Cover Story this week Love is all around

Showtime reboots an old favorite with ‘The L Word: Generation Q’

By Breanna Henry TV Media

Showtime has always been up for taking a risk. A drug-dealing suburban mom and an awkwardly heroic serial killer were widely considered too objectionable for audiences in 2005, yet “Weeds” and “Dexter” both skyrocketed to phenom status (along with their casts and creators) when Showtime took a chance on them. More recent series such as “Shameless” and “Ray Donovan” have continued the trend.

Major networks have declined to even glance at many of the series Showtime has greenlit, and over the years, the network’s open-mindedness and forward-thinking have turned those shows into mainstream cultural sensations. On Sunday, Dec. 8, Showtime is taking a new kind of chance. For the first time ever, the network is reviving one of its own un expected hits, as “The L Word: Gener ation Q” brings the 2004 original se ries “The L Word” into the modern era. Fans of the old show will be ecstatic to see the return of original cast members, and new fans will appreciate the rise of brandnew breakout stars.

“The L Word” was an hour-long drama featuring an ensemble cast of women. The series followed a diverse group of 20-somethings as they went about their daily lives in West Hollywood trying to navigate their many (often disastrous) relationships. Showtime has never been one to shy away from sexuality in its programs, and “The L Word” was no exception; what was different about the show pleased as punch if they did). The fictional characters of “The L Word” were living the kinds of vastly differing lives and partaking in the different types of relationships that reallife queer women were, with a whole lot of dramatic flare thrown in to keep viewers hooked.

“The L Word: Generation Q” features the return of original series stars Jennifer Beals (“Flashdance,” 1983), indie-pop musician Leisha Hailey (“Dead Ant,” 2017) and actor Katherine Moennig (“Ray Donovan”) as Bette Porter, Alice Pieszecki and Shane McCutcheon, respectively. A few new actresses and actors also get the chance to shine in this sequel, including Jacqueline Toboni (“Grimm”) as an executive assistant named Sarah; Arienne Mandi (“In the Vault”) as Bette’s new lover, Dani; and Leo Sheng (“Adam,” 2019) as Micah, a professor. The return of Beals, Pieszecki and Moennig

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gives fans high hopes for the revival; since “The L Word” was such a big part of these women’s careers, signing on signals their belief in the script Showtime has put together.

While Shane, Bette and Alice were on the air from 2004 to 2009, “The L Word” was THE show for lesbian, queer and questioning television audiences. The year before “The L Word” premiered, only two of 674 female characters on prime-time television (0.2%) were lesbians, and the queer community was crying out for more representation.

That’s not to say this show was perfect in its representation, or even that it lived up to the responsibility it had. No one on “The L Word” ever seemed to have to go to work, everyone seemed to be rich (even Shane, the drug-taking, hypersexual hairdresser), and everyone was involved in some kind of affair all of the time, usually with each other. Still, it was a far cry from the LGBTQ tropes running rampant on network television in the preceding years.

The important thing is that “The L Word” broke ground for the shows that came after it, including Netflix’s cross-culturally popular “Orange Is the New Black” (created by “Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan, yet another reason to thank Showtime) and CW’s newest Arrowverse series, “Batwoman.” Showtime is finally getting the chance to bring the dated stereotypes and the oft-problematic storylines of “The L Word” into the modern age with “Generation Q”; selecting L.A. Outfest award winner MarjaLewis Ryan as showrunner gives the show a promising start.

There were six seasons and multiple spinoffs of “The L Word,” which was unabashedly serialized with almost no episodic gratuities. Luckily, new viewers can watch a relatively short recap of the entire series on YouTube, and you will have to suffer through the cringe-inducing theme song (“The L Word” by Betty) at least once to really understand the pain of those who watched it when it aired.

There is a whole lot to catch up on: the series began with an affair, ended with a murder and was not lacking in dramatics anywhere in between. The new series is sure to be full of similar flare, but its characters should be a little more down to earth. Tune in to the series premiere of “The L Word: Generation Q” when it airs Sunday, Dec. 8, on Showtime.

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By Jessica Gosse TV Media

WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME VIDEO

“The Expanse” Season 4

Fans of this popular futuristic series can rejoice. Despite being canceled by Syfy in May 2018, the series was rescued by Prime, which has produced a 10-episode fourth season. You can watch those new episodes starting Friday, Dec. 13. The original cast returns in this continuation: the main crew of the spaceship Rocinate includes Captain Jim Holden (Steven Strait, “Magic City”), pilot Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar, “The Strain”), executive officer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper, “MindGamers,” 2015) and chief engineer Amos Burton (Wes Chatham, “Broken Horses,” 2015). Season 4 marks a brand-new chapter for the crew after Season 3 was brought to such a smooth close, but since the show is based on the bestselling book series of the same name by James S. A. Corey, there is plenty of source material to pull from. Using the fourth book in the saga as its source, the new season will see the crew take on a new mission to explore the worlds beyond the Ring Gate, which was opened at the end of Season 3. Tensions run high between the nations of Earth, Mars and the Belt as the discovery of thousands of Earth-like planets that can be accessed through the Ring Gate creates a land rush. As Earthers and Martians alike move to colonize these planets, they quickly realize how unaware they are of the dangers of this new world. Even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan, the reaction to the Season 3 cancellation should tell you how good the series is — fans went as far as flying a #savetheexpanse banner over Amazon headquarters. You can catch up on the first three seasons, which are available to stream now, before the Rocinate relaunches on Prime.

WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX

“6 Underground” (2019)

On Friday, Dec. 13, Ryan Reynolds and the creators of “Deadpool” reunite in this star-studded new action film premiering on the streamer. Reynolds stars as the leader of a vigilante special ops team targeting the most dangerous criminals throughout Europe. Joining him as his carefully selected team of operatives are Melanie Laurent (“Inglorious Bastards,” 2009), Ben Hardy (“EastEnders”), Corey Hawkins (“BlacKkKlansman,” 2018), Adria Arjona (“Emerald City”) and Manuel Garci-Rulfo (“The Magnificent Seven,” 2016). Having faked their deaths, the six are essentially ghosts, and they work to pull off covert missions aimed at taking out truly evil people. They know that they won’t be remembered but take solace in the fact that their actions sure as hell will be. As if it wasn’t already sure to be a hit based on the cast alone, Michael Bay (“Transformers”) is on board as director and has described the film as him getting “back to his old-school self.” Don’t miss the comedy and explosion-filled premiere of “6 Underground” when it premieres this Friday.

“Family Reunion: A Family Reunion Christmas”

Everyone who fell in love with the McKellan family when “Family Reunion” premiered on Netflix this summer may still have a while to wait for a new season, but on Monday, Dec. 9, you can get a small fix of the family fun when “A Family

Reunion Christmas” premieres on the streamer. For those who are unfamiliar, Tia Mowry (“The Game”) stars as Cocoa McKellan, a free-spirited mother from Seattle who moves her husband, Moz (Anthony Alabi, “Raven’s Home”), and four children — Jade (Talia Jackson, “Station 19”), Shaka (Isaiah Russell-Bailey, “Throwback Holiday,” 2018), Mazzi (Cameron J. Wright, “Tall Girl,” 2019) and Ami (Jordyn Raya James, “Five Points”) — to a small town in Georgia to be closer to family. Everyday life is already a huge adjustment for the family, which has gone from the big city to a small southern town, and Christmas is sure to be even more of an adjustment with already lengthy church services undoubtedly running longer and the home cooking of fam- ily matriarch M’Dear (Loretta Devine, “Grey’s Anatomy”) becoming even more elaborate.

WHAT’S NEW ON HULU

“Marvel’s Runaways” Season 3

The Marvel Universe continues to expand as “Runaways” heads into its third season, premiering Friday, Dec. 13, on Hulu. Follow the lives of Chase Stein (Gregg Sulkin, “Faking It”), Gert Yorkes (Ariela Barer, “Atypical”), Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano, “The Affair”), Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner, “Halloween,” 2018), Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta, “American Girl,” 2016) and Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz, “Casual”), a group of teens who discover that their parents make up a group of supervillains known as PRIDE. Season 1 saw the friends begin to investigate their parents, discovering their very own superhuman abilities in the process. But after learning about a sinister plan hatched by PRIDE leader Jonah (Julian McMahon, “Nip/Tuck”), they realize they are not safe in their own homes and band together as they run away. In the second season, the kids adjust not only to living away from home but having new powers they don’t understand. They also work together to try to stop Jonah and the rest of their parents. Make sure to watch as they take on a new villain played by Elizabeth Hurley (“The Royals”) when Season 3 premieres.

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