The L Word: Generation Q

The L Word: Generation Q is an American drama television series produced by Showtime that premiered on December 8, 2019, and ran for three seasons, ending in April 2023. It is a sequel series to The L Word, which aired on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. Similar to its predecessor, the series follows the lives of a queer group of friends who live in Los Angeles, California.
A first-look screening of the series 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 which premiered on August 8, 2021. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on November 20, 2022. In March 2023, following low viewership, the series was canceled after three seasons, and in April 2023, it was removed from Showtime platforms.
The show centers on a group of diverse queer characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks, personal growth and success in Los Angeles. 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.
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.
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 RuPaul's podcast, RuPaul: What's the Tee? (one of which is a conversation with L Word producer and cast member Kate Moennig); 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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the second season was delayed for several months and was originally expected to premiere in late 2020. Production for the second season finally began in December 2020. On February 4, 2022, Showtime renewed the series for a 10-episode third season which is expected to premiere later this year. Production for the third season began on June 9, 2022. On March 23, 2023, Showtime canceled the series after three seasons. A reboot of the original series set in New York was reported to be in development with Chaiken attached to it. On April 4, 2023, it was reported that the series was removed from Showtime platforms following the cancellation. Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey addressed the reboot news in July 2024, saying they were unaware of any such development.
Jennifer Beals, 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. Laurel Holloman returning as Tina Kennard was teased during the series' promotion but not confirmed until the sixth episode aired; her appearance was revealed before the episode's opening credits.
On December 9, 2020, for the second season, Jordan Hull was promoted to a series regular while Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Faison, and Griffin Dunne were cast to guest star as Carrie, Tom Maultsby and Isaac Zakarian, respectively. Anne Archer and Rosanna Arquette also returned from the original series to reprise their roles as Lenore Pieszecki and Cherie Jaffe, respectively. On July 27, 2022, Kehlani announced that they are set to guest star for the third season. On August 8, 2022, Margaret Cho, Joey Lauren Adams, and Joanna Cassidy were cast to guest star while Clayton was promoted to a series regular for the third season. On September 21, 2022, Fletcher announced that she is set to guest star for the third season.
The L Word: Generation Q utilized recognizable Los Angeles buildings such as the Millenium Biltmore Hotel and The Semi-Tropic. It also used outdoor locations such as Silver Lake Reservoir.
The L Word: Generation Q premiered on December 8, 2019, on Showtime. The UK television premiere was on Sky Atlantic on February 4, 2020 The first episode of the second season debuted on August 6, 2021, on streaming and on-demand for Showtime subscribers, ahead of its Showtime premiere on August 8, 2021. Each episode of the second season was released to stream on demand every Friday, ahead of its weekly Showtime on-air premiere. The third season premiered on November 20, 2022, with a new episode available to stream on demand every Friday for Showtime subscribers, ahead of its weekly Showtime on-air premiere.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 81% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. 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 phase 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".
The second season, however, was met with a more polarized response, particularly for its narrative, heavy reliance on throwbacks to the original series, and its negative stereotypes regarding bisexual relationships, butch women and transgender people. The Los Angeles Times put particular emphasis on Carrie, the series' first clear butch character who was portrayed as an overweight, self-loathing, insecure woman easily intimidated by Bette (who was described as exhibiting "snooty behavior" with numerous traits consistent with narcissistic personality disorder and emotional insecurity when near both Tina and Carrie), and Finley, who was depicted as overly carefree to the point of being constantly drunk and potentially dangerous to be around. Bree Tomas voiced her defense for the butch community, particularly Rosie O'Donnell, who after being cast as Carrie was subjected to online abuse, fat shaming and negative comparisons to Jennifer Beals on social media by fans of the series, which was widely condemned by critics. According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, following the airing of the second-season finale, which saw the end of both Bette and Pippa's relationship and Tina and Carrie's engagement due to Bette's actions and behavior, and ended with a cliffhanger that teased a third reunion between Bette and Tina, fans expressed their displeasure with Bette and Tina's storyline, labelling it as too repetitive and "out of line", and took to Twitter with the hashtag "IleneSavetheLWord". Ilene Chaiken, the creator and showrunner of the original series who herself had come under heavy criticism for reinforcing negative lesbian stereotypes, responded by praising Ryan's work and defending her decision to give Ryan full creative control.
Season 3 was met with an overwhelmingly negative reception. Following the airing of the second episode, which saw Bette and Tina's third and final reunion, Ryan gave an interview regarding Bette and Tina's relationship. Though Ryan had previously stated during the first season that she wanted to take storylines in different directions, Ryan recanted her statement in the interview and said that her intention had always been to build up towards a wedding between Bette and Tina, revealing that following the first season and the revelation of Tina's engagement to Carrie and Bette's dinner date with Maya, she was harassed with direct messages on social media demanding that she reunite Bette and Tina "or else". The interview was met with both praise and backlash from fans, with some accusing Ryan of lying and deliberately choosing predictable and unrealistic fan service over creativity, and comparing the one year time skip between the second and third seasons to that between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker which left numerous season 2 cliffhangers unresolved, such as Dani's arrest and Tom's planned proposal to Alice, and the circumstances of Bette and Tina's renewed friendship unexplained other than Bette going offscreen on another buddhist retreat and claiming to have changed for good, which was met with harsh criticism and accusations of downplaying Bette's behavior and its effects on her relationship with Tina. Fans were also critical of Pippa Pascal's role in the overall story, with some accusing Ryan of using Pippa, Bette's first serious African-American lover, merely as a token to change Bette's personality and make her more compatible with the Caucasian Tina, a decision which was perceived as racist, and Pippa's subsequent appearance at Bette and Tina's wedding was brought under question. The unresolved fates of Gigi and Tess were also met with criticism, and Bette and Tina's wedding was described as "anticlimactic" and "forced", given that Bette and Tina received far less screen time than the wedding guests. The return of past characters such as Max Sweeney, Tasha Williams and Dana Fairbanks, however, was met with some praise, with particular focus given to Max, who was depicted as being in a relationship with a fellow trans character and raising four children, and his interactions with Micah were cited as one of the season's highlights.
The L Word: Generation Q was nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series category for the 33rd GLAAD Media Awards in 2022.