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ABOUT

Introduction

The SHOWTIME Original Series, THE L WORD, is about a group of young women in Los Angeles, their lives, careers, and romantic relationships - both gay and straight.

Jenny Schecter (MIA KIRSHNER) is a gifted young writer of fiction who has just graduated from college and arrives in Los Angeles to begin her "adult life" with her boyfriend - soon to be fiancé - Tim Haspel (ERIC MABIUS). Tim and Jenny reside in West Hollywood, next door to Bette Porter (JENNIFER BEALS) and her partner Tina Kennard (LAUREL HOLLOMAN). Bette and Tina have been a couple for seven years and are trying to find the perfect sperm donor to help them start a family as they struggle with their relationship. Bette's and Tina's close network of friends includes Shane McCutcheon (KATHERINE MOENNIG), who is the resident heartthrob; Dana Fairbanks (ERIN DANIELS), a professional tennis player not yet out of the closet; bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki (LEISHA HAILEY); and Bette's half-sister Kit Porter (PAM GRIER), who is a musician and a recovering alcoholic. In the two-hour pilot, Jenny's plans for her future are shaken when Marina (KARINA LOMBARD), a beautiful and compelling woman who owns a West Hollywood café, makes a pass at her at a party hosted by Bette and Tina. Amid denial and confusion, Jenny starts to question her sexual orientation and her love for Tim. Her attraction to Marina is powerful and ultimately irresistible. Meanwhile, Bette and Tina, stunned at how difficult it is to find a suitable sperm donor, attempt to seduce a handsome, young artist on the night that Tina is about to ovulate. The seduction attempt fails, but the encounter does serve to rekindle, at least momentarily, Bette's and Tina's passion for each other.

(Introduction thanks to Showtime.com)

Filming Locations

West Hollywood, California, USA
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Show Tidbits

• Originally cast for the role of Tim Haspel was Scott Bairstow, but he was replaced by Eric Mabius soon after allegations of sexual assault on a minor were made against him in 2003 (he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second degree assault on 9 December 2003).
• The show's tagline in the United States was: "Same sex. Different City," referring to a popular HBO series, Sex and the City which focuses around a group of straight women living in New York City.
• The show was originally titled "Earthlings"
• The L Word premiered in America on January 18th, 2004.
• Out of the cast, Leisha Hailey (who plays Alice) is the only openly gay member.
• Lisa Gay Hamilton was originally cast as Candace (the carpenter Bette gets involved with) but she was later re-written as a different character. You can catch a glimpse of her in Season One, Episode 107: Losing It.
• Although they are not displayed, all episode titles begin with the letter "L".

The Actors

JENNIFER BEALS (Bette Porter) began her career after graduation from high school when she auditioned for "Flashdance," resulting in a role which earned her a Golden Globe® nomination, and an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress. In recent years, Beals has had starring roles in a myriad of films, including "The Anniversary Party," "Twilight of the Golds," "The Last Days of Disco," "Roger Dodger," "In the Soup," "Four Rooms," "Vampire's Kiss," "Doctor M.," "Caro Diario," "The Madonna and the Dragon," "Catch That Girl," and "Runaway Jury."

LAUREL HOLLOMAN (Tina Kennard) began her career as a stage actress in New York. She has appeared in more than 20 feature films, including "Boogie Nights," "Prefontaine," "Committed," "The Incredible True Adventures of Two Girls in Love," "The Myth of Fingerprints," "Lush," "Cherry," "Loving Jezebel" and, most recently, the lead role in the WWII coming-of-age film, "The Rising Place." Besides THE L WORD, Holloman had a recurring role as a tough and sexy vampire slayer on the series "Angel."

MIA KIRSHNER (Jenny Schecter) began her acting career at age 17, playing a clairvoyant dominatrix in "Love and Human Remains." Kirshner was recently seen in "Not Another Teen Movie," "Century Hotel" and "Now and Forever." Other film credits include "Exotica," "The Grass Harp," "Mad City," "The Crow: City of Angels," "Saturn," "Spencer," "Dark Summer," "Anna Karenina," and "Murder in the First." Her other television credits include "24," where she portrayed mysterious would-be presidential assassin 'Mandy.'

ERIC MABIUS (Tim Haspel) was born and raised on the East Coast and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. He has starred in more than a dozen films, including "Resident Evil," "Welcome to the Dollhouse," "The Crow III: Salvation," "Cruel Intentions," and "Lawn Dogs." Among his previous television credits are lead roles in "Extreme Team," and "Harvest of Fire," and guest roles on "Fastlane" and "Chicago Hope."

KARINA LOMBARD (Marina Ferrer) moved to Barcelona at an early age, then lived throughout Europe and later in New York where she began modeling, dancing and acting. She has appeared on stage in "Uncle Vanya," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Summer and Smoke," "M. Butterfly," "Joan of Arc," "Betrayal" and "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea." Lombard has also been seen in the films "The Firm," "Legends of the Fall," "Last Man Standing," and "Wide Sargasso Sea."

KATHERINE MOENNIG (Shane McCutcheon) has most recently appeared in the feature films "The Shipping News," "Love The Hard Way" and "Invitation to a Suicide." Her television credits include the series "Young Americans," "Law & Order" and the lead actress in the music video "Is Anybody Home" for the band Our Lady Peace. On stage, she has appeared in "As You like It," "Comedy of Art," The Theory of Total Blame" and "Morning in the City" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

ERIN DANIELS (Dana Fairbanks) recently heated up the screen in "One Hour Photo" as Michael Vartan's mistress and starrred in Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses." She also wrapped up a recurring role on the critically acclaimed NBC series "Boomtown" and was seen in guest starring roles on such series as "Law & Order" "Dellaventura," "Action," "The Outer Limits," "Philly," and "Jack & Jill." In addition to her television work, Daniels has also appeared in the films "The Chill Factor" and "Wheelmen."

LEISHA HAILEY (Alice Pieszecki) is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has appeared on television and in independent films ("All Over Me"), but her focus to date has been on music. As one of the pop-rock duo The Murmurs, she recorded three albums for MCA Records during the 90s, and is now a member of the LA-based band Gush, whose first album will be released in 2004. She makes her television series debut with THE L WORD.

PAM GRIER (Kit Porter) began her acting career and achieved fame in the early 1970's when she starred in a series of films including "Coffy," "Foxy Brown," and "Sheba Baby." In the 1990's, she made an impact as the title character in "Jackie Brown," and was honored with Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild, and NAACP nominations. Grier's feature film credits include "Holy Smoke," "In Too Deep," and "Snow Days." She was recently seen starring in the telefilm "First to Die."

SARAH SHAHI (Carmen) is originally from Dallas, Texas and moved to Los Angeles in 2000. As a member of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, she had a chance meeting with Robert Altman (who was in town shooting "Dr. T and The Women") at the Cowboy Ranch. Altman encouraged her to move to Los Angeles and pursue acting. In 2000 she graced the cover of the infamous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Calendar and embarked on a USO tour to entertain the troops in Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Italy. Shahi appeared in the feature film "Old School" as well as the television series "Dawson's Creek," "Frasier" and "Alias."

RACHEL SHELLEY (Helena) hails from England, where she has appeared on television, film and in the theater. For her performance in the Academy Award®-nominated film "Lagaan," she was nominated for a Zee Cine Award (Indian Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress. This brought her to the attention of American audiences. Her other credits include "Seeing Other People" and the Britishmovies "Sparkling," "Cyanide" and "Cruise of the Gods." When Shelley is not working, she makes her home in London.

 

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