This spring it was revealed that the anticipated L Word reboot would be called The L Word: Generation Q. And last month, thefirst new cast and characters who'll join originals Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Katherine Moennig in carrying forth stories of queer women in Los Angeles were announced. Now the series has revealed four more new characters, several of whom will be played by queer actresses.
Screenwriter and playwright Marja-Lewis Ryan (The Four-Faced Liar) was tapped as the series's showrunner to shepherd a new generation of LGBTQ people into the world of characters who once congregated at the fictional cafe the Planet. Among the new denizens of the L Word universe is Jordi, "a rebellious teen with absent parents," who will be played by trans actress Sophie Giannamore (Transparent), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Also joining the squad is "kind-hearted Rebecca, who often finds herself attracted to the wrong kind of women."Juno's Olivia Thirlby (who is bisexual) has been cast to play her. Lesbian stand-up and costar of The Mindy Project Fortune Feimster joins the cast as Heather, "an aspiring comedian who lacks boundaries," THR reports.
Finally, Lex Scott Davis of The First Purge and the Training Day TV series will play Quiara, "a sensual lead singer whose international travels bring her back to L.A."
The show's other new cast members, announced last month, include Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, Jacqueline Toboni, and Rosanny Zayas.
Mandi will play Dani Nunez, a public relations executive who is "powerful and calculating." Sheng, who costars in Rhys Ernst's controversial movie Adam, plays Micah Lee, "a soft-spoken adjunct professor forced to confront his fear of vulnerability." Meanwhile, Toboni plays Sarah Finley, an assistant reconciling her sexual identity with her religious background. Zayas plays Sophie Suarez, a TV producer who subverts her own needs to those of others. Other recent casting announcements included that Stephanie Allyne (who is married to Tig Notaro and appeared in One Mississippi) was cast as Nat, "a sweet therapist who is struggling to co-parent with a hostile ex-wife and her live-in girlfriend." And Queen Sugar's Brian Michael, who is trans, was cast as Pierce Williams, "a buttoned-up, fastidious, expert political strategist and a veteran of LA politics."
Generation Q, which will shoot in Los Angeles this summer, is set to premiere in the fall. The pilot is directed by executive producer Steph Green, who's directed episodes of The Americans, The Man in the High Castle, and You're the Worst.
Soon after it was confirmed in January that the show was moving forward, original cast member Sarah Shahi, who played the beloved Carmen, said she would be joining the reboot.
Other original L Word characters, including Tina (Laurel Holloman), Dana (Erin Daniels), and Jenny (Mia Kirshner), may also return for the reboot, although there's no indication yet of how the writers will handle reincorporating Dana and Jenny, who were killed off in the original series. Pam Grier (who played Beals's Bette's big sister Kit) has said she will not return for the show because she's tied up with the series Bless This Mess.