Showtime Orders Sequel to ‘The L Word’

By Cynthia Littleton

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Showtime has given a series order to its long-awaited sequel to “The L Word.”

confirmed the order Thursday morning during its portion of the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif. The series is headed into production this summer for debut by the end of this year.

Marja-Lewis Ryan will serve as showrunner and exec producer of the series alongside “L Word” creator Ilene Chaiken and original series stars Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey. The drama that revolved around a group of LGBT women living on the Westside of Los Angeles ran for six seasons on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. Beals, Moennig and Hailey will reprise their roles for the new season.

“Marja has brought her unique and contemporary vision to ‘’ and blended it beautifully into the fabric of Ilene’s groundbreaking series,” said Gary Levine, Showtime’s co-president of entertainment. “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 has been in development for more than a year. “The L Word” order is part of an expanded roster of original programs coming to Showtime as the CBS-owned pay cabler as it looks to keep pace with the heightened competition in the premium TV arena.

Ryan is a rising star writer whose previous credits include the Amazon pilot “College.” She also has a number of feature film scripts in development including Disney’s redo of “Splash.”