Things We Saw Today: The L Word: Generation Q Shows Us Old Favorites and New Characters In First Teaser

From 2004-2009, The L Word both broke ground and was a problematic favorite for lesbian women and queer audiences. Series creator Ilene Chaiken is once more producing the series on Showtime, hopefully with slightly better representation across the board. The teaser not only shows us glimpses of some of the new characters, but some returning favorites as well, including Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) as Los Angeles’s newest mayoral candidate.

*gay panic ensues* pic.twitter.com/p1syRSVXMT

— The L Word on Showtime (@SHO_TheLWord) August 22, 2019

Chaiken, who serves as producer alongside showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan, told NBC that she’s heard the criticisms of her original project, and “what I would say is I accept all of those criticisms. The world has changed; we’ve learned a great deal, I’ve learned a great deal. The world has changed. I know things now that I didn’t know then, and I’m glad to know them. I recognize the sensitivities. I also think that to some degree the kind of — I’m going to call them the rules, but I think it’s the wrong categorization — they’re always evolving. Marja is really keenly attuned to the issues of representation and inclusivity … I think people will be gratified by how inclusive this show is.”

While lesbians and queer women exist on television, there is no show centered exclusively on telling queer women’s stories. It will be nice to have a more inclusive L Word as we head into a hopefully more inclusive future for television.

(image: Showtime)

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— Ava DuVernay (@ava) August 22, 2019

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— The Slightly Irreverent Jennifer Maglio (@MaglioJen) August 22, 2019

Wow, has it felt like Friday to anyone else here?