Pop Culture Fix: Ryan Murphy’s New Show “Pose” Will Feature an Astonishing 50+ LGBT Characters

It’s the last Pop Culture Fix of 2017! I hope you’re enjoying these year-end lists we’re making for you, lots of women smoochin’ on each other in there. It’s a very slow news week out here, but I did find a link or two you might enjoy. Stay safe on New Year’s Eve and remember to hydrate, my precious lambs.


Did you watch The Doctor regenerate into Jodie Whittaker on Christmas Day (with a special guest appearance by Bill Potts)? I sure did!

TVLine has the first sneak peek of black-ish’s spin-off grown-ish, which lands on Freeform on February 3rd.

FX has picked up Ryan Murphy’s Pose, a dance-musical drama about the ’80s LGBT subculture called “ball culture.” Get this: In the first eight-episode season the show will feature “the most trans series regular actors ever in an American television production” and 50+ LGBT characters, which is also a record. Sources suggest the lead characters will be four trans women of color and one gay man of color. According to Jezebel, Janet Mock and Our Lady J will be in the writers’ room and the trans actors involved include “MJ Rodriguez (previously of Nurse Jackie and Luke Cage), Angelica Ross (Transparent) Hailie Sahar (has appeared on Mr. Robot), Indya Moore, and Dominique Jackson.” And according to the press release I just got: “In conjunction with Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative, the series will be bringing on emerging transgender directors to be mentored through his Directing Mentorship Program.”

LOOK WHO GOT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.

The new trailer for that super straight show Grace and Frankie is here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKMC6HViGTM

Carrie Brownstein is back for one more trip around the Portland sun.

https://twitter.com/carrie_rachel/status/945701206713700352

Some details and exclusive pics of the Roseanne revival, including your pal Sara Gilbert.

Laneia mentioned this in this week’s AAA but I want to give it another shout out because it’s fascinating: FiveThirtyEight has introduced a new Bechdel Test.

The Last Jedi’s Laura Dern on answering to ‘Space Dern’ and getting LGBTQ characters into the ‘Star Wars’ universe

If you love Steven Universe and especially if you love Rainbow Quartz, watch this.

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1719 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. I’m sad to see it’s the last season of Portlandia. Really wish they did another two season to at least forget about the outside world some more.

  2. I was going to comment that “Glee/AHS/etc also had about 50+ queer characters, what makes this Ryan Murphy show any better than all the other terrible ones that gave us such hope before mercilessly ripping it away” and then you immediately answered that question by explaining that Janet Mock and Our Lady J are going to be writers and there will actually be trans directors. Oh my god, Ryan Murphy has actually learned something?! I’m actually EXCITED to watch a Ryan Murphy show!? It’s a Christmas/Hannukah miracle!

    In all seriousness though, Ryan Murphy better have NOTHING to do with this show other than sticking his name on it in order to give it the publicity push that it needs. A cis white man elevating the voices of trans people of colour and then getting out of way to let them do the work is an incredible thing. I just really, really hope he can follow through on that promise. I’m really looking forward to everything AS is gonna write about this show.

    • yeah I am finding myself less nervous about what he’ll do with the show than I am about whether or not people will tune in! hopefully they will and it’ll develop a passionate following that’ll transcend ratings, like Transparent (which doesn’t get great ratings but is a critical darling and fan favorite.)

      I think Glee only makes it 50+ if you count the trans choir — Glee only had Santana, Brittani, Kurt, Blaine, Dani, Unique, Coach Beastie, Quinn, Sebastian, Karofsky, Adam Lambert, the gay teacher, and like the 3 or 4 filler gay boys that came along the way. so like maybe 20 at most counting guest characters.

      btw i’m really good at glee trivia

  3. I was nervous about grown-ish after seeing the backdoor pilot but it feels like they’ve really come to understand the show they want to make and everything I’ve seen since has me excited for the show’s debut next week!

  4. I hate that Ryan Murphy keeps making shit that I want to watch. ARGH! I dislike him SO SO much. Fingers crossed he actually gets it right this time………….honestly I have low expectations. But that lineup of writers and actors sounds really good……….so many competing emotions on this one…

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