I almost called Jennifer Beals “Bette” three times during our interview—but it’s not my fault her character from The L Word, Bette Porter, is so iconic. Plus, I’d be lying if I said Jennifer and Bette didn’t share similarities: They’re articulate, well-spoken, and fiercely opinionated, and both carry huge “step on me” energy. After a 10-year hiatus, the groundbreaking lesbian show returns to Showtime Sunday as The L Word: Generation Q, with Bette Porter—err, Jennifer Beals—at the helm.
“I’ve always loved Bette Porter,” Beals told me. “Even in her worst moments. I love her.” On the original L Word, Beals costarred with Laurel Holloman as the show’s leading lesbian couple, Bette and Tina. A decade later Bette and Tina have long split, but their child—now a vaping, class-cutting, possibly queer teen, Angie (played by newcomer Jordan Hull)—is front and center, alongside a slate of new queer cast-members and two other familiar faces. Katherine Moennig returns as lesbian legend Shane McCutcheon, and Leisha Hailey as the loquacious fan-favorite (or maybe just my favorite) Alice Pieszecki. The trio teamed up with The L Word’s trailblazing creator, Ilene Chaiken, to bring the Showtime drama back to life.
“Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey, and I initiated the idea of the idea of the return of the show because we were really confident that something would take its place right after the show went off the air, because it was so successful,” Beals said. “But nothing did.” She added, “Certainly, shows like Orange Is the New Black, around that time, occupied that space. But shows that we think of now, like Pose or Transparent, all came considerably after The L Word went off the air.” Beals pointed out that, when the original show was airing, things were very different for queer people; mainly, same-sex marriage wasn’t yet legal.
A decade later, she and her co-executive producers (Moennig, Hailey, Chaiken, and the new showrunner, Marja-Lewis Ryan) wanted the show to feel representative of today’s generation of queer women. “The ground shifted. There was a whole new generation coming up that was refusing to be categorized, that was refusing to be told that someone else would dictate their gender identity or sexual orientation, and that’s tremendously exciting,” Beals said.
However, it wasn’t until the 2016 election that Beals, Hailey, and Moennig really ignited the reboot, which was announced in July of 2017. “Ilene, Kate, and Leisha and I rededicated ourselves to the endeavor because we saw the divisiveness happening,” Beals said of the 2016 election. “We knew that visibility would be that much more important given that climate.”
The L Word was one of the first TV shows to give queer women and their stories a space to live. For most millennial and Gen X queer women, myself included, the show was all we had in terms of women-loving-women representation. Watching The L Word was a rite of passage of sorts for queer women, with many women realizing they were queer while watching the aspirational drama (again, myself included). Beals was right—nothing on television has really replaced The L Word. While queer representation has undoubtedly skyrocketed since the show aired in the 2000s, there’s no other show exclusively for and about the lives of lesbian and queer women. “The ‘L’ also stands for ‘love,’” Beals reminded me. “You can never have too many love stories. Every generation deserves their lexicon of love stories, and The L Word is that for this new generation.”
As Beals said, much has changed since the aughts. The L Word has been criticized for its portrayal of transgender characters, and of bisexuals. Generation Q clearly sets out to change that and reflects a broader spectrum of LGBTQ+ people, including a new lead trans character, Micah, played by an actual transgender man (Leo Sheng).
“[The L Word] was definitely ahead of its time in many ways, in that it presents a non-heterocentric world,” Beals said, adding, “It was ahead of its time in presenting a trans character who wasn’t a criminal and not mentally deranged. This time around, we have a trans actor playing the trans role, which is obviously really important, and we have a much more diverse cast.”
I asked Beals whether the press tour she’s on right now differs from that of 10 years ago—as in, are she, her costars, and Chaiken being well-received by media? Or have they faced challenges? She believes it’s the culture, more broadly, that’s changed. “What’s different is that people are more attuned to these conversations and ready to have these conversations,” she said. “Back then, people didn't quite even have the vocabulary to have the conversation. You know, when language is changing, when language is trying to keep up with the reality of experience, it’s a tectonic shift in the way we think, and the way we see each other, and the way we see ourselves. So I think the conversations are different now.”
In Generation Q, Bette Porter is campaigning to be the first out lesbian mayor of Los Angeles—a fitting job for her and a fitting mayor in the cinematic universe of The L Word (and let’s be real, probably IRL too). In the pilot alone, Bette makes a series of inspiring speeches that made me remember just how special and important Ms. Porter was in the aughts, and how important Beals’s voice remains as a bullheaded ally of the LGBTQ+ community. When I asked Jennifer if she misses anything about the original show, she channeled Bette and set me straight.
“I don't. I try to move forward. I try not to hold on,” she said. “Holding on will just lead you to nostalgia, and we don't have time for nostalgia. We’re living in a time that requires all of us to be intensely present, because what’s interesting about these conversations about gender and sexual identity is that they also pertain to how we are on the planet, and how we are treating the planet. Both things require us to shift the paradigm, and shift absolute consciousness, and shift entire systems.”
What she said next is truly a mantra I’ll be carrying into 2020: “Holding on to the past? We don't have time for that. I don't have time to be nostalgic.”
The L Word: Generation Q premieres this Sunday, December 8, at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Jill Gutowitz is a writer and comedian living in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @jillboard.
