There’s a reboot in the works and we’re here to sleuth and fan cast
BY RAI POWELL, IMAGE BY SHOWTIME/NICOLE WILDER
News has been a little slow to arrive since The L Word: New York was announced last year. The show will serve as a reboot of the original 2004 Showtime drama series, The L Word (TLW), about the lives and loves of a group of lesbian and bisexual women in West Hollywood. The original series was groundbreaking for being the first series with a cast full of female characters who all identified as lesbian or bisexual, with storylines also featuring transgender characters, same-sex marriage and divorce, starting a family, grief, and mental illness, all from a queer perspective, which had rarely been seen onscreen.
The show ran for six seasons and ended in 2009, spawned several spin-offs including the reality show The Real L Word, the documentary The L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin, and a sequel to the original show The L Word: Generation Q.
It is worth noting that 2024 is the 20th anniversary of the original TLW series and so we are keeping everything crossed that this year will see the launch of the reboot. However, as TLW: New York has been pegged as a reboot rather than a sequel, does this mean that we won’t see any of the original cast return to reprise their roles? It has been speculated that the creator of the 2004 series, Ilene Chaiken, is expected to be involved in some capacity.
While we really can’t imagine TLW universe without Leisha Hailey playing the fiercely loyal Alice, Kate Moennig as the devastatingly charming Shane, and Jennifer Beals taking no prisoners as the ultimate power lesbian Bette, the reboot has got us wondering who could star in this new series and I’ve been daydreaming about my dream cast ensemble:
Kate McKinnon – We’ve seen her in some exciting projects recently, playing queer characters in Bombshell, Ghostbusters, Life Partners, and Barbie (Weird Barbie is definitely the gayest Barbie in Barbieland).
Drew Barrymore – The openly bisexual actor would be an absolute delight in the reboot. Though she has recently been focussing on her own talk show, we would love to see her return to acting as soon as possible. Also, as we saw in Gen Q, a certain bisexual character had her very own talk show too…
Kristen Stewart – I first saw Kristen in the anxiety-inducing film Panic Room where she plays the daughter of Jodie Foster. But I really fell in love with her when I watched… yes, Twilight. I couldn’t help it, she’s just so hot. She’d make a great Shane-like character.
Clea DuVall – One of my favourite actors of the 90s. She always brings a brooding intensity to every role. But she can also be hilarious and sarcastic too!
Hunter Schafer – I first came across Hunter Schafer on Vogue’s YouTube channel and totally fell for her dorky excitable energy. I think she’d be perfect for an Alice-type character, but also totally awesome as a new character in her own right. She’s so cute!
Alia Shawkat – She is just freaking adorable and super talented. End of.
Samira Wiley – I was heartbroken when Poussey Washington died in Orange Is The New Black, and so I absolutely need to see Samira Wiley in TLW reboot!
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