Lesbians all over the country just lost their collective mind at The L Word is making a return to Showtime. With news that several original cast members will be back for the reboot, the pressure is on for Showtime to deliver. With reboots seeming to be just about everywhere these days, fans are likely to be hypercritical. But Showtime thinks it can deliver.
This isn’t the first time Showtime has tried to repackage the characters from West Hollywood. Back in 2008, Showtime was working on a spinoff to The L Word called The Farm. The premise of the show was that it would follow the stories of several women- including Leisha Hailey’s character Alice – while in prison. At the time it was promoted as a female version of Oz, the popular prison drama on HBO. The series also inspired a spin-off called The Real L Word which was a reality series centered around the lives of various lesbians in both LA and New York. The reality program ran for three seasons but neither series reached the same popularity of The L Word.
So what will make this resurrection of The L Word different? Well, to be honest, Showtime isn’t saying much at this point. The sequel is set to have Ilene Chaiken, the creator of the original series, on as the executive producer for the sequel which has fans fired up about the potential.
Still, the promise of a new LGBT friendly television show that focuses on the lives, relationships, challenges and successes of the LGBT community is something worth welcoming. After all, over the past few years, we’ve seen members of the LGBT community killed off or objectified as the ‘token gay’ more than we’d like to admit. GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, agrees. In a recent interview she point out “[it’s] refreshing and exciting to see GLAAD Media Award-winning The L Word returning to television where it can tell nuanced, entertaining, and beautiful stories of an largely underrepresented community.”
