Showtime Cancels Revival of Original Series After Three Seasons, Reveals New Reboot
The L Word: Generation Q will not return for a fourth season. Two months after the series aired its Season 3 finale, several outlets reported Thursday that the sequel to the original groundbreaking series has been canceled at Showtime, the streamer instead eyeing a new reboot set in New York.
At this time, the show's reported cancellation has not been confirmed by the premium television network, though both Deadline and Variety reported the news. The L Word: Generation Q premiered in December 2019 as a sequel series to The L Word, which aired on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. The show followed a group of LGBTQ characters – both old and new – as they navigated their lives in Los Angeles. Jennifer Beals returned as Bette Porter, along with Leisha Hailey as Alice Pieszecki and Katherine Moennig as Shane McCutcheon. The new cast features Arienne Mandi as Dani Nunez, Leo Sheng as Micah Lee, Jacqueline Toboni as Finley, Rosanny Zayas as Sophie Suarez and Sepideh Moafi as Gigi. Although viewership date for the series is not available, Generation Q received mostly positive reviews, with an overall audience score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it certified fresh.
Showtime's reported decision not to move forward with a new season of Generation Q follows the January announcement that Showtime and Paramount+ will merge. Paramount Global announced the premium cable network will be rebranded as "Paramount+ with Showtime" as part of a massive change that will bring the two brands together in the streaming world. Chris McCarthy will lead the Showtime studio and oversee linear channel operations, and the premium cable network is expected to focus on originals with "franchise potential" as he looks to cut costs at the cabler. Tom Ryan will oversee Paramount+ with Showtime's streaming business.
The announcement has come with a major impact to Showtime's content. Immediately following the announcement, a number of titles on Showtime were purged, with both Let the Right One In and American Gigolo being canceled after just a single season. Three Women was also canceled, though it moved to Starz. Since the January announcement, no Showtime series has been renewed.
Showtime has not confirmed The L Word: Generation Q's cancellation at this time. The network also hasn't commented on the reported New York-based reboot. Deadline reported that the reboot, which has a working title of The L Word: New York, is in development with the 2004 series' creator Ilene Chaiken expected to be involved in some capacity. No further information is available at this time.