The L Word: Generation Q is an American drama television series produced by Showtime that premiered on December 8, 2019. It is a sequel series to The L Word, which aired on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. A first-look screening took place on December 9, 2019, hosted by House of Pride, to coincide with the US release. In January 2020, Showtime renewed the series for a second season.
Synopsis
Generation Q is set over ten years after The L Word, in the new setting of Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Several actors from the original series returned to reprise their roles alongside a new ensemble of diverse characters. The show centers on a group of diverse LGBTQ+ characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks, personal growth and success in Los Angeles.
Arienne Mandi as Dani Núñez, Bette's PR manager and Sophie's fiancée. She was previously the director of communications for her father's company, "Núñez Incorporated".
Sepideh Moafi as Gigi Ghorbani, the meddling ex-wife of Alice's girlfriend, Nat, and the biological mother of their children
Jacqueline Toboni as Sarah Finley, an executive assistant from a religious family. She goes by "Finley" and works for Alice Pieszecki
Rosanny Zayas as Sophie Suarez, a TV producer for Alice's show and Dani's fiancée
Recurring
Jordan Hull as Angelica "Angie" Porter-Kennard, Bette's daughter with her ex-wife, Tina Kennard, who Angelica refers to as "Mama T". Though she is a biracial infant in the sixth season of the original series, she is depicted as an African-American sixteen-year-old, despite only ten years having passed.
Freddy Miyares as José, the new property manager of Dani, Sophie and Micah's home, and later Micah's boyfriend
Olivia Thirlby as Rebecca, a bisexual Congregationalist minister who has a one-night-stand with Finley, who was raised Roman Catholic and who erroneously but ironically refers to Rebecca as a "priest."
Latarsha Rose as Felicity Adams, an ex-employee and ex-lover of Bette's
Sophie Giannamore as Jordi, Angelica's friend and later girlfriend
Lex Scott Davis as Quiara Thompson, Shane's estranged, manipulative wife
Special guests
Laurel Holloman as Tina Kennard, Angelica's biological mother and Bette's ex-wife. Holloman reprises her role from The L Word.
A sequel to The L Word was confirmed to be in development by Showtime on July 11, 2017. Marja-Lewis Ryan was confirmed as showrunner and executive producer on November 20, 2017; original L Word series creator and showrunner Ilene Chaiken will serve as executive producer, with Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey also serving as executive producers. The L Word:Generation Q will consist of eight episodes. It premiered on December 8, 2019. In anticipation of the show, several LGBTQIA outlets have created special programming, such as Autostraddle's podcast To L & Back: An L Word Podcast; two episodes of Ru Paul's podcast, ; an episode of Margaret Cho's podcast, The Margaret Cho, featuring comedian Fortune Feimster who will appear in The L Word as a guest star; and Cameron Esposito's podcast, Queery, in which she interviews original L Word creator Ilene Chaiken On January 13, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.
Casting
, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey reprised their roles from the original series. Bette and Tina's daughter Angelica, depicted as an infant in the original series, was portrayed as a teenager by Jordan Hull. Sarah Shahi stated that she would reprise her role as Carmen de la Pica Morales, though Showtime did not officially confirm her involvement, and Shahi ultimately did not appear in the series. Pam Grier stated that she would not reprise her role as Kit Porter due to shooting conflicts with the ABC series Bless This Mess. Kit was subsequently written out of the series as having died of a drug overdose. Ryan stated that she wished to introduce new characters to the series in order to have it "live on in a different space." Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, Jacqueline Toboni, and Rosanny Zayas were confirmed as series regulars on June 24, 2019, and Sepideh Moafi was confirmed as a series regular on August 2, 2019. Brian Michael Smith and Stephanie Allynne were confirmed for recurring guests on June 27, 2019. Olivia Thirlby, Fortune Feimster, Lex Scott Davis, and Sophie Giannamore were confirmed for guest roles on July 23, 2019, while Freddy Miyares, Jamie Clayton, and Carlos Leal were confirmed for recurring roles on July 31, 2019. On December 2, 2019, Jillian Mercado was cast in a recurring role.
Broadcast
Season one premiered on December 8, 2019 on Showtime. The UK television premiere was on Sky Atlantic on February 4, 2020
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 83% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 6.86/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though at times Generation Q doesn't quite stand on its own, it has style and charm to spare and announces a new phrase for The L Word that will please new and old fans alike. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
