Dec 8 10Pmet
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SERIES PREMIERE ET DEC 8 10PMPT INTRO Letter from Marja-Lewis Ryan I was 19 when The L Word® first aired, and Ilene Chaiken’s original series made me believe that my voice mattered. It profoundly influenced both my personal and professional life. For the first time ever, I saw myself reflected both on screen and behind the camera. The power of that really can’t be underplayed. It allowed me to dream up the career that I have now. I met Ilene a few years ago when we were both hired to write on a feature. A few months after that job ended, I sent her an email to congratulate her on The Handmaid’s Tale. She sent me an email back asking me if I wanted to pitch to create an L Word reboot. As you could imagine, I thought it was a joke. After a handful of surreal meetings, here we are, 10 years after Ilene left off with her original version, I get to pick up with my new one: THE L WORD: GENERATION Q. I describe my take as: queer, confident, aspirational, and joyful. I remind my collaborators that even as the world has changed, normalization is still radical. Our audience still needs to know that queer people are just people; they have jobs and they get coffee. I am beyond excited for the opportunity to usher in the next generation of diverse queer people. A generation that looks like Los Angeles does now. I couldn’t imagine a better time to make this show. The teenager in me is just tickled to be given the distinct pleasure of standing on mighty shoulders and putting my own spin on the show that changed my life. Marja-Lewis Ryan Executive Producer / Showrunner / Writer THE L WORD: GENERATION Q CAST BIOS JENNIFER BEALS Bette Porter JENNIFER BEALS is an internationally renowned actress with more than 90 credits to her name, including critically-acclaimed feature films and some of the highest-rated television series to date. For her performance as Bette Porter on The L Word®, Beals received the prestigious GLAAD Golden Gate Award, as well as two NAACP Image Award nominations and a Satellite Awards™ nomination. In 2012, Beals was presented with the Human Rights Campaign’s ‘Ally for Equality Award’ for her support of the LGBTQIA community. Additionally, Beals and The L Word’s executive producer Ilene Chaiken are set to executive produce the series The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, an adaption of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s acclaimed novel. Beals and filmmaker Tom Jacobson created the concept for the new novel, The Hive, which was named one of People’s ‘Best Books of Fall 2019.’ Throughout her accomplished film career, Beals has worked with many of the industry’s most acclaimed filmmakers and talent. She co-starred alongside Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman in The Book Of Eli, and starred opposite Garry Marshall, Faye Dunaway and Brendan Fraser in The Twilight Of The Golds, for which she won a Golden Satellite Award. Beals was featured among an all- star cast in the crime thriller Runaway Jury. Other notable film credits include The Madonna And The Dragon from legendary film director Samuel Fuller, Manhattan Night, A House Divided, In The Soup, Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle and After. For her role in the iconic film Flashdance, Beals earned a Golden Globe nomination as well as an NAACP Image Award for ‘Lead Actress.’ She earned another NAACP Image Award nomination for her work in Devil In A Blue Dress. On television, Beals recurred in the series The Last Tycoon, receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Hollywood starlet “Margo Taft.” Beals was also seen in Taken, the adaptation of the hit movie franchise, and co-starred in the series Swamp Thing. Beals starred in A Wife’s Nightmare, for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination. Notable television credits include Proof, The Night Shift and The Chicago Code. CAST BIOS KATHERINE MOENNIG Shane McCutcheon KATHERINE MOENNIG is a critically-acclaimed actress whose work spans film, television and theatre. In addition to reprising her role as Shane McCutcheon in THE L WORD®: GENERATION Q, she also serves as an executive producer. Most recently, Moennig was seen starring in the SHOWTIME® drama series Ray Donovan alongside Liev Schreiber, Eddie Marsan and Dash Mihok, as well as portraying “Professor Hewson” in the breakout series Grown-ish. Moennig’s film credits include the neo-noir legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer directed by Brad Furman and the independent drama Lane 1974 directed by S.J. Chiro. LEISHA HAILEY Alice Pieszecki LEISHA HAILEY grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska, and began acting at an early age, appearing in many local productions. Encouraged to pursue the craft, she earned admission to and graduated from the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Hailey made her film debut in Fine Line Features’ memorable 1997 independent feature All Over Me. She has appeared in many television shows (Silicon Valley, Bosch, Boy Meets World, CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Drop Dead Diva, The New Normal), but it was her breakout role as series regular Alice Pieszecki on The L Word® that gained her critical acclaim. Her passion for acting is matched by one for music. She recorded three albums for MCA/Universal Records with her first band, The Murmurs. Her most recent band, Uh Huh Her, has toured internationally and sold albums worldwide. JACQUELINE TOBONI (Sarah) Finley JACQUELINE TOBONI’s past television credits include three seasons of Joe Swanberg’s anthology series Easy and her role on Grimm as the beloved “Trubel.” Film credits include Marja-Lewis Ryan’s Liked, The Bygone opposite Shawn Hatosy and The Stand At Paxton County with Christopher McDonald. Her theater credits include Bugaboo And The Silent One and Three Sisters. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Toboni has also studied at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT), the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Movement Theatre in New York and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London. CAST BIOS LEO SHENG Micah Lee LEO SHENG grew up moving between multiple communities; adopted with two moms, one of the only Asian kids in his classes, always gender-non-conforming, and then coming out as trans. Born in Hunan, China and raised in a small city outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sheng felt a bit like an outsider. And he was, but he came to embrace it and eventually claim it. Sheng realized he was trans when he was 12 and began his social transition in middle school. With the support of a local group for queer and trans youth, he found a way to share his story in his own words. Sheng later went public, documenting his medical transition online through Instagram, Huffington Post articles and MTV Voices. Through openly sharing his journey on social media, opportunity knocked and he answered – people were listening. After an extensive search, Sheng was cast in the role of “Ethan” in the feature film Adam, official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, as well as L.A. OutFest and World Pride NYC: Stonewall 50. ARIENNE MANDI Dani Núñez A native of Los Angeles, ARIENNE MANDI is a talented, multiethnic actress who was drawn to the arts from a young age. She participated in various small stage productions throughout elementary and high school. After graduating, she went on to Santa Monica College and then UCLA, where she studied Communications, while still pursuing acting. Mandi was soon cast as the lead in the independent feature Baja, which was distributed theatrically by Gravitas Ventures. On the small screen, she has appeared on a number of series, including the CBS series Hawaii Five-0, NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. She will also star in the second season of the Go90 series In The Vault. Mandi is also an impressive polyglot, fluent in Spanish, French, Farsi and English. Mandi is most excited to share her work as the complicated Dani Núñez and is proud to represent the LGBTQIA community. ROSANNY ZAYAS Sophie Suarez ROSANNY ZAYAS is a graduate of Juilliard. She has appeared in recurring roles on Orange Is The New Black, The Code, Elementary and Instinct. On the film side, she was recently seen opposite Patricia Arquette and Angela Bassett in Cindy Chupack’s independent film, Otherhood, and she appears in Jonathan Lisecki’s upcoming indie film Modern Persuasion. On stage, Zayas has been seen in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Public Theater (Shakespeare in the Park) in New York. She recently performed the role of “Natasha” in the Roundabout Theater’s 29-Hour Reading of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters directed by Whitney White and spearheaded by Resident Director Sam Gold. CAST BIOS SEPIDEH MOAFI Gigi Ghorbani SEPIDEH MOAFI can currently be seen starring as “Loretta” in the critically-acclaimed series The Deuce, created by The Wire’s David Simon and George Pelecanos and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco. Previously, Moafi appeared as “Alexis Simmons” in the second season of Falling Water, as well as television producer “Megan Byrd” on Notorious. She has also guest starred on Nurse Jackie, The Blacklist and Limitless. On film, Moafi is seen opposite Dash Mihok in Santiago Rizzo’s Quest, which debuted at Sundance, and in Robert Machoian’s upcoming film, The Killing Of Two Lovers. In addition to her on-screen performances, Moafi has graced stages all over the world. Most recently, she starred in Marisa Michelson and Jason Grote’s One Thousand Nights And One Day at ART/NY Mezzanine Theater. Other stage roles include “Rosalind” in As You Like It and “Juliet” in Romeo & Juliet.