L Word Revival Will Premiere in 2019

After announcing in 2017 that The L Word will be rebooted, cable network Showtime made it official on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

An eight-episode season -- to serve as a sequel to the original 2004-2009 series -- will premiere by the end of the year, according to Showtime executives. The show's three main stars, Jennifer Beals (Bette), Katherine Moennig (Shane), and Leisha Hailey (Alice), will not only reprise their roles, but serve as executive producers on the series. Other executive producers include screenwriter Marja-Lewis Ryan and series creator Ilene Chaiken, who has a busy career producing Fox's Empire and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. Other L Word characters like Tina, Jenny, Carmen, and Kit may also return to the show's sequel, according to THR.

The direction of the series is not clear, except that it will continue to take place in Los Angeles and focus on a group of friends, many of whom are queer women. The show ended with a murder mystery storyline; a spinoff series about Hailey's character in prison was floated, but ultimately not picked up by Showtime.

When The L Word premiered in 2004, it was the first to ever focus solely on the lives of lesbian, bi, and queer women, premiering four years after Queer as Folk, also on Showtime, dramatically improved LGBTQ television representation. The L Word also broke ground in its portrayal of trans characters.

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