“The L Word” Reboot Cast Assembles at Last, Announces Plan to Gift You “Generation Q” For Christmas

Feature image via The L Word‘s official Twitter

Today was Showtime Day at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, and you know what that means! Crying, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, fucking, Gen Q teasing. Yes, Jennifer Beals and Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig took to the stage with Ilene Chaiken, new showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan, and some of the new cast of The L Word reboot to talk about what’s been going on with Bette and Alice and Shane lo these many years since they axe-murdered Jenny Schecter, and what to expect when they all move to Silver Lake.

Harkening back to one of the greatest all-time The L Word episodes, “Layup,” during which an inexplicable and delightful game of “basketball” was “played,” Ryan used a sports metaphor to explain to reporters, “We have had long conversations about [lesbians and trans people] and we are very plugged into the conversations that are coming out of the divide. I strongly stand on the side of inclusivity. We don’t have enough teammates to play a full game if we’re not all on the team.”

I’m honestly not sure what that even means but if it means we’re having some kind of queer community trans woman draft, I CHOOSE JEN RICHARDS for my wife! Er, team. Teammate! I choose Jen Richards as my teammate in the sports battle of 2019! Is there making out in the sports battle of 2019? I don’t know! I am open to it! I want to be a good teammate!

What was I talking about?

Oh, right. Showtime’s hit television series Generation Q.

Jennifer Beals and Ilene Chaiken, noted texting buddies, were texting when the 2016 election results were coming in and that’s when they decided probably it was time to boot up the ol’ L Word again. “I think this (presidential) administration has given people permission to say really hateful things, and they are perpetrating hateful things,” beaks said. “We haven’t reached any kind of state of equality. The power of storytelling can help that issue.”

Chaiken added, “I finally worked up the nerve to call my dear friend Gary [Levine] and say, ‘What do you think? Should we bring The L Word back?”

Variety Senior Features Editor Danielle Turchiano has a Twitter thread covering the whole shebang.

I remain unconvinced that anyone involved in this show has observed the new age of queer TV being ushered in in the last ten years, but I am excited to find out if I’m wrong — which I will be doing on December 8th, when Generation Q airs its first episode. Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas!

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

10 Comments

  1. How Ilene Chaiken planned to steal Christmas.
    Or a rebound.
    Who knows?
    I was seriously doubting my text comprehension skills there, for a minute.
    This divide and team talk worries me greatly, but then again, this is also the show that brought us the Max baby shower, something I still think of at random times, with horror.
    Hopefully the actresses are imbued with veto power. Or they have a sensibility expert on the writing staff that keeps them from using crude sport metaphors on the actual show.
    And a make up expert who believes in a bit more understatement.

  2. I am wary of the reboot but feel significantly more positive since learning that Jamie Clayton is going to be in it.

  3. Honestly, The OG L Word had some really promising characters but Chaiken and company couldn’t write their way through wet tissue paper.

    Btw…how beautiful is Jennifer Beals at 55? She was the only reason why I stuck with the show for so long in its original run.

  4. This show makes me feel so WORRIED. And their reassurances always make me feel more worried.

  5. There is a comment that they won’t specifically reference “TURF” (they must mean TERFs) lesbians on the show, but that the show is a response to them, which is the most hopeful thing I’ve heard about this reboot so far. Almost the only hopeful thing, except Jaime Clayton!!! is a very hopeful thing.

  6. I’m excited! Wish more of the original cast was involved. Hoping at least we get updates and that the killing of Jenny Schecter was a fever dream or that last horrible season never happened.

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