“The L Word” returns to Showtime this Sunday with a sequel series that dives right back into the lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) and Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig). But the eight-episode show, dubbed “L Word: Generation Q” will also introduce a new generation of queer Angelenos to the mix, including Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas) and Gigi (Sepideh Moafi), as they experience love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in L.A.
And Beals says that “Generation Q” component is one of the main reasons you got “The L Word” back — “because every generation deserves their series of love stories, really.”
“Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey and I all realized that there was a great appetite still for ‘The L Word,’ not long after we went off the air and people were still talking about it online,” Beals told TheWrap in a recent interview, which you can view in the video above. “And then it became quickly apparent to us that the ground was changing, like, the conversations were changing and that there was this whole new generation that was coming up that refused to be categorized and refused to have somebody else define their gender identity or their sexual orientation.”
“And that was incredibly exciting, so exciting that really language couldn’t keep up with all of the changes that were happening and the lexicon kept growing and growing and growing,” she continued. “And we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have the show come back on now to include all those conversations?’”
Created by Ilene Chaiken, the original “L Word” aired for six seasons, from 2004 to 2009, on Showtime.
“When we went off the air there wasn’t even same-sex marriage in the United States, you know? And now we’re in a different time and there’s still obviously so many things that need to get done,” Beals said. “There’s no Equality Act, for example. We have an administration that’s been attacking the LGBT community from the moment they took office. So I would say there are so many reasons why it needs to come back on, first and foremost, that love stories need to be continued, no matter what the era, no matter what the community.”
“The L Word: Generation Q” is executive produced by showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan (“The Four-Faced Liar,” “6 Balloons”), along with Chaiken, Kristen Campo, Steph Green (pilot) and Beals, Moennig and Hailey.
Watch our full interview with Beals above, in which she tells us where we’ll find Bette when the sequel series debuts.
“The L Word: Generation Q” premieres Sunday at 10/9c on Showtime.