However, the franchise may continue on the network. The L Word: New York (working title), a reboot of the groundbreaking original series, is in development, with 2004 series creator Ilene Chaiken reportedly involved in some way.
The L Word: Generation Q's cancellation comes two months after the series' third season ended. Since announcing in January that the premium cable network will be integrated into Paramount+ for both streaming and linear later this year and rebranded as Paramount+ with Showtime, no Showtime series has been renewed.
Since Chris McCarthy took over Showtime after David Nevins left in October, programming has been reevaluated. Let the Right One In and American Gigolo were both canceled after one season. Showtime also chose not to continue with the new series Three Women, which ended up with Starz and another new series, Ripley, moved to Netflix. The new comedy series I Love That for You is the latest Showtime series whose fate is up in the air. Sources report there is an internal push to get the well-received series extended.
The L Word: Generation Q seemed to fit McCarthy's plan when he first revealed it at the time of Yellowjackets' revamp in December, "to lean into Showtime's strengths and focus on three key areas that have defined the brand: complex and subversive anti-heroes like Dexter and Yellowjackets, powerful, high-stakes worlds like Homeland and Billions, and unconventional cultural angles like The L Word and The Chi - all with a view to making the biggest hits possible and building them into hit franchises, as we've done very successfully across the business."
While The L Word was no longer mentioned when the plan was explained by McCarthy a month later, and the upcoming Fellow Travelers was listed alongside The Chi, it is one of Showtime's best-known original titles, and exploring franchises and original titles is a primary focus. focus of the network's new programming strategy.
The reboot of The L Word: New York (working title) joins the recently announced developments of two other well-known Showtime series, Billions and Dexter.
Created by Chaiken, the sequel to the original The L Word series follows the intertwining lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey), Shane McCutcheon (Kate Moennig), Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas), Gigi Ghorbani (Sepideh Moafi), Angie Porter-Kennard (Jordan Hull) and Tess (Jamie Clayton) as they explore love, heartbreak, sex, misadventures and success experienced in L.A.
Season three of The L Word: Generation Q was produced by showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan, along with Chaiken, Kristen Campo, Allyce Ozarski, Melody Derloshon, and Beals, Moennig, and Hailey.
In addition to the original series, which ran for six seasons, and Generation Q, the L Word franchise also includes the reality spin-off series The Real L Word and the documentary film L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin.