The L Word Spin-Off Takes Place in Prison
Leisha Hailey
File this under "Is he serious?"
Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's entertainment president, finally lifted the lid on the much-talked-about The L Word spin-off. The big secret: It takes place in the slammer!
"One of the characters from The L Word goes to prison," he reports. Wait, who? It's Leisha Hailey's sweetie-pie Alice, who apparently finds herself on the wrong side of the law some time between now and the lesbian drama's series finale. Though the cast of the new show, which is reportedly titled The Farm, includes a few lesbians, Greenblatt reports that it's a large cast of many different types of women, like "a female Oz" -- a reference to HBO's scary prison drama -- "but not as dark," he said.
He also mentioned three high-profile guest stars who appear in the pilot, and may continue as series regulars: Melissa Leo (Frozen River), Famke Janssen (the X-Men movies), and Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne).
The first episode of the final season of The L Word (Sunday, 9 pm/ET, Showtime) begins with a shocking scene that reveals that Mia Kirshner's Jenny has been murdered. Series creator Ilene Chaiken said killing off Jenny made sense since "[she] has provoked so many people over the years. She's the character that so many people love to hate." From that point, the season flashes back three months, culminating in the discovery of Jenny's murderer. When asked if that means that Alice is the murderer, Chaiken said, a bit cagily: "That's a complicated question. The two [shows] stand alone separately, but should the spin-off get picked up as a series, then yes, it will." It's also important to note that Showtime promotional material seems to indicate that someone will take a fall for a friend.
What do you think? Is a "women in prison" drama the next logical step after a "lesbians in love" drama?
Watch full episodes of The L Word in our Online Video Guide