“The L Word: Generation Q” To Star Latina Actors Playing Latina Roles
Latinx representation on TV and film is limited but queer Latinx representation has essentially been nonexistent until Vida came along and now the The L Word reboot will also (hopefully) help usher a new era and group of queer Latinx characters
Photo: Unsplash/@isiparente
Latinx representation on TV and film is limited but queer Latinx representation has essentially been nonexistent until Vida came along and now the The L Word reboot will also (hopefully) help usher a new era and group of queer Latinx characters.
The L Word: Generation Q picks up a decade after the original groundbreaking show ended — with original cast members including Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Haily reprising their roles. The trailer has a young, playful tone and the provocative elements (read: the sex) are still there but this time the diverse cast is more reflective of Los Angeles, especially in the Silver Lake neighborhood where the show takes place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=brkZIIwZvqM
“If there’s a trans character, that character will be played by a trans actor,” Ilene Chaiken, the series’ creator and original writer-showrunner told The Cut. “But I think that an actor has to be Latina to play Latina, and we will respect those understandings that we’ve gained over the course of the last decade or so.”
Newcomer Arienne Mandi plays ambitious public relations executive Dani Nuñez and her girlfriend, a television producer named Sophie Suarez played by Rosanny Zayas. Mandi has been on Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, NCIS: LA, and In the Vault and was the lead in the 2018 indie feature Baja. Zayas has had recurring roles on The Code, Elementary, Instinct, and Orange is the New Black and she can be seen in the indie Otherhood released this past summer.
Just like the original series, the show follows the cast of characters as they experience love, heartbreak, success, and failures while still maintaining the friendships that help them through it all.
Though not much has been shared about the story lines, from the trailer it appears like Nuñez and Suarez have a complicated relationship and she basically idolizes her boss Bette (Beals) as she runs for mayor of LA.
This time around, there are also Latinas in the writer’s room as well: Colombian screenwriter Tatiana Suarez-Pico and Salvadoran-American Nancy Mejía.
Suarez-Pico has previously worked as a writer or story editor for dramas including Parenthood, Snowfall and Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Suarez – who is lesbian- was previously a staff writer for Vida so with their combined expertise the show should bring autheticn Latinx characters and stories to the small screen.
The original groundbreaking series ran from 2004 to 2009 and it remains the sole longest-running show telling queer women’s stories.
The L Word: Generation Q premiere Sunday, Dec. 8, on Showtime.
