Jennifer Beals Promises L Word Reboot Will Be a 'Deep-Dive-Wild-Ride'

The L Word reboot can't happen soon enough.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

April 04 2019 10:05 AM EST

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Social media blew up when it was announced in January that the L Word reboot was getting an eight-episode season that would be anchored by original cast members and executive producers Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Katherine Moennig. Soon after, original cast member Sarah Shahi, who played the beloved Carmen, announced she would be joining the reboot. While the new series, which will introduce several new characters, won't air until the end of 2019, an Instagram photo from Beals of her with several of the writers is an exciting reminder that it's just a few months off.

Beals, who played the besuited power lesbian and art aficionado Bette Porter for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, posted a photo with a diverse crew of writers and wrote about feeling inspired by the talent in the room.

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L Word creator Ilene Chaiken (Empire, The Handmaid's Tale) will executive-produce the reboot along with Beals, Hailey, Moennig, and the new showrunner, playwright and screenwriter Marja Lewis Ryan (The Four-Faced Liar).

Other original L Word characters, including Tina (Laurel Holloman), Dana (Erin Daniels), and Jenny (Mia Kirshner), may also return for the reboot, although there's no indication yet of how the writers will handle reincorporating Dana and Jenny, who were killed off in the original series. Pam Grier, who played Bette's big sister Kit Porter, has said she will not return for the show because she's tied up with the series Bless This Mess.