(Photo by: Nicole Wilder/Showtime)
Showtime has cancelled The L Word: Generation Q, so there won’t be a fourth season. However, the franchise may continue with a new series.
A drama series, The L Word: Generation Q TV show is a sequel to The L Word series, which ran on the same channel from 2004-2009. This incarnation was created by Kathy Greenberg, Michele Abbott, and original series creator Ilene Chaiken. It stars Jennifer Beals, Jordan Hull, Jacqueline Toboni, Rosanny Zayas, Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, Sepideh Moafi, Kate Moennig, Jamie Clayton, and Leisha Hailey. Season three guests include Kehlani and Fletcher, Margaret Cho, Joanna Cassidy, Joey Lauren Adams, Laurel Holloman, Jillian Mercado, Simon Longnight, Rosie O’Donnell, and Donald Faison. The current iteration follows the intermingled lives of Bette Porter (Beals), Shane McCutcheon (Moennig), Alice Pieszecki (Hailey), Dani Nùñez (Mandi), Micah Lee (Sheng), Sarah Finley (Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Zayas), Gigi Ghorbani (Moafi), and Angelica Porter-Kennard (Hull) as they experience love, heartbreak, setbacks, and success in Los Angeles.
The third season of The L Word: Generation Q averaged approximately a 0.01 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 67,000 viewers. Compared to season two, that’s even in the demo and down by 16% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM). Note: Because this show’s ratings are quite low, there are gaps in our ratings data.
The third season finished airing in January. The ratings were quite low and, as Deadline points out, no Showtime series have been renewed since it was announced that the cable channel will be integrated into the Paramount+ streaming service. Showtime will be rebranded as “Paramount+ with Showtime” across both streaming and linear platforms.
Deadline reports that Showtime and Chaiken are developing a reboot of the original series. The working title is The L Word: New York. The news fits with Showtime’s newly revealed strategy of creating new series connected to preexisting and popular properties like Dexter and Billions.
What do you think? Have you kept up with The L Word: Generation Q series? Are you sad this drama hasn’t been renewed for a fourth season? Would you watch a reboot of the original?