The L Word

Last updated
The L Word
The L Word logo.jpg
Genre Drama
Created by
Starring
Opening theme"The L Word" performed by Betty (seasons 2–6)
ComposerElizabeth Ziff
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes71 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Rose Lam
  • Kim Steer
  • Elizabeth Ziff
  • Angela Robinson
  • Elizabeth Hunter
  • A.M. Homes
Production locations
Running time50 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Showtime
ReleaseJanuary 18, 2004 (2004-01-18) –
March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
Related
The L Word: Generation Q

The L Word is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the US from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. [1] [2] The premise originated with Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbott and Kathy Greenberg; Chaiken is credited as the primary creator of the series and also served as its executive producer.

Contents

The L Word featured television's first ensemble cast of lesbian and bisexual female characters, [3] [4] and its portrayal of lesbianism was groundbreaking at the time. [2] [5] [6] [7] One of the series' pioneering hallmarks was its explicit depiction of lesbian sex from the female gaze, [8] at a time when lesbian sex was "virtually invisible elsewhere on television." [9] It was also the first television series written and directed by predominantly queer women. [10]

The L Word franchise led to the spin-off reality show The Real L Word (2010–2012) as well as the documentary film L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin (2014), both of which aired on Showtime. A sequel television series, The L Word: Generation Q , debuted in December 2019 and was canceled after three seasons in 2023.

Production

The L Word was co-created by Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbott, and Kathy Greenberg; Chaiken served as the primary creator and executive director of the series, as well as a writer and director. [11] Steve Golin and Larry Kennar served as additional executive producers, while Guinevere Turner, Susan Miller, Cherien Dabis, and Rose Troche were among the series' writers.

The series premiered on Showtime on January 18, 2004 and ran for a total of six seasons, airing its finale on March 8, 2009. The L Word was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia at Coast Mountain Films Studio, as well as on location in Los Angeles, California.

Series overview

Cast and characters

(Left to right) Mia Kirshner, Daniel Sea, and Anne Ramsay at L6, "The L Word" Fan Convention in 2009 Mia Kirshner, Daniela Sea, and Anne Ramsay at L6.jpg
(Left to right) Mia Kirshner, Daniel Sea, and Anne Ramsay at L6, "The L Word" Fan Convention in 2009
Actor/ActressCharacterAppearances
Season 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Season 6
Jennifer Beals Bette Porter Main
Mia Kirshner Jenny Schecter Main
Pam Grier Kit Porter Main
Laurel Holloman Tina Kennard Main
Katherine Moennig Shane McCutcheon Main
Leisha Hailey Alice Pieszecki Main
Erin Daniels Dana Fairbanks Main Guest
Karina Lombard Marina Ferrer MainGuestGuest
Eric Mabius Tim HaspelMainGuestGuest
Sarah Shahi Carmen de la Pica Morales MainGuest
Rachel Shelley Helena Peabody Main
Eric Lively Mark WaylandMain
Daniel Sea Max Sweeney Main
Dallas Roberts Angus PartridgeMainGuest
Janina Gavankar Eva "Papi" TorresMainGuest
Rose Rollins Tasha Williams Main
Marlee Matlin Jodi Lerner Main

Title

Contemporary use of the phrase "the L word" as an alias for lesbian dates to at least the 1981 play My Blue Heaven by Jane Chambers, in which a character stammers out: "You're really...? The L-word? Lord God, I never met one before." [12]

The original code-name for The L Word was Earthlings, a rarely used slang term for lesbians. [13]

"The Chart"

"The Chart", an undirected labeled graph in which nodes represent individuals and lines represent affairs or hookups, is a recurring plot element throughout the series. [14] Originally, The L Word was to be based around a gay woman, Kit Porter, and "The Chart" was tattooed on her back.

The idea for the chart was formed in the L word's writers room. The creators of the show were discussing their own mutual friends and who had had romantic entanglements with whom. This led to them creating a beta version of what the chart comes to be on a piece of paper. The writers eventually decide to incorporate this chart into the show.

In season 4, Alice launches The Chart as a social networking service. Concurrently, a real-world parallel project OurChart.com was created. [15] The website, which allowed registered members to create their own profiles and hosted several blogs on the show, operated from the beginning of season four until the end of season six, after which the site was discontinued and redirected to Showtime's official website. [16]

The L Word - The Chart.svg
A small portion of The Chart, covering some of the relationships established throughout the series. Pink circles denote primary characters, purple circles denote supporting and minor characters, and grey circles denote characters who are only alluded to and never depicted.
Leisha Hailey, Katherine Moennig, Ilene Chaikin, Jennifer Beals, and Kara Swisher at the Lesbians Who Tech & Allies Summit in October 2023 Leisha Hailey, Katherine Moennig, Ilene Chaikin, Jennifer Beals, and Kara Swisher on stage after their keynote at the Lesbians Who Tech & Allies Summit.jpg
Leisha Hailey, Katherine Moennig, Ilene Chaikin, Jennifer Beals, and Kara Swisher at the Lesbians Who Tech & Allies Summit in October 2023

Plot

Season 1

The first season of The L Word premiered on January 18, 2004 and ended on April 11, 2004. The season introduces Bette Porter and Tina Kennard, a couple in a seven-year relationship attempting to have a child; Marina Ferrer, owner of the local cafe The Planet; Jenny Schecter, who has recently moved to Los Angeles to live with her boyfriend Tim Haspell; Shane McCutcheon, an androgynous, highly sexual hairstylist; Alice Pieszecki, a bisexual journalist who maintains The Chart; Dana Fairbanks, a closeted professional tennis player; and Kit Porter, Bette's straight half-sister.

Season 2

The second season of The L Word premiered on February 20, 2005 and ended on May 15, 2005. The season introduces Carmen de la Pica Morales, a DJ who becomes part of a love triangle with Shane and Jenny; Helena Peabody, a wealthy art patron who becomes a rival to Bette and love interest to Tina (while she and Bette are separated).

Major story lines in the season include Tina's pregnancy following a second insemination, culminating in Tina and Bette's reconciliation at the end of the season; the introduction of Mark Wayland, a documentary filmmaker who moves in with Shane and Jenny and Kit's acquisition of The Planet following Marina's departure from Los Angeles; [17] Shane and Jenny becoming the unknowing subjects of Mark's documentary after he places hidden cameras in their home; a developing relationship between Alice and Dana; and insights into Jenny's past as an abused child.

Season 3

The third season of The L Word premiered on January 8, 2006 and ended on March 26, 2006. The season introduces Max Sweeney, a working-class trans man initially introduced presenting as a butch; and Angus Partridge, a male nanny who becomes Kit's lover. [18]

The season is set six months after the birth of Tina and Bette's daughter Angelica. Major story lines include Bette and Tina's relationship deteriorating once again, due to Tina developing feelings for men; Max coming out as a trans man; Dana's diagnosis with and ultimate death from breast cancer; [19] and Shane and Carmen's engagement and wedding, which ends when Shane abandons Carmen at the altar. Helena is integrated into the primary group of characters as a friend rather than a rival; she acquires a movie studio, where she is entangled in a sexual harassment lawsuit that leads her mother to cut her off financially.

In the lead-up to the third season, the fan fiction website FanLib.com launched a contest where individuals could submit a piece of L Word fanfiction, with the winner's story incorporated into a scene in third-season episode. [20] [21]

Season 4

The L Word was renewed for a fourth season on February 2, 2006, [22] and began filming on May 29, 2006. [23] The season aired from January 7, 2007 to March 25, 2007, [24] and introduces Jodi Lerner, a love interest for Bette; [25] Phyllis Kroll, Bette's closeted new boss at California Art College; [26] Paige Sobel, a love interest for Shane; [27] Tasha Williams, a former captain in the Army National Guard and love interest for Alice; and Papi, who has slept with the most women on The Chart. [26] Karina Lombard reprises her role for two episodes. [28]

Major story lines in the season include the adaptation of Lez Girls, an article written by Jenny for The New Yorker , into a film; Bette taking a job as a dean at California Art College; and Tasha's struggle to reconcile her military service with her sexuality under don't ask, don't tell.

Season 5

The L Word was renewed for a fifth season on March 9, 2007, and began filming in summer 2007. [29] The season aired from January 6, 2008 to March 23, 2008 and introduces Nikki Stevens, a closeted gay actress who portrays the lead role in Lez Girls. [30] Adele Channing is also introduced, potentially by chance meeting Jenny at the Planet, and soon becoming her personal assistant. Papi and Angus were written out of the series. [31]

Major story lines in the season include Bette and Tina reconciling their relationship, Jenny being ousted from the production of Lez Girls, and Tasha's dishonorable discharge from the military.

Season 6

The sixth and final season of The L Word aired from January 18, 2009 to March 8, 2009. [32] The season introduces Kelly Wentworth, Bette's college roommate, who attempts to open a gallery with her; Jamie Chen, a social worker who becomes involved in a love triangle with Alice and Tasha; and Marybeth Duffy and Sean Holden, detectives with the LAPD. [33]

The season is a whodunit story line focused on the murder of Jenny. The events of the season are depicted as a flashback leading up to the night of the crime, with each episode focused around what could have potentially motivated each character to have killed Jenny. The series concludes without revealing the identity of her murderer.

Interrogation tapes

Following the series finale of The L Word, Showtime released a series of seven short videos depicting Bette, Alice, Tina, Nikki Shane being questioned by the police over Jenny's murder. The episodes were posted weekly on Showtime's website. Showtime additionally released an interview with L Word series creator Ilene Chaiken, released in two weekly installments. In the interview, Chaiken stated that Alice went to jail for Jenny's murder, but was not necessarily guilty of the crime. [34] [35]

Generation Q

On July 11, 2017, it was announced a sequel series was in the works with Showtime. [36] Marja-Lewis Ryan has been selected to serve as executive producer and showrunner. [36] [37] [38] On January 31, 2019, Entertainment Weekly reported Showtime had picked up the sequel series for a premiere later in the year, in which Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey would reprise their roles. [39] Other sources, such as TVLine , [40] call the eight-episode order a revival, so the nature of the follow-up is unclear. The new series, titled The L Word: Generation Q , premiered in the fall of 2019. [41]

The Farm

In July 2008, Showtime CEO Matthew Blank announced that the network would shoot a pilot for The Farm, an L Word spin-off series based on a pitch from L Word series creator Ilene Chaiken. Set in a women's prison, the series was slated to star Famke Janssen, Melissa Leo, Laurie Metcalf, and Leisha Hailey, the lattermost of whom would reprise her role as Alice Pieszecki. The pilot was shot in December 2008. [42] In April 2009, Showtime declined to pick up The Farm for a full series order. [43]

The Real L Word

The Real L Word , a reality television series produced by Chaiken, aired on Showtime from June 20, 2010 to September 6, 2012. The series, initially set in Los Angeles and later in Brooklyn, New York City, followed a group of real-life gay women. [44]

L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin

L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin, a documentary directed by Lauren Lazin and produced by Chaiken, premiered on Showtime on August 8, 2014. [45] The documentary, which follows a group of LGBT women in rural Mississippi, won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary in 2015. [46]

Music

EZgirl served as The L Word's music composer, while Natasha Duprey served as music supervisor. A total of five soundtracks were produced.

All three of Leisha Hailey's bands were referenced in the series: a song by The Murmurs was used in the first season, Shane wears a shirt for Gush in the second season. Songs by Uh Huh Her were featured in the show's fifth and sixth seasons; Tasha is seen wearing an Uh Huh Her t-shirt during the sixth season.

The band Betty wrote and performed the theme song, which is first introduced in season two. Betty makes numerous appearances in the show, and their music is featured throughout the series.

Reception

The show's first season was "broadcast to critical acclaim and instant popularity"; as an article from The New York Times pointed out: [47]

Before The L Word, female gay characters barely existed in television. Interested viewers had to search and second-guess, playing parlor games to suss out a character's sexuality. Cagney and Lacey? Jo on Facts of Life ? Xena and Gabrielle? Showtime's decision in January 2004 to air The L Word, which follows the lives of a group of fashionable Los Angeles gays, was akin to ending a drought with a monsoon. Women who had rarely seen themselves on the small screen were suddenly able to watch gay characters not only living complex, exciting lives, but also making love in restaurant bathrooms and in swimming pools. There was no tentative audience courtship. Instead there was sex, raw and unbridled in that my-goodness way that only cable allows.

Co-creator and executive producer Ilene Chaiken had some issues with the reaction: [47]

I do want to move people on some deep level. But I won't take on the mantle of social responsibility. That's not compatible with entertainment. I rail against the idea that pop television is a political medium. I am political in my life. But I am making serialized melodrama. I'm not a cultural missionary.

While the show was seen as fulfilling gay characters' "obvious and modest representational need" [48] or even the "ferocious desire not only to be seen in some literal sense... but to be seen with all the blood and angst and magic that you possess", [49] the show was criticized for various scenes which served to "reify heteronormativity". [50] The show was also praised for its nuanced consideration (in the first season) of how and in what ways gay women should stand up to the religious right, with the "Provocations" art show story line being "a fictionalized version of what happened when Cincinnati's Contemporary Art Center booked a controversial exhibition of Mapplethorpe photographs in 1990". [51]

As the series progressed, however, reviews became far more negative. By the time the sixth and final season began, The New York Times called the show a "Sapphic Playboy fantasia" that has "shown little interest in variegating portrayals of gay experience. Instead it has seemed to work almost single-mindedly to counter the notion of "lesbian bed death" and repeatedly remind the viewer of the "limits and tortures of monogamy" while "never align[ing] itself with the traditionalist ambitions [for same-sex marriage] of a large faction of the gay rights movement". [52] The decision to make the final season into a murder mystery which was ultimately left unresolved was also met with negative response. [53]

The series currently holds a 57% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [54]

Cultural impact and legacy

The L Word broke new ground as the first television series to feature an ensemble cast made up of lesbian and bisexual female characters. [3] [4] Similarly, it was also the first television series to be written and directed predominantly by queer women. [10] The series has been lauded for revolutionizing the depiction of queer women on television, [2] [5] [6] [7] particularly for its portrayal of a queer community at a time when lesbian representation was often relegated to a single lesbian character amid an otherwise heterosexual cast. [10] One of the pioneering hallmarks of the series was its graphic lesbian sex scenes from the female gaze, [8] at a time when lesbian sex was "virtually invisible elsewhere on television." [9] [55]

Several shows have referenced The L Word, including South of Nowhere's first season episode "Girls Guide to Dating"; According to Jim ; the medical drama House ; the first season finale of Weeds , Jon Stewart's The Daily Show (July 24, 2006); Chappelle's Show: The "Lost Episodes" ; The Sopranos episode "Live Free or Die"; the US version of The Office ; Gilmore Girls fourth season episode "Scene in a Mall"; The Big Gay Sketch Show ; The Simpsons episode "You Kent Always Say What You Want"; and Family Guy episode "Brian Sings and Swings". Also, movies such as Puccini for Beginners , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , and I Can't Think Straight have made mention of The L Word as to reference lesbians but considers the term is sometimes used as slander.

Awards and honors

In 2004, Laurel Holloman won a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. The show was also for a Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Drama in the same year. In the second season, Ossie Davis received a posthumous Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in recognition of his portrayal of Bette and Kit Porter's father, Melvin. The show received multiple nominations for GLAAD Media Awards, and both Pam Grier and Jennifer Beals were repeatedly nominated for NAACP Image Awards.

In 2006, The L Word won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series. It was consequently honored with a Special Recognition Award in 2009 from the same organization.

In 2008, The L Word's companion website was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Best Use of Commercial Advertising on Personal Computers.

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The third season of The L Word originally aired on Showtime from January 8, 2006 to March 26, 2006 and aired 12 episodes. The season begins six months after the birth of Tina and Bette's daughter, Angelica. New characters in this season include Moira Sweeney and Angus Partridge, Angelica's male nanny who later becomes Kit's lover. Sweeney starts the process of transitioning switching his name to Max. Erin Daniels' character, Dana Fairbanks, starts in a multi-episode storyline dealing with a breast cancer battle and culminating with her death. Notable of this season is that each episode begins with a short pre-credits vignette of two individuals meeting romantically or sexually. As the season progresses, lines from Alice's chart connect one member of each vignette with a new individual in the next. Helena's character storyline was switched from being Bette's rival into a new member of the circle of friends. Her story arc for the season involves the acquisition of a movie studio in which Tina later works and which further derives a sexual harassment lawsuit that triggers her mother to cut her off financially in the season finale. Sarah Shahi's character, Carmen de la Pica Morales, ends her appearance in the show in the finale when Shane leaves her at the altar.

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References

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  37. ↑ Otterson, Joe (2017-11-20). "'The L Word' Sequel Series Taps Marja-Lewis Ryan as Showrunner". Variety. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  38. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2017-11-20). "'The L Word' Sequel Taps Marja-Lewis Ryan As Showrunner At Showtime". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  39. ↑ Romano, Nick (January 31, 2019). "The L Word sequel ordered to series for 2019 premiere on Showtime". Entertainment Weekly.
  40. ↑ Iannucci, Rebecca (January 31, 2019). "The L Word Revival Officially Snags Eight-Episode Order at Showtime". TVLine.
  41. ↑ "'The L Word' Sequel Gets Official Title, Set For Fall Premiere On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood, May 22, 2019
  42. ↑ Valerie Anne del Castillo (2008-10-06). "'The L Word' Set to Come Back in January Next Year". Showtime. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  43. ↑ Annie Barrett (2009-04-03). "Showtime passes on L Word spinoff (whew!) and Matthew Perry series (sniff!)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  44. ↑ Rudolph, Ileane (18 June 2010). "The L Word Franchise Keeps It Real with New Series". TV Guide . Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  45. ↑ Thomas, June (8 August 2014). "L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin, a Great Documentary With a Terrible Title". Slate. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  46. ↑ Lowe, Kinsey (9 May 2015). "GLAAD Awards NYC: Kelly Ripa, 'Lilting,' 'L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin'". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  47. 1 2 Glock, Alison (February 6, 2005). "She Likes to Watch" . The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  48. ↑ Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, "Foreword: The Letter L." Reading the L Word, edited by Kim Akass and Janet McCabe. London: I. B. Tauris (2006): xix
  49. ↑ Dana Heller, "How Does a Lesbian Look? Stendhal's Syndrome and the L Word." Reading the L Word, edited by Kim Akass and Janet McCabe. London: I. B. Tauris (2006): 57
  50. ↑ Samuel A. Chambers, "Heteronormativity and The L Word: From Politics of Representation to a Politics of Norms" Reading the L Word, edited by Kim Akass and Janet McCabe. London: I. B. Tauris (2006): 91
  51. ↑ Margaret McFadden, ""We cannot afford to keep being so high-minded": Fighting the Religious Right on The L Word" The New Queer Aesthetic on Television: Essays on Recent Programming, edited by James R. Keller and Leslie Stratyner. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers (2006): 125
  52. ↑ Ginia Bellafante (2009-01-16). "So Many Temptations to Succumb to, So Many Wandering Eyes to Track". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  53. ↑ Hogan, Heather (26 February 2009). "R.I.P., Jenny Schecter, and other things on her tombstone". AfterEllen.com . Logo). Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  54. ↑ "The L Word". Rotten Tomatoes .
  55. ↑ Goldblatt, Henry (July 13, 2020). "How to Shoot a Sex Scene in a Pandemic: Cue the Mannequins". The New York Times . Retrieved August 7, 2021.
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