Steven Canals | |
|---|---|
 Canals in 2019 | |
| Born | September 14, 1980 |
| Education | Binghamton University (BA, MA) University of California, Los Angeles (MFA) |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, Producer |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Notable work | Pose |
Steven Canals (born September 14, 1980) [1] [2] is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-creating and executive-producing the FX television show Pose . [2]
Canals grew up in the Housing Projects in Castle Hill, Bronx. [3] He began practicing filmmaking at the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice after school program. He co-produced his first documentary about gang violence with other classmates when he was 15. [2] [3] [4]
Canals graduated with a BA in cinema and MA in student affairs from Binghamton University in 2005 and 2008 respectively. [5] Canals received his MFA in screenwriting from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2015. [3] [5]
Prior to working in entertainment, Canals worked in university administration. He worked as an LGBT resource coordinator at SUNY-Cortland while completing his master's degree part time, where he was also residence hall director of Shea Hall and advisor to the university's gay-straight alliance for six years. [2] [6] [7] Allegheny College appointed Canals as associate director for gender and sexual orientation initiatives in June 2011. [6]
Canals was a staff writer on Freeform's Dead of Summer in 2016. His short film Afuera premiered at the LA Film Festival that same year. [8]
Canals developed the pilot script for television show Pose while studying at UCLA in 2014. [2] [3] He was initially inspired by the story in Paris Is Burning. [9] He however found it difficult to get the script developed as industry executives found the subject matter about LGBT people of color and ball culture to be "too niche". [3] [9] [10] Ryan Murphy, co-creator of Glee and American Horror Story , would later come on as a producer in 2016, along with his producing partner Brad Falchuk. [3] [11] The first season premiered in June 2018 on FX. [10] The show is noted to have the largest transgender cast in television history. [10] [11]
He was named a "writer to watch" by Variety in 2018. [4]
Canals signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television in January 2020. [12]
He is of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. [3]
The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate region of New York State, geographically situated along or very near the state border with Pennsylvania. Definitions of the region vary widely, but generally encompass counties surrounding the Binghamton and Elmira-Corning metropolitan areas. This region is adjacent to the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, and both these regions together are known as the Twin Tiers.
The State University of New York at Cortland is a public college in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
Ryan Patrick Murphy is an American television writer, director, and producer. He has created and produced a number of television series including Nip/Tuck (2003–2010), Glee (2009–2015), American Horror Story (2011–present), American Crime Story (2016–present), Pose (2018–2021), 9-1-1 (2018–present), 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–present), Ratched (2020–present), American Horror Stories (2021–present), and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022). Murphy also directed the 2006 film adaptation of Augusten Burroughs' memoir Running with Scissors, the 2010 film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat, Pray, Love, the 2014 film adaptation of Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart, and the 2020 film adaptation of the musical The Prom.
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.
Jennie Livingston is an American director best known for the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning.
William Ellis Porter II is an American actor, singer, writer, and director. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, and he achieved fame performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.
Historically, the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in media have been negative, reflecting the cultural intolerance of LGBT individuals; however, from the 1990s to present day, there has been an increase in the depictions of LGBT people, issues, and concerns within mainstream media in North America. The LGBT communities have taken an increasingly proactive stand in defining their own culture, with a primary goal of achieving an affirmative visibility in mainstream media. The positive portrayal or increased presence of the LGBT communities in media has served to increase acceptance and support for LGBT communities, establish LGBT communities as a norm, and provide information on the topic.
Bradley Douglas Falchuk is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the television series Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Pose. He was also a writer and executive producer for Nip/Tuck and is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. The purpose is to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them.
Silas Howard is an American director, writer, and actor. His first feature film was By Hook or by Crook in 2001 with Harry Dodge, and he earned an MFA in directing at UCLA. He began directing episodes during the second season of Transparent, making him the show's first trans director.
Pose is an American drama television series about New York City's ball culture, an LGBTQ subculture in the African-American and Latino communities, throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Featured characters are dancers and models, who compete for trophies and recognition in this underground culture and who support one another in a network of chosen families known as Houses.
"Pilot" is the first episode of the American drama television series Pose, which aired on FX on June 3, 2018. The 77-minute episode was written by series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, and directed by Murphy.
Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, formerly known as Mj Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard, winning the 2011 Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
Indya Adrianna Moore is an American actor and model. They are known for playing the role of Angel Evangelista in the FX television series Pose. Time named them one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019. Moore is transgender and non-binary, and uses they/them and she/her pronouns.
Ryan Jamaal Swain is an American actor and dancer. He is known for his role as Damon Richards-Evangelista, a homeless gay dancer, in the FX television series Pose.
For many years, LGBT representation increased on animated series and animated films. In the 1990s, LGBT characters were depicted in animated series like South Park, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, and The Simpsons. In the early 2000s, LGBT representation increased in Western animation, culminating in GLAAD's "Where We Are in TV" report in 2005, even as representation in such animation was scattered and disparate. In the 2000s, series like Queer Duck, The Oblongs, The Venture Bros., Drawn Together, and Archer would air. It would not be until the advent of shows like Steven Universe, The Legend of Korra, and Adventure Time in the 2010s, that LGBT characters in animation would gain more of a prominent role, leading to shows such as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power in 2018 and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts in 2020, along with other series in the 2020s. This page will show this progress by building off the lists of animated series which contain these characters and explain the History of LGBT characters in animation. It does not focus on LGBT characters in anime series or films, which is examined on the LGBT themes in anime and manga page.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in Western animated series in the 2000s changed significantly from the previous decade. This included series such as Queer Duck, the first animated TV series with homosexuality as a predominant theme, The Boondocks, American Dad, bro'Town, The Venture Bros., Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, Moral Orel, Lizzy the Lezzy, and many others would include LGBTQ characters.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 2010s changed significantly from the previous decade; especially in Western animation. This included Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe which aired on Cartoon Network and praised for going "above and beyond when it comes to inclusive storytelling" The 2010s also brought with it shows such as Adventure Time, The Legend of Korra, BoJack Horseman, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and The Bravest Knight, among others, all of which had strong LGBTQ characters. Representation of LGBTQ characters would only continue to grow in the 2020s.
Jason A. Rodriguez is an Dominican-American actor and dancer. He is known for his role of Lemar Wintour in the FX television series Pose. He is also known as Slim Xtravaganza and belongs to the House of Xtravaganza, part of the New York City ballroom scene.
