Marja-Lewis Ryan - “Generation Q: Talking TV Lesbian Evolution with the Showrunner of the New L Word”

Lesbian representation on television has come a long way since TV’s first same-sex kiss between two women, on a 1991 episode of NBC’s L.A. Law. Just look at Ellen DeGeneres in 1997, whose simultaneous sitcom and real-life coming-out made headlines around the globe (including the cover of Time magazine), and Ellen in 2019, TV’s ruling daytime queen and go-to host for feel-good, family-friendly programming. In the intervening decades, depictions of female-female attraction and intimacy ranged from coy (Friends’ Carol and Susan have a wedding -- but don’t kiss) to ratings stunts (“The One with Rachel’s Big Kiss” is an actual episode title). In 2004, Showtime premiered the first television series centering on an ensemble of gay women. It was a landmark show but like any trailblazer, an imperfect one that often cracked under the burden of authentically representing a diverse and marginalized community. Fifteen years later, the L Word is back, and the Rebeccas chat with its new showrunner, Marja-Lewis Ryan, on how the Generation Q revival builds upon (and in some cases, rectifies) the legacy of its predecessor.