'The L Word: Generation Q' Canceled by Showtime — Is the Franchise Headed to New York?
Mar. 24 2023, Published 5:33 p.m. ET
Say it isn’t so! After three seasons on Showtime, The L Word: Generation Q has been canceled.
The L Word sequel premiered in December 2019 and welcomed back several of its former stars — Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey — as their characters from the beloved early 2000s show. Following its first season, fans became invested in the lives of newer characters who represented other versions of LGBTQ experiences.
The L Word: Generation Q’s cancellation came just two months after the show wrapped its third season, and no one knew it would be the last one.
So, why was The L Word: Generation Q canceled? Here’s the scoop.
Why was ‘The L Word: Generation Q’ canceled? The series ended with multiple cliffhangers.
On Thursday, March 23, Deadline confirmed that Showtime chose to part ways with The L Word: Generation Q. The series was reportedly part of several other shows on the network that haven’t been renewed yet, including hits like Yellowjackets and The Chi.
Showtime also reportedly canceled The L Word: Generation Q to make room for the network’s merger with Paramount Plus. The union, expected to commence in 2023, will bring Showtime into Paramount Plus “across both streaming and linear later this year and be renamed as Paramount+ with Showtime,” per Deadline.
For fans, the L Word demise marks yet another series that ended with a few loose ends. While we got to see OG couple Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) reunite and have a #tibette wedding, The L Word will never answer other questions from Season 3.
Some of The L Word's cliffhangers include Tess’s (Jamie Clayton) whereabouts, Sophie’s love connection with Bette’s ex Pippa Pascal (Vanessa L. Williams) at Bette’s wedding, and Shane still not getting it quite right in the love department. Fortunately, a new group of friends may be entering the L Word universe with a different area code.
Showtime is reportedly developing ‘The L Word: New York’ as a reboot of the 2004 series.
Before viewers even began mourning The L Word: Generation Q, Deadline reported that the series has apparently already received the reboot treatment … again.
The outlet’s writer, Nellie Andreeva, said she had inside information confirming that The L Word’s creator Ilene Chaiken is in talks of developing another iteration of the series — this time on the East Coast. The writer reported that the franchise’s “working title” is The L Word: New York.
Deadline also stressed that The L Word is a reboot of the first series, which ran from 2004 until 2009. The original series focused mainly on women who identified as lesbians and was often criticized for overlooking queer people of color and other members of the LGBTQ community.
So far, no one from The L Word or Generation Q has confirmed if they will or will not join the reboot. However, several cast members expressed their feelings about The L Word: Generation Q’s cancellation. Rosany Zayas posted several BTS photos of her time on the show. The Sophie actor captioned the post with, “Nothing but love, respect, and absolute gratitude. Thank you. 🙏🏽”
Kate Moennig, who played Shane for eight seasons total, took to her Instagram stories to pay homage to her iconic character.
“Shane, it was an absolute pleasure to see you again,” Kate said above a photo of her in a trailer. “You will always mean more to me than just being a sex addict who doesn’t know anything about monogamy.”
We’ll sorely miss The L Word: Generation Q and will be looking out for The L Word: New York, or whatever Showtime calls it!
