This truly iconic LGBTQ+ TV show is back on streaming

Sandrine Holt (left), who plays Katherine Rothberg in “The L Word,” kisses Helena Peabody, who plays Rachel Shelley (Showtime)

Truly iconic LGBTQ+ TV shows L word ‘ is now available to stream once again, and there’s no doubt that longtime fans and newcomers alike are rejoicing.

Amazon Prime customers can currently rewatch all five seasons of the upcoming series, at least in the UK. L word – More than 20 years since it first hit TV screens on Showtime.

This legendary lesbian series focuses on a group of then-trendy lesbian and bisexual women living in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, who experience all kinds of romantic and personal drama over the course of the series.

From lothario Shane (Katherine Moennig) to secret tennis player Dana (Erin Daniels) to Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman), a seven-year married couple who just moved in with boyfriend Jenny (Mia Kirshner) in hopes of having a baby. L word The film was very progressive for its time in presenting a wide range of stories about the lives of queer women.

Selection subject There is a particular emphasis on romantic dramas, as many of the series follow the love lives of the characters and their various relationships with different women and with each other. No spoilers here, I say through gritted teeth, but some combinations are definitely… better than others.

This intricate map of the romantic and sexual connections of the women on the show gave rise to the infamous “chart.” This chart was created in the first episode by Alice, who learns how closed off the lesbian community in Los Angeles really is. Basically, if you’ve slept with someone, you probably know someone who has slept with them.

Having said that, L word In many ways, it hasn’t aged well enough, especially how the show handled bisexuality and its only transgender character, Max (Daniel Sy).

Throughout the series, there are many derogatory comments about bisexual women by characters, which can pretty much be summed up as telling bisexual people to pick a side.

Max’s character was also subjected to a lot of transphobic comments, not to mention writing that clearly didn’t understand how to truly represent a trans man’s transition at the time.

Although his character later returned briefly in the show’s reboot, L words: Q generationwhere he is finally shown to be happy and prosperous.

See spoke about returning to the show and the writers’ attempts to right the original series’ wrongs when it came to transgender representation. indie wire There were “very problematic aspects to the story”, which he tried to point out, but “as an actor at the time, I had very little, if any, influence on his storyline.”

Mr. Umi also said LA Times: “I was so happy to see Max happy and to see his story be a story and experience of redemption, because he continues to live on like these characters.

“Especially because he was one of the first recurring trans characters on television and definitely the first recurring transmasculine cast member.

“Debut characters like Max live on in people’s imaginations and hearts, and I don’t know of any other example of this kind of restorative storytelling for a trans character in TV’s past.

“It was very cathartic for me to have this opportunity to revisit this character in such a restorative way. … It was a healing experience.”

At the time, See added an example of a “restorative gesture” from the show’s creator, Irene Chaiken, and added that this could be “another historic first in filmmaking.”

“This opens up a lot of potential for healing through stories in a metaverse-like way,” Shi explained.

Hilary Mitchell previously wrote in Pink News about the show’s legacy: L word I was completely turned off because I was too white, too Cisco, too privileged. It was very difficult to see a group of women on screen whose lives didn’t revolve around a man. Instead, they spent their time partying and fingering each other on balconies, making us all want to move to a version of West Hollywood where you can apparently rent a fancy house with a pool on a hairdresser’s salary. ”

Subscribers can watch L word on Amazon Prime TV here.