More than 20 years after the original legal blonde One of the most beloved comedies of all time, Prime Video is taking fans back to where it all started. Spoilers for the light series will follow.
Instead of following Elle Woods down the halls of Harvard Law School, Elle Rewind the clock to 1995. At the time, everyone’s favorite future lawyer was just trying to survive high school in Seattle. Long before she proves everyone wrong in court, she navigates awkward friendships, first loves, family drama, and yes, some questionable fashion choices.
This coming-of-age series explores how Elle, who audiences fell in love with in the original film, became the relentlessly optimistic and fiercely caring woman. While she’s still unmistakably Elle, the prequel introduces viewers to a younger version of the character who doesn’t necessarily have all the answers.
The series stars Lexi Minnettree as the teenage Elle Woods, and June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott as her parents, Ava and Wyatt Woods. Elle’s high school world is completed by her classmates, played by Gabriel Policano and Chandler Kinney.zombie), Jacob Moskowitz, Zack Rucker, and Amy Peets, as well as Jessica Belkin, Daniel Chand, Matt Oberg, Chloe Wepper, Logan Schroyer, Sharon Taylor, David Burtka, Brad Harder, Kayla Maisonet, Lisa Yamada, and James Van Der Beek in recurring roles.
It is created by Laura Kittrell and co-showrun with Caroline Dries. Elle ‘ is executive produced by Kittrell, Dries, Lauren Neustadter, and Reese Witherspoon, who first brought Elle Woods to life more than 20 years ago and made her a pop culture icon.
Elle Woods was always a girl and gay thing
For many LGBTQ+ fans, Elle Woods was more than just a movie character. She was an icon.
“Elle Woods is for girls and gays,” Minnetree told Gayety. “What inspires her is how fiercely she is herself, even in circumstances where she looks different from others. She embraces her own style…but she always has a core of herself.”
She says that’s exactly why queer audiences have connected with Elle for so long.
“I feel like a lot of the queer community, it’s also a big part of accepting who you are, owning that, and not caring if you’re different.”
Minetree also couldn’t help but remind everyone of another beloved member. legal blonde Family tree.
“It’s standard knowledge that Bruiser is also gay,” she said with a laugh, referring to Elle’s iconic Chihuahua.
Her castmates quickly joined in.
“Bruiser is so gay,” Policano joked.
“He’s the best ally,” everyone agreed. A gay and vegetarian Gemini Chihuahua? Bruiser Woods has always been that dog.
No tragic coming out stories here
One of the biggest additions is the legal blonde The universe features queer characters whose lives don’t revolve solely around their sexuality.
Policano plays Liz, one of the first students Elle tries to befriend, and is one of the openly queer characters on the show.
“I don’t think that’s a spoiler,” she laughed. “As soon as you see her, you think, ‘Oh, this person is a lesbian.’
For Policano, portraying Liz meant giving queer audiences something refreshingly normal.
“I made sure to sit down with the showrunners and say, ‘This is not going to be a tragic gay story,'” she said. “Those are really important. We also need to express that gay people who are not just grieving about being gay, but who have other things going on, are gay and living their lives.”
She hopes young viewers will recognize themselves in Liz.
“My dream is for people to watch the show, pause, and think, ‘I’m about to come out to my parents in their living room.'”
Queer representation starts behind the camera
That authenticity starts with the people who make the show.
Kittrell revealed that Elle Woods, who grew up as the only openly gay teenager in her small-town high school, became unexpectedly personal.
“When I saw this movie… even though I wasn’t necessarily someone like Elle Woods… the fact that she was so resilient and confident and that she never doubted herself, even though people had problems with her, was a big message to me.”
Television became one of the places she found community, and she wanted to pass that on to a new generation.
“Television and movies were very important to me. In fact, I think that’s the only reason I was able to come out,” Kittrell said. “Whenever I’m working on a show about teenagers, there’s always going to be a queer character in it. I promise you that.”
Doris said one of her favorite moments this season was when Elle realized one of her new friends was gay.
“I knew it would be a pivotal moment in defining the character of Elle,” she said. “Her reaction to it is so Elle and you really fall in love with the character.”
She also teased that Elle’s famously questionable “gaydar” would become a recurring joke throughout the series.
“One of the most fun lines in the story is her bad gaydar,” Dries laughed, hinting that fans should keep watching to see if it improves in the end.
Kindness never goes out of style
meanwhile Elle Delivering plenty of nostalgia, fashion and early ’90s glamour, cast members say the show’s biggest takeaway is the same lessons audiences learned from the original film.
be yourself.
“I think the core of this show is showing that being yourself unapologetically and unashamed is actually a really beautiful thing,” Kinney said.
Raphael echoed that sentiment and explained why Elle continues to resonate decades later.
“They’re very feminine, they’re into pink and fashion and makeup and hair, and they can be very smart,” she says. “It’s a basic concept, but unfortunately it was very important at the time the movie was released, and it’s probably just as important now.”
Because after all, it’s always been magic legal blonde. It’s about believing in yourself when no one else does. And that’s a lesson that never goes out of style.
first season Elle Now available on Prime Video.
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
