What a great thing if he— it doesn't even have to start romantic! But if he really wants to be a better person, and he goes to Mary and she's helping him, how disruptive would that be for the whole family?" Obviously, Georgie will hate it, Mandy will hate it, it's a big deal for Audrey... so it just seemed like a great wrench to throw in the mix, and no one would believe him. And as we were approaching the story, we always thought, "This is true. He's not doing this to mess with Georgie. This is actually coming from a genuine place, but no one's going to believe him because he's been such a jerk for so many years."

TVLINE | Montana, when we spoke earlier this season, you said it would be good for Mary to find someone who fills the hole in her heart left by George. Did you ever imagine that person might end up being Fagenbacher?
JORDAN | No, I didn't. Now I'm taking back what I said! You know, it has really put George in a tough position. The love and respect that he has for his father will never leave his heart. He will probably never like another man that Mary brings around, but Georgie needs to realize that not only is this his first time losing someone this close, it's Mary's as well. And as we learned at the end of "Young Sheldon," she has a lot of resentment toward George, so there are certain things that she's battling with that Georgie might not understand.

TVLINE | Fred insists that he's a changed man. From your perspective, should viewers trust him... or is Georgie right to be suspicious?
JORDAN | Oh, George is 100% right to believe that there's something going on. You don't go after somebody for so long like he's been going after Georgie, and just all of a sudden go, "I'm going to start going to Bible study with his mother." That's just not how that works. But I'm excited to see how Season 3 goes — whether George is going to accept [this], or if he's going to continue putting his foot down.
HOLLAND | I think Georgie is right to be suspicious. Because even if Fred is going into this because he does want to change, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to stick. Change is hard. Most people don't end up changing. Most people default back to their base nature. I don't know what's going to happen — we haven't started breaking next season yet — but I think Georgie is right to be suspicious, and I think Mary is right to believe that she has to be there for someone who wants to [change]. These are the best arguments we can come up with [in a scenario] where, actually, both sides have a really strong leg to stand on.

TVLINE | When Georgie storms out at the end and Fred sits back down, there's this little smirk that washes over his face. I genuinely couldn't tell whether that was meant to suggest Georgie is right — that Fred is happy to have successfully driven a wedge between mother and son — or whether he's simply happy that Mary asked him out on a date...
HOLLAND | Exactly! It's a great moment, and I think Matt Letscher played it terrifically. It walks that line where it can mean either of those things, and I think it's good to to be left wondering which of those things is correct. It's intentionally ambiguous.

TVLINE | How important do you think it is for Mary that Connie gives Fred her stamp of approval?
HOLLAND | Well, I mean, the fact that Connie approves it is one more reason why she's not sure! But I think the truth is that anytime you can have Annie Potts in an episode, you should have Annie Potts in an episode! But also, for this one specifically, it was nice for Mary to have someone on her side... and surprisingly that the person is Meemaw. They've had such a strange, loving-but-antagonistic relationship, and Meemaw is the person saying, "I think this guy might actually be good for you." Also, when we were breaking the story and talking about Fagenbacher, we were, like, "Meemaw would love this guy!" She wouldn't like the fact that he treats Georgie bad — that she definitely wouldn't like. But he's a scoundrel, a little bit of a rogue, and he likes to get under people's skin. These are all things that Meemaw likes!

TVLINE | Georgie has grown so much since George died. That said, we see him give Mary this ultimatum. Do you see that as a sign that there are still areas where he hasn't fully matured — or is this situation with Fred simply hitting a uniquely personal nerve for him?
HOLLAND | I think it's a little of both. I mean, this is definitely hitting a uniquely personal nerve. Fred has made Georgie's life miserable for a couple of years now, but I also think it's interesting to explore some of the still flawed parts of Georgie because he is such an admirable character. He wants to do well, and he's always so optimistic about how things are going to turn out — but the truth is, he's also 21, and in a little bit over his head in life. There's a moment earlier in the episode where Mandy's talking to Mary, and Mary says, "I've lived a lot more life than you have. I know everyone thinks I'm in this naive church lady, but I've raised a family... I'm not as naive as everyone thinks..."

TVLINE | Georgie was able to walk away when he saw Mary with Joseph, but he's unable to take a step back when it comes to Fred. Beyond a lack of trust, is there something else that makes it harder for Georgie to accept this particular suitor?
JORDAN | Like I said, he will always have love and respect for his father. He'll always want [Mary and George] in the same picture, but he has to come to terms with the fact that his father passed away. That's just part of life. But I think that the main thing that's bugging Georgie is that it's Fagenbacher of all people — the person who has been trying to beat him down — and when you beat down someone's business as they're trying to build it, it hurts their family, too. Georgie sees that as an attack on his personal life, and he doesn't like [Mary and Fagenbacher] in the same picture at all.
HOLLAND | I mean, I think his mother moving on in any shape is really difficult for him, and we definitely saw that when she first started dating. But I think it's that it's Fred. It's this man who he doesn't like and that he doesn't trust. From Georgie's point of view, he's laying down the law to protect his mother from someone he thinks is a bad person — and whether he's right or not, we'll have to wait and see.

TVLINE | Montana, were you surprised to see Georgie to deliver that ultimatum to Mary?
JORDAN | Not at all! But sometimes, Georgie does or says things that he doesn't completely mean. Although there might have been some truth to that [ultimatum], I think that was more of him just kind of hoping it would scare Mary into realizing that Fred is not who she thinks he is. Sometimes, Georgie takes the wrong approach... but sometimes, he takes the right one, like he did [with Joseph, when he walked away]. So we have to see what Georgie ends up doing in Season 3 — if he accepts it, or if he puts Fred underground!

TVLINE | Georgie obviously can't understand what Mary sees in Fred. But from your perspective, can you understand why Mary might be drawn to him?
JORDAN | Here's the thing: Mary and George were opposites. She's a Bible thumper, he was not. You could [also] say that maybe this is Mary having a midlife crisis. Maybe she needs some change in her life, you know? Maybe she needs to go out to the bar with Fred and have a drink. Maybe that'll loosen her up a little bit.

But from her son's perspective? Absolutely not! But throwing myself out on the character, maybe he just needs to realize that his mom's battling a whole lot more than he actually sees.

TVLINE | Mary knows Fred is Georgie and Ruben's biggest competition, and she also knows her own house is on the line financially because she put it up as collateral for the tire shop. But interestingly, none of that comes up during their confrontation. Was that a conscious choice to keep the conflict rooted more in emotion and family than business?
HOLLAND | Definitely. And there's room to get into all those things, but it seems right for Mary's character that if someone says they're searching for God and that they want to be a better person, that she's going to put that over her financial concerns. She's going to put her faith in that person being genuine. But no, I think that just gives us a place to go [in Season 3]. I felt like, for this episode, and for the first time seeing [Fred as a supposedly changed man], it was really just about the emotional gut punch for Georgie of his mom maybe being romantically involved with Fagenbacher.

Even talking about Fagenbacher, and whether or not he's for real, he did say to Georgie that he wouldn't ask her out and that he would respect those boundaries. It was Mary who stepped forward and asked him out.

TVLINE | Georgie isn't able to convince Mary that Fred is bad news... but his in-laws know better. How important do you think it will be to Georgie to have Jim and Audrey on his side heading into Season 3?
JORDAN | Yeah... Jim's also dealt with him and seen a different side of Fred. Audrey has, too, since they used to date back in the day. So they both have different perspectives on Fred than even Georgie has, or than Mary would have. Mary doesn't know him very well. She wants to bring people closer to the Lord, and what she sees is somebody wants to get closer to the Lord, and she's going to accept him in that manner. She's not seeing the bigger picture of what's actually going on.
HOLLAND | I think that makes it interesting, too. Audrey is on Georgie's side, and that's also not super common — the fact that this might bring him and Audrey a little closer together in a weird way. And I think Jim has his own issues with it, but I think he's also bothered by the fact that it bothers Audrey so much.

TVLINE | Is there any scenario where Georgie and Fred can coexist peacefully as business rivals, or is Fred always going to be try and destroy Georgie professionally?
HOLLAND | I mean, Georgie did break into his lot and sabotage his tow trucks at one point! I would say it's more Fagenbacher driven than Georgie driven, but they both share some responsibility. I think it's going to be tough, but I think that's what's interesting about it. And again, I don't know where Season 3 is going to go yet, but I think that's going to be a piece of it. Can they...? Is there any world where these two can actually get along? Is there any world where Georgie can actually accept that this guy has legitimate feelings towards his mom? And what is that going to mean for their business rivalry? And what's that going to mean for Mary's investment in Georgie's business? I think those are all really fun and interesting things for us to play with in Season 3.

TVLINE | Do you think Georgie is capable of accepting Fred and Mary together if he ultimately has to let this one go for the sake of the family?
JORDAN | I think he's capable of accepting it. But I think before we even see that, we're going to have to see Georgie visit his dad at the grave site a couple times — just to feel everything out, and better understand Georgie's mindset.

I don't think Georgie wants to destroy Fred. If Fred wasn't constantly attacking Georgie, Georgie wouldn't want to go out of his way to attack somebody, or tear somebody down. That just tells you who Fred is. And until Fred realizes that Georgie is just trying to survive in the world, and until he realizes that he didn't have to tear somebody down to get where he's going [nothing will change].

I don't think Georgie want this to be happening. He just wants to build a business and become Doctor Tire. No matter what comes in his way, he's going to get over it, and right now Fred is in his way, and he's been in his way since the beginning.

TVLINE | Mary asking Fred out feels like a major turning point — not just because she's moving on romantically, but because she's actively pushing back against Georgie trying to control the situation. What did you want that final scene to say about where Mary is emotionally at this stage of her life?
HOLLAND | Like you just pointed out, I think it's supposed to be that Mary [is actively pushing back]. It's been two years now since George passed, and I think the conversation she has with Meemaw, where Meemaw basically tells her it's okay to be selfish — that sometimes, you have to put yourself first, and if other people don't like it, they can go "boink themselves" — I think gives Mary to put herself first sometimes, which is not a thing that she tends to do.

TVLINE | Heading into Season 3, is the bigger challenge going to be whether Georgie can accept Fred... or whether Mary and Georgie can repair the damage this conflict has done to their relationship?
HOLLAND | I think it's Mary and Georgie. That's the key relationship. Because these are both stubborn characters. Neither one of them is going to want to back down, and that also puts Mandy in the middle. Mandy was sort of abandoned by her family on "Young Sheldon" when she first got pregnant, so she knows what it's like to be cut out of your family's life. I think Mandy's going to have some sympathy for Mary, and I think it puts her in the middle of this conflict in a way that's going to be interesting.

TVLINE | Is this a conflict that will bring Georgie and Mandy closer together... or tear them further apart?
HOLLAND | Well, we know it's only their first marriage. I mean, I'm just speculating! I'm not even trying to be coy! I don't know the answer to that question yet, but I think it's great that we have so many interesting questions to play with going into Season 3.