The L Word

This article is about the TV series. "The L Word" can also refer to love, liberal or lesbian.

The L Word
The L Word title logo
Created by	Ilene Chaiken Kathy Greenberg Michele Abbott
Starring	Jennifer Beals Erin Daniels (2004–2006) Janina Gavankar Pam Grier Leisha Hailey Laurel Holloman Mia Kirshner Eric Lively (2005) Karina Lombard (2004) Eric Mabius (2004) Marlee Matlin Katherine Moennig Dallas Roberts Rose Rollins Daniela Sea Sarah Shahi (2005–2006) Rachel Shelley
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	50 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 50 mins per episode
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	January 18, 2004 – present

The L Word is a television drama series on Showtime that portrays the lives, loves and learnings of a group of lesbian and bisexual women and their friends, family and lovers in Los Angeles.

The show was created and is executive produced by Ilene Chaiken (Barb Wire, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). Other executive producers include Steve Golin (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Larry Kennar (Barbershop). Besides Chaiken, writers of the show have included Guinevere Turner (Go Fish, American Psycho) and Rose Troche (Go Fish, Six Feet Under). The L Word is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia at Coast Mountain Films Studios, which was formerly Dufferin Gate Studios Vancouver and originally owned by Dufferin Gate Productions, the sister company to Temple Street Productions, the Canadian producer of the U.S. version of Queer as Folk. The pilot episode premiered on January 18, 2004, and since then four seasons have aired, with the fifth scheduled for broadcast early on 2008. The show is primarily set in the trendy Los Angeles-area city of West Hollywood.

Cast and characters

Main articles: List of The L Word actors and List of characters from The L Word

Actor	Role	Seasons (guest)
BeaJennifer Beals	Bette Porter	1—
DanErin Daniels	Dana Fairbanks	1–3 (4)
GavJanina Gavankar	Eva "Papi" Torres	4—
GriPam Grier	Kate "Kit" Porter	1—
HaiLeisha Hailey	Alice Pieszecki	1—
HolLaurel Holloman	Tina Kennard	1—
KirMia Kirshner	Jenny Schecter	1—
LivEric Lively	Mark Wayland	2
LomKarina Lombard	Marina Ferrer	1 (4)
MabEric Mabius	Tim Haspel	1 (2–3)
MatMarlee Matlin	Jodi Lerner	4—
MoeKatherine Moennig	Shane McCutcheon	1—
RobDallas Roberts	Angus Partridge	3—
RolRose Rollins	Tasha Williams	4—
SeaDaniela Sea	Moira/Max Sweeney	3—
ShaSarah Shahi	Carmen de la Pica Morales	2–3
SheRachel Shelley	Helena Peabody	2—

Episodes

Main article: List of The L Word episodes

Season Synopses

Season 1

Season 1 was first aired in the United States on January 18, 2004, and featured 13 episodes. Several entwined storylines are presented. Set in West Hollywood, the series first introduces Bette Porter and Tina Kennard, a couple with a seven-year relationship who want to have a child. Tina eventually becomes pregnant through artificial insemination but has a miscarriage during episode 1.09: Luck, next time. Later in the series, Bette develops an affair with Candace Jewell, which Tina discovers during the season finale. .

During the pilot, a coming out/love triangle storyline is introduced in the show, which involves Tina’s and Bette’s next-door neighbor, Tim Haspel, his new-in-town girlfriend, Jenny Schecter, and Marina Ferrer. Marina is part of Tina and Bette’s circle of friends and also is the owner of neighborhood café, The Planet, which as the group's hang-out, serves as a focal point for the show. The season also presents Shane McCutcheon, an androgynous, highly sexual hairstylist and serial heart-breaker; Dana Fairbanks, a professional tennis player who is still in the closet and torn between pursuing her career and finding love; and Alice Pieszecki, a girly, bisexual journalist looking for love in any way she can.

Season 2

Season 2 began airing in Showtime on February 20, 2005. It starts by unveiling to the viewers a secret Tina is keeping from everyone: she successfully became impregnated after a second insemination. Tina begins seeing Helena while Bette’s life is portrayed as a wreck: alcohol abuse, problems with her job, the death of her father in episode 2.12:L'Chaim, and getting fired during the season finale. Tina and Bette reconcile during the final episode. Since the character of Marina was written out from the show, the Planet is bought by Kit Porter.

Introduced in the second season are Carmen de la Pica Morales, a confident DJ who becomes part of a love triangle with Shane and Jenny; Helena Peabody, the daughter of a wealthy supporter of the arts and who later becomes Tina's temporary love interest; and Mark Wayland, a documentary filmmaker who moves in with Shane and Jenny. Mark makes them part of his latest documentary, by setting up hidden cameras in the house to videotape them. During episode 2.09: Late, later, latent, Jenny discovers Mark’s tapes and also Carmen’s true love.

Season 2 also presents insights into Jenny’s past as an abused child in episode 2.11: Loud and Proud along with episodes of self-mutilation that climax in the season finale. Also, the storyline covers a developing affair between Alice and Dana which becomes a public relationship in episode 2.07: Luminous.

Season 3

Season 3 first aired in Showtime on January 8, 2006. The storyline is set six months after Angelica's (Tina's daughter) birth. Tina's and Bette's relationship as a couple is decaying and finally ends when Tina settles a heterosexual relationship on episode 3.10:Losing the light.

New characters in this season include Moira Sweeney (a working class butch who is Jenny’s girlfriend for most of the season) and Angus Partridge, who is Angelica’s male nanny and who further on becomes Kit’s lover. Sweeney later starts the process of transitioning from female to male, switching his name to Max. With respect to Shane and Carmen, the relationship that had started in season 2 is kept and the further advance of it leads Carmen to face her family and reveal her homosexuality to them in episode 3.09:Lead, follow or get out of the way.

Concerning Alice and Dana, during the first episode of the season the viewer is informed they are no longer dating and that Alice is having a hard time dealing with it. Dana is later found to have cancer and ultimately dies in episode 3.10: Losing the light of a heart failure. This death triggers Shane to ask Carmen to marry her in the following episode. Carmen agrees, but in the season finale Shane does not show up to the ceremony.

Helena's character storyline is switched from being Bette's rival into a new member of the circle of friends, paired mostly with Alice. During episode 3.01:Labia Majora she buys a film studio and later in the series Tina starts to work for her. Further in the season, Helena meets a documentary producer with whom she has an affair: Dylan Moreland, portrayed by Alexandra Hedison. A sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Dylan during episode 3.09:Lead, follow or get out of the way, along with Helena’s prodigal behavior puts her family business in jeopardy. During the season finale, her mother Peggy (portrayed by Holland Taylor) decides to cut her off financially.

Throughout this season, each episode begins with a short pre-credits vignette of two individuals meeting romantically or sexually. As the season progresses lines from Alice's chart (see below) connect one member of each vignette with a new individual in the next. Beginning in the early 1970s with a housewife named Marilyn, these connections eventually wind through several of the series main characters showing scenes of their earlier lives until it ends with Lara, alone in Paris. A much older Marilyn is introduced in the season finale, showing once again the interconnectedness in all of their lives.

Season 4

The season premiere of the fourth season, Legend in the Making, first aired on January 7, 2007. The filming of the season's twelve episodes began in Vancouver, on May 29, 2006. Showtime announced renewal of the series, in a February 2, 2006 press release:

On the heels of a year highlighted by industry recognition and critical acclaim for its award-winning original programming including Weeds, Huff and Sleeper Cell, Showtime has ordered a fourth season of its hit drama series The L Word, it was announced by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

Joining the show's fourth season are Academy-Award winner Marlee Matlin, three time Golden Globe winner Cybill Shepherd, Kristanna Loken, and Janina Gavankar. Karina Lombard reprised her role as Marina Ferrer for two episodes.

Season 5

On March 9, 2007, Showtime announced the pick-up of a fifth season of The L Word, for 12 episodes, touting the show as "a signature franchise among our viewers." Production began in the summer of 2007 and will premier "sometime in early 2008."

It was announced that Malaya Rivera Drew and Kate French have been cast for the upcoming season.

The Chart

A small portion of The Chart, covering some of the relationships established between the most important characters along the series during seasons 1 through 4. Pink signifies main female characters, blue signifies main male characters, purple and green minor characters featured in the series (female and male respectively), and gray signifies characters that are only alluded to.

A notorious aspect of the L word is its constant reference to The Chart, which is a recompilation of the affairs that go around Alice's surroundings. In its origins, The L Word was to be based around Pam Grier's character Kit Porter, who was initially written as a lesbian with The Chart tattooed on her back. When Kit Porter was changed into a straight character, The Chart was given to the character of Alice instead.

According to the storyline, Alice first started the Chart on the back of a napkin. In Season 1 it was moved from the whiteboard stretched across one wall of her apartment to an internet site of Alice's own creation. It would be impossible to reproduce the whole Chart into a simplistic network, since its lines cross and tangle, reflecting the changing sexual liaisons of the series itself.

The Chart's popularity among the lesbian community within the show grew as the network became public. During episode 1.02: "Let's Do It", Alice attempted to write an article about the chart in L.A. Magazine. As she was unable to convince her supervisor editor of the validity of such an article, she opted to publish the Chart on the internet instead. The network was then enriched by the visitors, and was one of the resources used in season 1 when Lara's sexual orientation was in question.

Late in season 2, the Chart regains plot relevance in the show when a disturbing encounter with Alice's former girlfriend Gabby Deveaux prompts her to put it up as a topic during an interview at KCRW. In the story, the producer was amazed at the complexity of the affair network and granted Alice a section for its public discussion. The program's low popularity is mentioned during episode 2.11: "Loud and Proud", but by the third season it is pictured as a hit among the lesbian community, even heard at public places (Dana is forced to listen to an ad of the program while visiting the hospital in episode 3.04: "Light My Fire").

From Alice's point of view, the Chart is about her and how she is connected to everyone else on it. Any of the main characters can be connected to Alice in less than four moves. In fact, in episode 2.08: "Loyal", Alice claimed she could connect almost anyone to her in less than six moves. However, in episode 1.02: "Let's Do It", it is established that the major contributor to the Chart is Shane, which is later confirmed during episode 1.12: "Locked Up" by a comment in which she points out her connections could sum up to about twelve hundred. A larger "hub" in the Chart is found during episode 4.01: "Legend in the Making". As the series advances, the Chart becomes bigger, being enriched by the relationships every character develops. During Season 3, the Chart serves as a marginal storyline that advances through each episode and concludes in the season finale.

International Broadcasts

• W. Channel in Australia (previously on Network Seven)Season 2 Episodes, New To W. Channel, Premiere Every Sunday at 9:30pm. Reruns Of Season 1-3 Run Late Night On Network Seven
• VijfTV in Belgium
• Showcase Television in Canada
• Subtv in Finland
• Canal+ in France
• Pro7 in Germany
• Cool TV in Hungary
• Jimmy in Italy
• Channel 6 in Ireland
• yes+ in Israel
• FOXlife HD in Japan
• Warner Channel in Latin America
• Tango TV in Lithuania
• Rtl 5 in The Netherlands
• Prime TV in New Zealand (not currently airing)
• 2nd Avenue in the Philippines
• RTP2 in Portugal
• ARTV in Quebec
• CATCHONE in South Korea
• Canal+ in Spain
• TV400 in Sweden (Season 4- and reruns of 1-3. Season 1-3 first aired on TV3)
• Living TV in United Kingdom

Cultural implications

The L Word has been part of the mainstreaming of gay culture on major television shows. Other shows that have also qualify for this distinction include Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer As Folk, and Ellen. Bette Porter and Tina Kennard have also been deemed a Supercouple for Primetime Television.

References in pop culture

• The show has introduced several neologisms:
  • In the pilot episode, while checking out a girl they've never seen before, Dana coins the word "Cris-pay!"
  • During the first episode of season three, Labia Majora, the phrase "Panty Hamster" was introduced as a euphemism for "vulva."
  • After Shane ads for Hugo Boss: "Feeling very Shane today"

• Several shows have referenced the The L Word:
  • On the medical drama House, Dr. Gregory House said he watches The L Word, but only on mute. He later asks Dr. Cuddy loudly, "Panty hamster get a spin on its wheel?"
  • On the dark comedy series Weeds, after finding her daughter Isabel kissing another girl, Celia Hodes asks her to focus on The L Word for lesbian role models.
  • News satire program The Daily Show, which features news headlines altered to reflect pop cultural gags, referred to its coverage of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict as "The L War" on the July 24, 2006 episode. Host Jon Stewart is a close friend of The L Word actress Jennifer Beals, and has previously invited her on to promote the show.
  • On Chapelle's Show:The "Lost Episodes", Dave Chapelle mentions "watching the L Word On Showtime, BYAAAAH!!" in his impersonation of Howard Dean's famous outburst in the election runnings. Dave (as Dean) - "I love lesbians. BYAAAAH, I watch The L Word on Showtime, BYAAAAH! *Smells his finger* BYAAAAAH!!!"
  • On The Sopranos episode "Live Free or Die", Tony Soprano references The L Word while speaking to his psychiatrist stating that "all that lesbian thing, with the, uh, Jennifer Beals...it's not bad. She a dyke in real life?"
  • In the US version of The Office, when Michael Scott feels he is being accused of discrimination toward homosexuals, he cites watching The L Word as evidence to the contrary.
  • The fourth season Gilmore Girls episode "Scene in a Mall" features a scene where a germophobic Paris Geller is trying to keep her shared dorm room with an ill Rory Gilmore clean (including spraying Lysol on the doorknob), and mentions she'll be sleeping with the other girls in the dorm in their room that night, causing Rory to joke "How very The L Word" at the sleeping arrangement.
  • In the "South of Nowhere" episode "Girl's Guide to Dating," when giving Spencer the "Are you hot for girls?" quiz, Ashley offered her the first two seasons of The L Word on DVD as the prize.
  • Rapper Vakill used the punch line "I ain't gotta sell birds / Half of y'all claiming that shit, more pussy than The L Word" on his song 'Farewell To The Game'.

Trivia

• The original code-name for the project was Earthlings, a slang word for lesbians. The Planet, the name of the group's main hangout, is a pun on the original title.

• Though not displayed onscreen, each episode's title (except the pilot) begins with the letter "L".

• The use of the phrase "the L word" to avoid saying lesbian is first recorded in the 1981 play My Blue Heaven, by the lesbian playwright Jane Chambers, where a character stammers out: "You're really...? The L-word? Lord God, I never met one before."

• In the fourth season, Jenny's book Lez Girls has a character named Karina - modeled after Marina. The real name of the actress who plays Marina is Karina Lombard.

External links

• The L Word Official Site (may be available outside the USA)
• OurChart Spin-off official Web site inspired from Alice's "Chart"
• The L Word at IMDb
• AfterEllen's L Word section Comprehensive news, reviews, interviews, recaps, and polls related to the series.