The L Word: Generation Q Information

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. Generation Q is set over ten years after the events of The L Word, relocating the setting to Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Several actors from the original series return to reprise their roles alongside a new ensemble of diverse characters.

In January 2020, Showtime renewed the series for a second season.

Synopsis

Set over ten years after the events of The L Word, The L Word: Generation Q follows an ensemble cast of friends, the majority of whom are lesbians. The series relocates from its original setting of West Hollywood, California to Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

Cast and characters

Main

• Jennifer Beals as Bette Porter, a lesbian running for Mayor of Los Angeles. Beals reprises her role from The L Word.
• Katherine Moennig as Shane McCutcheon, an androgynous and highly sexual lesbian hairdresser. Moennig reprises her role from The L Word.
• Leisha Hailey as Alice Pieszecki, a talk show host. Leisha Hailey reprises her role from The L Word.
• Arienne Mandi as Dani Nez, Bette's PR manager and Sophie's fiance. She was previously the director of communications for her father's company, "Nez Incorporated".
• Sepideh Moafi as Gigi Ghorbani, the ex-wife of Alice's girlfriend, Nat, and the biological mother of their children
• Leo Sheng as Micah Lee, a trans man adjunct professor
• 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 fiance

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 depicted as a baby in the series finale of The L Word, she is sixteen years old in Generation Q, despite only ten years having passed.
• Freddy Miyares as Jos, the new property manager of Dani, Sophie and Micah's home, and later Micah's boyfriend
• Jamie Clayton as Tess, Lena's ex-girlfriend
• Carlos Leal as Rodolfo Nez, Dani's father who refuses to bless her engagement to Sophie, believing that Sophie is only interested in her money
• Brian Michael Smith as Pierce Williams, Bette's campaign manager
• Stephanie Allynne as Natalie "Nat" Bailey, Alice's domestic partner
• Jillian Mercado as Maribel Suarez, Sophie's sister
• Olivia Thirlby as Rebecca, a bisexual Congregationalist minister (MCC) 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, Shane's 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.

Guest starring

• Fortune Feimster as Heather
• Jeffrey Muller as Tyler Adams, Felicity's ex-husband who harbors a grudge against Bette
• Mercedes Mason as Lena

Episodes

|Viewers         = 0.241
|ShortSummary    = Over ten years after the death of Jenny Schecter, Bette Porter is running for Mayor of Los Angeles to succeed Eric Garcetti, but her electoral position is threatened during a live press conference when a man, Tyler Adams, accuses her of having slept with his ex-wife, Felicity, who at the time was one of Bette's employees. Alice, now with her own successful talk show, is in a relationship with therapist Nat and struggles to mother Nat's kids and get along with Nat's ex-wife, Gigi, who is also the kids' biological mother. The original L word characters reunite after Shane moves back to Los Angeles after selling her hair salons in Paris and New York. The new generation members are Dani, Sophie, Micah, and Finley. Dani Nez, a PR executive for her father's company, is girlfriend of one of Alice's show writers, Sophie Suarez, who works with Finley, Alice's personal PA. Their flatmate, Micah Lee, is an adjunct college professor who is crushing on their new neighbor. 
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|Viewers         = 0.236
|ShortSummary    = Despite celebrating good news, Dani reveals her new job as Bette's new PR manager and Sophie is upset for not having been consulted.  Alice's network is annoyed with her last guest star, and they hire a man to help keep things "on brand". Finley has moved in with a reluctant Shane, and it is revealed that the Planet is now a typical "man" sports bar. Alice tries to be a better stepmom to Nat's kids with Shane's help, and has a heart-to-heart with Gigi. Bette talks to local LGBTQ+ youths to talk about issues of homelessness, and must meet someone from her past for damage control. Shane is served with divorce papers, and Micah finally takes Jos on a date. 
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|Viewers         = 0.248
|ShortSummary    = Dani makes amends with her father, who offers to arrange and finance her wedding with Sophie. Relations become strained between Micah and Jose when the latter cannot make their next date, and Micah responds by sleeping with another man in his depression. Shane buys the Planet to turn it back into a gay bar and puts Lena and Tess in charge, and finally brings herself to answer her wife's messages. Bette encounters more trouble when Angie's homophobic classmate insults Bette and Angie punches her in the face; the homophobic school board suspends Angie while her classmate goes unpunished. Bette has a heart to heart talk with Angie about the United States' homophobic system, and gives a speech regarding the school system in her next mayoral conference, winning her a grant from the education board. Alice learns that although Gigi was the one who cheated on Nat, their common friends sided with Gigi and abandoned Nat because they considered Gigi the "cool" one. Out of sympathy, Alice reveals to Gigi that Nat misses her, and brings them both to Bette's speech along with Shane, but appears jealous when Nat and Gigi appear to be renewing their friendship, fearing that they will renew their relationship as Dana did with Lara. After the conference, however, Dani witnesses Felicity enter Bette's bedroom, to her discomfort.
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|Viewers         = 0.226
|ShortSummary    = Bette and Felicity resume their affair, which Dani discovers when she sees Bette holding Felicity's phone, which Bette had taken by accident. Dani confronts Felicity and warns her to stay away from Bette during her campaign despite Felicity insisting that she loves Bette; Dani confronts Bette as well, who confesses that her reason for running for mayor is due to her half-sister Kit's death from a heroin overdose, and that Felicity was the only one who offered her support in the aftermath. Though touched, Dani implores Bette not to sabotage her campaign for the sake of sex. Dani makes amends with Sophie, who also gives her an engagement ring. To celebrate Shane's 40th birthday, a surprise party is thrown at Shane's new gay bar, "Dana's". After heavy drinking, Nat confesses that she desires both Alice and Gigi, culminating in a threesome, though Nat and Gigi appear to pay more attention to each other than to Alice. Micah encounters Jose at the party and the two end up having sex. To Shane's shock, however, Quiara also attends, unaware that Shane has signed the divorce papers.
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|Viewers         = 0.171
|ShortSummary    = Following their threesome, Alice, Nat and Gigi discuss and overcome their differences with some difficulty, starting a three-way relationship (or throuple). Dani and Sophie's relationship becomes strained again when Dani's father serves her with a pre-nuptial stating that only Dani's biological children are entitled to the company. Dani furiously refuses to sign the pre-nuptial, but refuses to open up to Sophie and finds comfort with Bette. Shane resumes her relationship with Quiara, who reveals she is pregnant but does not want Shane to have the responsibility of raising the child, which Shane appears to accept. Jos tells Micah he loves him, though Micah confesses he wants to take things slowly. After the birthday party, Lena disappears, so Shane asks Tess and Finley to run "Dana's" for the time being. Tess, who harbors a grudge against Shane for sleeping with Lena, her ex-lover, begins a relationship with Finley. Following Dani's advice, Bette breaks up with Felicity for the duration of the campaign, to Felicity's anger. Bette, Alice, Shane, Quiara, Nat and Gigi attend Angie and Jordi's school play, where Shane notices that Angie appears to have inherited Tina's bisexuality and developed romantic feelings for Jordi. After the play, however, they are again confronted by Tyler Adams, apparently tipped off by Felicity, who again accuses Bette of still sleeping with Felicity in front of the press. Tyler attempts to assault Angie but Bette strikes him; he hits his head on the ground and is knocked unconscious.
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|Viewers         = 0.207
|ShortSummary    =  As Bette considers dropping out of the mayoral race, along with Alice expressing anger over Bette lying to her about her affair with Felicity, she is visited by her ex-wife, Tina Kennard, to offer support. The two reminisce on their past experiences, but the conversation turns sour when it is revealed that Tina left Bette for another woman and did not attend Kit's funeral. Angie passes her driving test, and with support from Shane and Quiara, she tells Jordi she loves her; Jordi returns her feelings and they share a kiss. Tess and Finley decide to end their relationship and remain friends. Shane reveals to Finley that Quiara is moving in and asks her to move out. Finley moves in with Dani and Sophie. Sophie begins to open up to Finley, who is still grieving over her unrequited feelings for Rebecca. Dani and Pierce debate on what to do next for Bette, but Pierce, himself a trans man, resigns when he discovers Dani knew about Bette's new affair with Felicity and did not tell him, having lost his faith in Bette. Alice, Nat and Gigi continue to disagree over their throuple status when Gigi outs them to a waitress without consulting the others, while Dani and Sophie grow more distant. After some pushing, Bette reveals to the press that she will continue to run for mayor, and finally confesses to the public that after a car accident, Kit was administered opioids to which she became addicted when the hospital failed to ask her if she had an addiction history, which led to her death of the heroin overdose. In the aftermath, Bette and Tina admit that they still love each other and share an embrace, during which Bette asks Tina not to leave.
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|Viewers         = 0.241
|ShortSummary    = Micah's mother meets Jose but inadvertently humiliates Micah by showing Jose pictures of Micah as a child, prior to his transition, though they make up and Jose tells Micah he loves him no matter what. Tina and Bette have dinner together at Bette's house, and though Bette hopes to renew their relationship, Tina reveals that she is marrying her new lover, Carrie, and she wants the two of Them and Bette to tell Angie together, leaving Bette devastated. Alice's show's ratings decline to the point of cancellation due to the fiasco with Tyler and Felicity, and she walks in on Nat and Gigi having sex without her. Angry and hurt, Alice moves in with Shane. At a lunch meeting a few days later, Nat and Gigi reveal to Alice that they have worked out their differences and want to continue being a throuple, but Alice, realizing that Gigi has been living with Nat the entire time, accuses Nat of only using her sexually while she was trying to forgive Gigi over the past two years, and leaves angrily. Sophie's grandmother has an accident and is hospitalized, and though she tells Dani not to accompany her, she expresses anger at her not coming anyway. Finley comforts Sophie and the two share a kiss. Sophie confides in her sister, who persuades her to tell Dani. Dani discovers that Bette's mayoral rival, Jeff Milner, has posted a homophobic advert on the internet denouncing her as a womanizer with no family values, along with footage of her scuffle with Tyler. Despite this, Bette vows not to give up.
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|Viewers         = 0.218
|ShortSummary    =  Bette ultimately loses to Milner and is left devastated. Quiara suffers a miscarriage, and leaves Shane when she realizes Shane was actually relieved. Despondent, Shane adopts a homeless dog. Accepting that her show is on the brink of cancellation, Alice goes against the producers' wishes and invites Roxane Gay on the show, during they discuss polyamorous relationships and Alice reveals how she was betrayed by Nat. Nat, in the audience, goes on stage and tells Alice to her face that she loves her and wants to rekindle their relationship without Gigi; the following reaction saves Alice's show. Afterwards, still fighting their feelings with each other, Finley and Sophie have sex backstage, but in her guilt, Finley decides to leave Los Angeles and go back to Missouri for her sister's wedding. Bette reveals to Dani that Milner has asked her to spearhead a campaign into the opioid crisis, but during lunch with her father, Dani learns that her company has actually made a deal with Milner months ago, meaning that Bette and Dani are both being set up by Milner. Bette and Angie briefly go on a spiritual retreat to grieve for Kit, and Bette bumps into Maya,a reporter who covered the mayoral race. Maya invites Bette out on dinner date. Jose takes Micah to his art convention, where Micah meets Scott, who claims to be Jose's husband. Micah leaves Jose and refuses to listen to his pleas to explain. Dani asks Sophie to elope with her to Hawaii and she agrees. At the airport, Sophie makes a decision about who to follow, but it left unrevealed if she has chosen Dani or Finley.
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Production

Development

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 Mia Kirshner 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, Ru Paul: 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.

Casting

Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey will reprise their roles from the original series. Bette and Tina's daughter Angelica, depicted as an infant in the original series, will be portrayed as a teenager by Jordan Hull. Sarah Shahi has stated that she will reprise her role as Carmen de la Pica Morales, though Showtime has not officially confirmed her involvement. Pam Grier has stated that she will 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 has stated that she wishes 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.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 80% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 6.22/10. 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 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

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| title3 = Lost Love | date3 = December 22, 2019 | rs3 = 0.05 | viewers3 = 0.248 | dvrv3 = n/a | totalv3 = n/a

| title4 = LA Times | date4 = December 29, 2019 | rs4 = 0.04 | viewers4 = 0.226 | dvrv4 = 0.132 | totalv4 = 0.358

| title5 = Labels | date5 = January 5, 2020 | rs5 = 0.03 | viewers5 = 0.171 | dvrv5 = 0.131 | totalv5 = 0.302

| title6 = Loose Ends | date6 = January 12, 2020 | rs6 = 0.05 | viewers6 = 0.207 | dvrv6 = | totalv6 =

| title7 = Lose It All | date7 = January 19, 2020 | rs7 = 0.05 | viewers7 = 0.241 | dvrv7 = | totalv7 =

| title8 = Lapse in Judgement | date8 = January 26, 2020 | rs8 = 0.06 | viewers8 = 0.218 | dvrv8 = | totalv8 = }}