The L Word
is coming back this year, a decade after the original series ended its run. News dropped earlier this year that the reboot was a sure thing and that original stars Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Katherine Moennig were all returning as actors and as executive producers. Now Showtime has revealed that the reboot will be called
The L Word: Generation Q,
according to
Deadline.
Screenwriter and playwright Marja-Lewis-Ryan (
The Four-Faced Liar
) was tapped as showrunner to shepherd in a new generation of
LGBTQ
faces into the world of characters who once congregated at the fictional cafe The Planet.
While groundbreaking in its own right, the original
L Word
made missteps around bisexual and trans identities and was not as racially diverse as LGBTQ-inclusive shows that have come after, like
Orange Is the New Black.
Signaling that the new series intends to thoughtfully depict various identities, last month the show put out a
casting call for trans actors
. There was no indication of how pivotal the roles would be, but it's an important step for a series that was called out for transphobia during its original run.
Generation Q,
which will shoot in Los Angeles this summer, is set to premiere in the fall. The pilot is directed by executive producer Steph Green, who's directed episodes of
The Americans, The Man in the High Castle,
and
You're the Worst.
Soon after it was confirmed in January that the show was moving forward, original cast member
Sarah Shahi, who played the beloved Carmen
, said she would be joining the reboot.
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.
Grier has said she will not return
for the show because she's tied up with the series
Bless This Mess.
Recently,
Beals posted a photo of herself standing among a diverse group of writers
in
The L Word
's
writers' room.
"I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderfully inspiring it was to be in
The L Word
writers' room with all these extraordinary, talented people," Beals wrote. "Y'all are in for a great deep-dive-wild-ride."
