The ladies of the early-aughts representation game-changerThe L Wordare back, and they’re bringing a new generation of queer inclusion with them. Showtime has debuted the first teaser trailer for their reboot of the hit series, and the first look atThe L Word: Generation Qis hitting all the right notes with Bette (Jennifer Beals) making some serious power moves, Alice (Leisha Hailey) being sassy as ever, and Shane (Katherine Moennig) somehow still making that iconic haircut work.
Looks like we’ll have to wait for the new trailer to learn more about the new generation of characters, which includes Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Sarah Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas) and Gigi (Sepideh Moafi) “as they experience love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in L.A.”
While we don’t know too much about the new characters, the cast introduced them in brief at the 2019 TCA Summer tour, where we learned that Sophie is a TV producer with a “big heart,” her pal Dani is PR exec whose on a path to some big changes, Sarah, aka Finley, is a Catholic struggling with being a queer person a faith, and Micah is a trans man making change as a social worker.
Guest stars includeBrian Michael, Stephanie Allyne,Olivia Thirlby,Fortune FeimsterandLatarsha Rose. The eight-episode season debuts on Showtime on August 26, 2025 at 10 pm ET/PT. Watch the new teaser below.
The L Word was a groundbreaking and formative show for queer representation on screen, particularly queer women, in the early 2000s. At the time, there was nothing like it on TV, and nothing out there that made it easier to have open conversations about sexuality with folks who might usually be turned off by the subject. If they could get sucked into the soapy and extremely sapphic drama of The L Word, they could hear you out. But it’s also fallen to some fair criticisms as the cultural conversation has evolved in the years since, particularly when it came to discussions of gender, trans issues, and bisexual representation in the later seasons.
Fortunately, the team onboard forGeneration Qis fully aware of those criticisms and ready to takeThe L Word’s inclusivity to the next level. During Showtime’s TCA panel, showrunnerMarja-Lewis Ryan(who also executive produces with series creatorIlene Chaiken,Kristen Campo,Steph Green(pilot), Beals, Moennig, and Hailey,) explained, “I am from the generation that critiqued the show. I’m 34,” She said. “I am right there with the things that people are saying. … All we can do is do better. The time-specific decisions of the original are not the decisions I’m making right now,” she continued. “We’re making something that is of now, and for now.”
“Part of what this show was for me was an aspirational queer narrative,” she said. “Young adults need someone to look up to.” We’ll see howGeneration Qlives up to that promise and if it can rekindle that sense of empowerment and understanding for a new generation when it drops this December. For now, it sure is fun to see Bette, Alice and Shane back in action; talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting – well, you know the rest.
