Australian production company Freehand, has followed in the footsteps of Ilene f*cking Chaiken by creating a reality television show that is centered around the lives of a group of lesbians living in Sydney, Australia.
The show is called Generation L, and it promises to be “a sensational new reality series that goes behind closed doors and into the lives and bedrooms of the new generation of gay women.” Neat, huh.
According to Mumbrella, the show’s ‘sizzle reel’ is currently being shopped around to Australian television networks. Meanwhile an 8-part web series, Generation L: The Road To Mardi Gras, will launch via YouTube this week! It will begin airing this Wednesday, March 2, and intends to document the lead up to this weekend’s Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
At the moment this is all I can tell you about the show, sadly no-one from Freehand has emailed me any official information such as a press release or my audition call time. So let’s just watch that sizzle reel, shall we.
Thoughts:
– The Real L Word has made me absolutely terrified of how Australian lesbians will be portrayed on screen. Honestly the only thing that made The Real L Word even slightly bearable to watch was the knowledge that it was created in the USA and therefore I could distance myself from it. Not this time.
– Gay marriage is still illegal in Australia. This probably isn’t very clear given that everyone in this preview seems to be engaged or wed. Maybe they were wed by our open-minded neighbours, New Zealand. I guess they’ll explain all that later.
– The scene where Rachel calls Amber a “starfish” and Amber responds “I look like a dud root!” is perhaps the most unintentionally hilarious / awkward 15 seconds of footage I’ve seen this year. Thank you, Amber and Rachel.
– We really do speak like that.
– Sydney has quite an ethnically diverse lesbian population. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.
– Kate is cute. I like her vest.
– While there were a few moments in this preview that made me cringe, my gut feeling is that this reality show / web series will be fine, I might even enjoy it. What do you think?
I may be hopelessly out of the loop, but what does being a “starfish” mean? Also, does anyone else find it insulting that being a lesbian is treated like some sort of fad?
I agree, “being out has never been so in” what?
I also didn’t get the ‘starfish’ reference. But I think this show looks promising. Seeing some butchier women and alternative lifestyle haircuts was a nice change from the Real L Word.
it’s when the girl lies there with her arms and legs spread out not being into it or something. i don’t know why they said that on the teevee
Someone who lays there, unmoving, like..well like a starfish. ie. a dud root.
i am so surprised that they straight up gave everybody’s ages! i feel like in america everyone likes to keep that a secret. that being said they are much older than the american real l word. that being said to be honest i got sort of bored after the first minute or so.
also they did that hard on the outside/soft on the inside Mikey thing for that one girl and I was like gahhh
LA FASHION WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKend
I found it interesting that the majority of girls were in their late 20s – early 30s, I wonder why. You think there’d be at least one uni student. Maybe they’re friends in real life and therefore it kind of makes sense that they’re all of similar age. Except Prue.
I think I need to speak to someone who made this, I have a lot of questions about it.
They weren’t picked individually, but are all part of the same network of friends.
That might cover the age thing and also perhaps why they wasn’t much diversity.
can i just say oh god! Being out on the Sydney lesbian scene for quite some time already wants to make me cringe about this show…
“Sydney has quite an ethnically diverse lesbian population. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
Uh, yeah, I suppose we’ll have to. The cast kind of blends together. There was criticism that TRLW didn’t have enough diversity. Given that LA is culturally diverse – more so than Sydney – that is undeniably true. But at least IC and the gang made a half-hearted effort to include a few latinas into the main cast.
Honestly, I thought TRLW was crap. But, if I were to compare their teaser to Gen L’s, TRLW would come out on top. Maybe it’s a cultural thing…?
That was my first thought upon seeing this trailer. Out of all the queer women in Sydney they chose a mob that all looked like they went to the same party scene? Even though there are quite a few queer women in Sydney (esp from minority backgrounds) who are quite kickass and have substantial stories to tell? They were out in droves at Mardi Gras if nowhere else.
Will check it out if I remember to/if AS reminds me to partially because I have Australian relatives in Melbourne, woop!
Did you guys know that in Australia, the movie theatre seating is like, you pay for a specific seat location, as if you were going to watch a play or musical? It’s not a free-for-all like in North America… Weird…
They do that in Spain too! I thought it was some kind of language barrier thing when the ticket lady asked me where I wanted to sit but no, you have to pick and you get ushered there.
Depends on which theatre you go to. Event Cinemas does that, but Hoyts/Dendy/the independents I’ve been to do not.
They do it at the Universal Citywalk theater in LA. Only place I’ve seen it done.
You can see Julie and Brandy choosing their seats in one of their In Your Box Office vids. #ASnerdalert.
They do that in Malaysia, but not in any cinema in Brisbane that I’ve seen.
London has one coming apparently…. “Candy Bar” (named after the tackiest lesbian bar in town), which I hear wil be truly awful. As in worse than TRLW. Really. SIGH
http://themostcake.co.uk/culture/channel-5-gives-london-lesbians-their-first-reality-tv-show-the-candy-bar-just-a-pity-it-sounds-like-a-car-crash/
Link ;-)
Ah Candy Bar and memory lane. Back when I thought I was all kinds of sexy, I went there to get my drink on. It’ll be interesting (read painful) to see what they will cobble together to try and make this look half decent!
i’m not at all a design person, i really couldn’t design my way out of a cardboard box, but what really rubs me the wrong way on this trailer is the font choices… the opening few seconds from 0:00 to 0:08ish look so bloody cheap. i swear that’s the same font used by the girl everybody knows who uses photoshop to make one tree hill desktop backgrounds. do you know what i am saying.
yeah i feel like the next thing that was going to appear on-screen was like some women talking about tampons while eating activia
The problem is that my exposure to Australians is mostly limited to “Summer Heights High” so I have trouble taking them seriously when I see them on tv. I just keep thinking about Ja’mie.
E E E E E ECSTASY
lol you guys
As an Australian I have to say your comment wins at the universe.
wow awesome, im australian and had no idea this was being made haha. cant wait.
Also not all australian movie theatres you pick where u sit, none of the ones near me do it, the only time ive had to have assigned seating is at the really big one about 40 minutes from me where they have the gigantic screen.
‘a dud root’ – phwahaha i watched it yesterday and still laughing about it
the only australians i ever hear are my cousins so whenever i hear that little accent i expect someone to call me “hanner” and ask where the wine is.
As with any new lesbian or “lesbian” show, I’ll keep an open mind and give it a go.
Though, with their ages, I’m not sure that they should be referred to as the new generation ;)
I was surprised at how much I liked this! I thought it would be all catfights and lipstick but it seemed pretty honest and respectful. And the conversation about starfish and seahorses was both cute and hilarious in its awkwardness.
The way they’re all saying they’re married or engaged is strange. I am all for non-legal marriage if that’s your thing. However, I would hate for an uninformed viewer to think that Australian queers can marry or even that we are happy calling their commitment ceremonies marriages and leaving it at that. Though to me it’s kind of hard to ignore stuff like this years Mardi Gras theme or the NDA for Marriage Equality, some people do really just have no idea.
Also following on from Laura’s comment earlier, I propose that Summer Heights High’s Ja’mie makes a guest appearance.
I LOVE Ja’mie! I’ll vote for that! :)
I’m in love with that accent, and wish I was back in Oz! :( Boo!
Is it just gunna be a webseries, or is it actually on teevee?
Hmmm as a Sydney lesbo I often see this group of girls out on the scene and lets just say they are not the nicest bunch of lesbos you could encounter.
There are so many more real down to earth, less up themselves women out there on the scene.
The fact that these girls are going to be our representation to the rest of the World scares me.
I feel like I maybe want to give this a chance. I’m at least initially interested. Since I’m reading this really late, there are already webisodes up, so I don’t have to wait around. We shall see.
Pathetic drug fucked wankers.
Obsessed with themselves call it Generation N
(narcissist)
I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT NEW GENRATIONAL L I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU GOT INTO MY ACCOUNT, I’M A 81 YEARS OLD NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT EVER YOU ARE ABOUT , WHAT I WANT IN FOR MY MONEY RETURN TO ME, AND YOU CROSS MY ACCOUNT FROM YOUR FILES. THE AMOUNT IS $19.91
stop play on senior citizen offering fake WAL-MART $500.dollar gift cards. charging a fee for something you are not going to deliver return my $19.91.
JUST RETURN MY MONEY TO MY ACCOUNT. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT YOU. I HAVE NO FREE MONEY I LIVE ON A FIX INCOME. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAME PLAYING ON INNOCENT OLDER PEOPLE.