Let’s face it: we are in a world full of remakes- much to the jubilation of fans whose shows went too soon. So, could past Showtime’s The L Word join the ranks of rowdy reboots? Ilene Chaiken, who created the groundbreaking drama said this:
“I would love to revisit the L Word. We talk about it from time to time. I talk about it with some of my colleagues who were in the cast who would love to reboot it. I don’t know when. I’m busy and most of them are too, but I do still think that it’s a viable world in which to tell stories, and those characters are still beloved as far as I can tell.”
Shane lovers rejoice! While this is hardly a confirmation, it is exciting that Ilene Chaiken would be willing to revisit the ladies of The L Word. With such a rabid fan base, a reboot would presumably be rather successful.
The L Word first premiered in 2004 on Showtime, and revolved around a group of queer women living in West Hollywood. The L Word was “broadcast to acclaim and instant popularity” according to The New York Times- the twists and turns of its ensemble of women and their love, personal, and professional lives made for captivating and truthful television.
A true trailblazer, this was the easily the first show to revolve completely around Queer women, unlike male-dominated LBGT shows like Queer as Folk and Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. While the majority of the principle cast identified as lesbian, The L Word also contained bisexual and straight characters. Additionally, a major character came out at Transgender, and the show chronicled their transition, years before Laverne Cox’s character in Orange Is the New Black was even conceptualized.
While Ilene Chaiken and the team behind The L Word would like to bring a reboot to their audience, it would be quite the feat to actually accomplish it. Indeed, many of the people who helped make The L Word so great have gone on to busy entertainment careers. Chaiken herself is showrunning Fox’s hit Empire which is surely a demanding job considering its slew of celebrity guest actors and the show’s soundtrack, in addition to the typical responsibilities of running a television show. Additionally Katherine Sian Moennig, who played fan favorite Shane, is currently a main character in Showtime’s drama Ray Donovan.
Ilene Chaiken’s interview with Entertainment Weekly may not have been a concrete plan at developing a reboot for The L Word, it is a fun concept. As was her idea that she could bring her characters from L Word into Empire as some sort of bizarre crossover. Perhaps that idea is a bit far fetched.
Then again, so was her plan for a show about lesbians in 2004, and look how that turned out.
