Well, it’s official: Showtime is really, truly, actually rebooting The L Word. President of programming Gary Levine said so himself, “cautiously,” at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour earlier this week. And Showtime confirmed it during their TCA slot today. According to Deadline, they’ve been hard at work at it for over a year. And by “they,” I mean new showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan; your old pal Ilene Chaiken; and Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Kate Moennig, who will serve as executive producers and reprise their roles as Bette, Alice, and Shane. The Hollywood Reporter says “other characters from the original series” may also appear, and includes on that list Erin Daniels and Mia Kirshner. Any skepticism I have about this reboot would vanish instantly if someone could confirm Dana and Jenny will appear as ghosts or vampires. The L Word: The New Class will reflect “how members of the community’s relationships, their lives, and experiences have evolved and what has changed (and what hasn’t) since the show’s inception.” Maybe, for example, people of color and trans people and bisexuals exist in West Hollywood now! Maybe lesbians know how to talk about those identities without being monsters! Maybe no one’s going to get breast cancer on Tuesday and die on Wednesday! I do hope Bette Porter keeps saying “fuck” a lot, though; no one fucking knows how to swear like Bette Fucking Porter. Showtime has ordered eight episodes, which are expected to premiere before the end of the year. Update: Sarah Shahi is in. Reporters asked her about the reboot at TCA today. Caroline Framke at Variety reports that she said: “This was something that was brought up in a discussion [with original L Word cast members] last year… The girls were talking to me about it, and my involvement was discussed very heavily that I would be in it. I think they want to keep it that way, and so does Showtime.” And here we go! @Showtime See you all soon xoxo https://t.co/Sa4wLjOWf5 — kate moennig (@katemoennig) January 31, 2019<doc-sep>Sarah Shahi Confirms She'll Be Part of L Word Reboot This year marks the 15th anniversary of The L Word’s premiere on Showtime, and the internet exploded when it was announced Thursday that the reboot had been picked up for an eight-episode season to air toward the end of 2019. Confirmation that the reboot was moving forward came during the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, which also confirmed that original cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Katherine Moennig would costar in the series that will introduce several new characters. Now there’s even more good news for fans of the original L Word, since Sarah Shahi, who played Carmen de la Pica Morales in seasons 2 and 3, has said she will have a role in the reboot, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Since exiting The L Word, Shahi has worked continually in shows including Fairly Legal, Reverie, and Person of Interest, where she played the beloved queer character Shaw. But Shahi first made an impact with queer female audiences as outspoken DJ Carmen on The L Word, who nearly made it to the altar with Moennig’s commitment-phobe Shane. Shahi let the good news slip while appearing a the TCA tour to promote her recurring role on the upcoming Kevin Bacon drama City on a Hill, according to THR. "[The L Word] was my first big gig. And to be a part of that, I don't think I ever really knew what I was stepping into until after and I started speaking with women and getting letters," Shahi said. "Just the amount of information that was sent my way about how impactful it was, it put me on this thing where it's like, everything I want to do from now on, I want it to have meaning and I want it to touch people.” “That was something I tried to do in Reverie and in Person of Interest and it's something I'm going to do in City on a Hill. To be a part of that sisterhood was so momentous for me. I'm more than honored that I can go back and re-create it,” she added. The actress even laid out a possible scenario for what Carmen may have been up to in the intervening years since Shane left her at the altar. "Whatever she's doing, I feel like she's definitely still pining away for Shane," Shahi said. "For Shane, Carmen would be the one that got away. But I think that was a big game-changer for her. I'm not sure if she's still DJing or not but definitely something in the music-art world." L Word creator Ilene Chaiken (Empire) will executive-produce the reboot along with the new show’s showrunner, playwright and screenwriter Marja Lewis Ryan (The Four-Faced Liar). Beals, Hailey, and Moennig will also executive-produce the series. The L Word ran for six seasons between 2004 and 2009.<doc-sep>The show’s creator, Ilene Chaiken, is also an executive producer, but its new showrunner is Marja-Lewis Ryan. The new season of The L Word will be eight episodes and premiere later in 2019. According to Showtime, the returning characters will star “alongside a new generation of self-possessed LGBTQIA characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks, and success in L.A.” The possibility of a revival began in July 2017 , when Showtime confirmed it was developing a continuation of the lesbian drama, with original cast members Jennifer Beals, Kate Moennig, and Leisha Hailey returning as Bette, Shane, and Alice, respectively. The actors will also serve as executive producers. The original version of the show, which ran from 2004 until 2009, was an integral part of the shift in how LGBT people were portrayed in popular culture. The characters were attractive and successful, and had tumultuous romantic lives. In an interview with Chaiken 10 years ago with the Los Angeles Times, Chaiken told me that she didn’t see The L Word as being over. “I don’t believe it, I don’t see it in that way — I don’t know what I’m talking about when I say this,” she said. “I hope we’ll do an L Word movie — there’s no plan to do an L Word movie. But I would love to do that. I just believe that in some way, the show will live on.” The show often infuriated its fans with its ludicrous plots, including its “who-killed-Jenny” cliffhanger in its final season — which was never resolved. (Perhaps it will be now!) Though there have been plenty of LGBT women on television — Orange Is the New Black, The Fosters, Vida, and The Bisexual, to name a few — there has not been a popular, lesbian-focused drama since The L Word concluded in 2009.<doc-sep>
The original cast of The L Word Lesbian drama The L Word is officially being revived, with several members of the original cast in line to return. Showtime announced on Thursday (January 31) that the TV series, which originally ran for six seasons between 2004 and 2009, is getting a long-rumoured revival. Although the original series ended with several fan favourites dead or in prison, three of the show’s original cast—Jennifer Beals (Bette), Katherine Moennig (Shane) and Leisha Hailey (Alice)—are all set to reprise their roles. The trio will also serve as executive producers on the show, alongside L Word creator Ilene Chaiken. Marja-Lewis Ryan will serve as showrunner, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The L Word stars set to return for ‘sequel’ The outlet reports that other original series starts, including Erin Daniels (Dana), Laurel Holloman (Tina), Mia Kirshner (Jenny), Sarah Shahi (Carmen) and Pam Grier (Kit), could appear in the reboot. However, the revival will primarily serve as a “sequel” to the original, and will introduce a new diverse ensemble cast form across the LGBT+ spectrum. Gary Levine, Showtime’s co-president of entertainment, said: “Marja has brought her unique and contemporary vision to The L Word and blended it beautifully into the fabric of Ilene’s groundbreaking series. “This revered show was both entertaining and impactful when it originally ran on Showtime, and we are confident that our new version will do that and more in 2019.” Despite a surge in LGBT+ representation on screens since The L Word‘s initial heyday, shows based on the lives of queer women have been few and far between, and fans have long clamoured for a comeback. The L Word is not the first LGBT+ show to come back from the dead The show is not the first iconic LGBT+ TV show to make a comeback, with Will & Grace making a return to screens in 2017, eleven years after its initial ending. Original stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes all returned to the Will & Grace revival, which is set to enter its third season.