Showtime Has Officially Ordered “The L Word” Revival

The lady pond has been refilled! After years of toying with the idea, Showtime announced earlier today that it has greenlighted the revival of The L Word. It’s been AGES since I’ve spent the better part of a Saturday morning hungover in bed wondering if I was more of a Bette or a Shane, and now I’ll get to reboot that ritual along with the series since some of the originals are coming back!

Deadline says the revival has been underway for a year, and the new show is meant to show how the lesbian community’s relationships have or haven’t changed since the original show first began 15 years ago. Original show creator Ilene Chaiken is executive producing with Marja-Lewis Ryan serving as showrunner and an executive producer. OG stars Jennifer Beals (Bette), Katherine Moennig (Shane), and Leisha Hailey (Alice) will also all executive produce. The Hollywood Reporter says those three will be back in their original roles while there is room for others to come back:

“Other characters from the original series — which included fan favorite Erin Daniels (Dana), Laurel Holloman (Tina), Mia Kirshner (Jenny), Sarah Shahi (Carmen) and Pam Grier (Kit) — may appear in a potential new version.”

OK, so TEN-YEAR-OLD SPOILER ALERT!!!! Unless, this is a reboot crossover with Touched By An Angel, I wouldn’t expect Dana or Jenny to be making any appearances in the reboot. However, both reports do say there will be an entirely new LGBTQ cast brought on to bemoan their love lives over lattes at The Planet. Holland Taylor, we need you! Showtime President of Entertainment Gary Levine seems happy about the revival – anything to take our minds off the mess happening with The Affair, I guess:

“Marja has brought her unique and contemporary vision to The L Word and blended it beautifully into the fabric of Ilene’s groundbreaking series. This revered show was both entertaining and impactful when it originally ran on Showtime, and we are confident that our new version will do that and more in 2019.”

The revival comes as a lot of gay shows are returning to air, including Will & Grace, Queer Eye, and Queer As Folk. Now someone just needs to bring back Looking! I’m only kidding, if we’re needing to bring on a nap, that’s what NyQuil is for.

Pic: Showtime