It's been years since a reboot of The L Word was first announced, but back in January, details about the new show began to emerge. Now the Showtime series entitled the L Word: Generation Q will premiere on December 8, it was announced at the Television Critics Association on Friday, according to Deadline.
The reboot kicks off with an eight-episode season that features original cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, and Katherine Moennig (who are also executive producers) along with several new characters that reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community.
Screenwriter and playwright Marja-Lewis Ryan (The Four-Faced Liar) is the showrunner who's shepherding 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 in June, include Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, Jacqueline Toboni, and Rosanny Zayas.
Mandi was cast as 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."
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.