Bette Porter in her power suit and cuff links.
Photo: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SHOWTIME
If you’re incredibly straight or haven’t watched TV in 15 years, the name “Jennifer Beals” probably makes you think of Flashdance, her star-making role as a steel-mill-dwelling dancer with a perennially ripped sweatshirt. If you’re queer, however, you’ll instantly picture Bette Porter, the self-sabotaging, power-suit-sporting, gallery-owning top who once brought Alice Piazecki to orgasm at the opera. Though Beals has nearly 90 TV and movie credits to her name, she cemented herself as a lesbian icon back in 2004, when she strutted onto Showtime’s The L Word and, over the course of six seasons, engaged in a dramatic psychosexual tango with her longtime partner Tina (Laurel Holloman), supported and aggressively judged her group of lesbian friends in equal measure, slept with multiple women who worked for her, grinded up against a jail-cell wall out of sexual frustration, had a baby, bought a gallery, and hosted a pool party that ended in suspected murder.
Though the The L Word was an incredible, game-changing look at girls in tight dresses who dragged with mustaches, it ultimately ended like a lot of Bette Porter’s sexual relationships: quite poorly. Even creator Ilene Chaiken herself openly regrets the series’ conclusion. Fortunately, Beals and her cohort will get a chance to set things gay again with The L Word: Generation Q, a reboot of the series that premieres December 8 on Showtime. The new season sees the return of Bette, Alice (Leisha Hailey), and Shane (Kate Moennig), plus a handful of new cast members and the promise of a course-correct that fans have been waiting on for over a decade.
In the first episode of Generation Q, we’re reintroduced to the central three: Bette is now running for mayor of Los Angeles for a mysterious personal reason, but she is plagued by a scandal dredged up from her past; Alice is hosting a gay talk show and dating someone new (WHERE IS TASHA?); and Shane is now internationally famous, but she recently sold her hair-salon empire, also for … mysterious personal reasons. Before Generation Q’s much-anticipated premiere, Beals called up Vulture to talk about the new show, Bette’s evolution, and how she defines her own sexuality after living inside of Bette’s extremely gay brain for so long. But first, we had to do a deep dive into the intricacies of the original L Word.
When was the last time you watched the original series?
Oh, wow. When we were preparing, we started to go over old episodes.
Any specific moments that stood out to you on the latest watch?
There were things that I didn’t remember! There’s a trailer for Generation Q where Bette’s in a bar with Shane and Alice, and I throw the shot glass over my shoulder. Somebody said, “Oh, you know, Bette would never do that.” And I said, “Yeah, actually, I would!” Kate chimed in and said, “Not only would she do it; she’s really done it in another episode from early on.” And I was like, “Oh my goodness, yeah, there was that moment where I wasn’t gonna have a shot.”
I remember that, too. I think it was at Jenny’s party.
There are so many instances where I’m like, “This feels familiar, but I’m not sure why,” and then I go back and I revisit the show and I go, “Oh, that’s why. Because that happened.” I feel like it’s in my DNA now.
Does the original series hold up on rewatch? Are there things that made you cringe or made you excited to remember doing?
The things that made me really excited to see were the friendships. These women’s friendships were so potent and joyful. And that was really the broader appeal of the show — the L stood for “love” as well as “lesbians.”
When you think back on the experience of filming it, what’s the first memory that pops into your mind?
I just start laughing. The minute you asked me that question, I just started smiling. We just laughed so hard. Especially when all of us were together at the Planet, I really always felt for the director, because it’d be like wrangling cats. We always had a terrific time. We had a very supportive crew up in Vancouver and fantastic directors who by and large were independent filmmakers encouraged to bring their own vision to the show, unlike many TV shows, where they’re a gun for hire. And it was a joy.
Who have you kept in touch with over the years?
Certainly I’ve kept in touch with Kate and Leisha, and we’ve talked quite a bit, obviously, about bringing the show back. Once we found out that the show was being talked about pretty consistently on social media, we realized there’s an appetite. When we went off the air was right when Twitter was starting. I remember Kara Swisher telling me, “There’s this thing called Twitter and you’re really gonna want to get on it, it’s 180 characters …” And I was like, “This sounds insane. Why would I do that? It doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t I send somebody an email?” [Laughs.] But woe to the person who disregards Kara Swisher’s advice.
This is a big question, but how did the show change your life?
Oh my gosh. In so many ways. First and foremost, it brought into my life a group of friends who are like family to me. Ilene, Kate, and Leisha are really like my family. It also introduced me to a group of activists who never cease to amaze me with their intelligence and dedication. Up until that time, I was really like a hermit. It’s not easy, necessarily, for me to be in a group of people that I don’t know, much less standing up and speaking out for certain things that I believe in. By virtue of being in proximity to these extraordinary people, they’ve helped me find my voice.
What’s an example of how you’ve been encouraged to use your voice?
When the protests were happening with the water protectors at Standing Rock, I went down there twice. The second time I went down there, they were throwing everybody off of the site and threatening to shut down the camp. I said to my husband, “I have to go there, because I have to make it so there’s one more body that they have to deal with. And one more body who has a little bit of a platform.” So I got on a plane and went. I don’t know that I could’ve done that without [the L Word community]. I hadn’t seen that modeled in my own life.
To get back to The L Word: What frustrates you the most about Bette as a character, and what do you love most about her?
Oh my God. I mean, sometimes she just doesn’t learn the lesson. It’s incredible. It’s like, she’s on this never-ending wheel, like a hamster. [Laughs.] She just keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over again. What I love about her is that she’s actually very big-hearted and unapologetic about her agency and her will.
What reminds you the most of yourself?
Our vulnerability. For sure.
Has playing her changed you on a personality level?
It really laid a pathway for me. She really laid the pathway for a whole host of other characters that I played who are very comfortable in their authority and in their will. Namely, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department for Chicago Code, which I’m pretty sure came right after The L Word. And she really set the groundwork for me to play Margo Taft [on The Last Tycoon], which was my favorite character I’ve ever played.
I have a personal opinion on this, which I won’t share until you do, but: Do you think Bette and Tina are meant to be together?
Oh gosh! [Laughs.] I can’t answer that question.
I always felt like Bette was too good for Tina, to be honest with you.
[Laughs loudly.] Ohhhh my God. You just pissed off a whole bunch of people. Somewhere, a band of them is very upset with you.
I have to live my truth. I just rewatched the whole series this summer, and something that struck me is that you were one of the only cast members who never did any nudity, which is especially interesting on a show where you had so many sex scenes. What was behind that choice?
Well, I have a rider that says, “I’m not doing any nudity.” I don’t think you need it necessarily to do the story. And frankly, when people think back to the first iteration of The L Word, they don’t really realize it because of the way that the scenes are filmed. I feel like sex scenes without story are porn. And sex scenes are really sold by the degree of intimacy which is relayed. I think that Laurel Holloman and I were able to portray that in a way that we don’t need the nudity to sell the intimacy.
Was it ever uncomfortable for you filming those really intimate scenes?
The first iteration of The L Word, they never felt uncomfortable on set. We had an amazing crew and great directors. We talked through every single scene. A love scene is a scene with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters want something. They want something from someone else, they want something for themselves. So you’re choreographing things to tell the story. Not to just be like, “Here’s some sex for everybody.” The story is the grand altar. So how do you serve it?
Which character do you feel the most similar to in real life?
I have no idea! I just feel so much myself.
When fans come up to you these days, are they speaking to you most often about The L Word? Flashdance? What do they want to tell you?
It depends. It’s pretty even. A lot of people come up about Taken, some come up about The Last Tycoon. Some people about Swamp Thing. But the people who come up about The L Word, their hearts are on their sleeves. They confide in you. And it’s a different kind of fan. It’s really extraordinary.
Have you seen the Bette Porter Gallery Instagram?
[Laughs.] No! That seems like a must-see. What is it? I’m gonna write it down.
@BettePorterGallery. It’s a lot of lesbian memes and news and gossip. You should check it out.
Oh, I had this fantasy that it was all the art that had been portrayed in the show.
That would be cool.
I’d like that. That’d be really neat. We had such great art on the show.
Let’s talk about season six. You’ve alluded to the fact that you and Ilene didn’t agree about its direction.
Yeah, that made me mental.
Why?
The whole death at the center of it, and the idea of “who’s guilty,” I didn’t love that idea. Ilene has since said she wishes that, I’m gonna paraphrase, “I’m gonna pretend the sixth season didn’t exist.” [Laughs.]
But in the pilot, without getting spoiler-y, Jenny’s death is referenced. So you guys didn’t erase season six entirely.
Yes, yes. It did happen. But also, Ilene’s not our showrunner anymore. Our new one [Marja-Lewis Ryan] gets to take the reins. We have to deal with Jenny’s death. We want to rewrite history, but we can’t.
I always thought Tina killed her. She pushed her off the ledge!
[Laughs loudly.] Oh my God. That’s so funny. Wow.
Can we talk about the clothes from the original series? They were extremely … of a time. On the rewatch, was there anything that made you feel like, Holy shit?
From the first go-around? There’s so many things. There’s a beautiful vest that ties in the back. And there’s this crisscrossing. You think it’s just a regular vest, but Bette turns around and it’s a masculine play on a corset, which is really pretty phenomenal. Any time there’s a cuff link, I’m really happy. [Costume designer] Cynthia [Ann Summers] did an amazing job.
The show makes reference to the fact that there aren’t any gay bars left in L.A., and in earlier press, Ilene and the cast were talking about how no show had really taken The L Word’s place. Why do you think that is?
Well, there’s a lot of things on the air that start talking about queer culture. You have Pose, which you never would have had before The L Word was on. The conversation has definitely broadened. Queer characters are much less likely to be the serial killer or some other nefarious character. There’s so many stories to tell.
Tell me about the initial conversations about the reboot. How did you all decide you’d actually do it?
First we reminisced about the show, and then you figure out there are conversations going on online, referencing The L Word. So we start saying, “What if, what if?” And we approached Ilene and she was very much into the idea. She was busy on Empire but still completely game. And then the 2016 elections happened and we realized we had to do something. We realized we’re storytellers. Everything in life, really, is based on a narrative. It’s the narrative your parents tell you, or that your school may tell you, that you tell yourself, or your community at large tells you about who you are. It’s important to add our own narrative because visibility helps give agency to the community. And it helps us open our imagination not only to what is but what could be.
Photo: Hilary B Gayle/SHOWTIME
Did you talk about the criticisms that people had about the initial series? Like, for example, the way the show dealt with trans characters.
I think the most important thing is that we make sure to have trans actors playing trans characters. Ilene was really at the forefront of having a trans character on the show, and even in our flaws, you’re furthering the cause. You learn from possible mistakes, you try to correct those mistakes, and you realize that the ground is shifting between us and beneath us. The lexicon is changing, and it’s extremely exciting. It’s what should be happening. What’s exciting is this new generation is refusing to be identified by anyone other than themselves. We have to figure out, “How do we enter into that conversation and honor that change in the midst of this tumult of language?” Perhaps we’ll again do it imperfectly, but I think we’ll come much, much closer.
How difficult or easy was it to slip back into Bette’s skin?
The authoritative part, like I said, paved the way for other characters, so there’s practice with that aspect. But I was in wardrobe fittings early on and I wasn’t feeling it. You want to experiment with how this character might dress differently, given these ten years, and that she’s running for office. But it really wasn’t until I got back my power suit and my cuff links. The moment I put the cuff links on, I went, “Ahhh, now I can breathe. That feels right.”
How has the show, if it has at all, changed the way you feel about or define your own sexuality?
It made it really clear that I am so super-square, so super-straight, and so super-cis. I feel incredibly old-fashioned and so uncool. By far, the most uncool person on set. By a long shot. Like, really. So square that I actually have Top 40 hits on my playlists, which pains Kate Moennig to no degree.
She roasts you for your music?
Yeah, I stay with her sometimes. I have my playlist with artists that I won’t name because I don’t want to make them feel bad. And she’s like, “Really?” She’s also a DJ, so she has very elevated and knowledgeable music selection. And I apparently don’t. [Laughs.] But I still love a good banjo.
How has it felt, being witness to the Kate phenomenon?
She’s everything you imagine and so much more. She’s so smart and so funny. Searingly smart. She has a very astute eye for story.
In an alternate universe where you’re not straight and you have to pick a character from the show, who do you pick?
I don’t know! I’d have to really think about that. So many are so dysfunctional that I just go, “Oh gosh, no, this would end in tears.” I don’t know if one has been introduced yet who I’d date.
Not even Bette?!
Oh, gosh, no. No, no, no, no, no. She’s nothing but trouble. A hot mess.
She really hasn’t learned.
It’s really unbelievable. But fun to play! Fun to play somebody who’s a hot mess, for sure. And by hot, I mean, fetid. Not sexy.
We can agree to disagree. Okay, a few non-spoiler-y questions about the pilot: Where is Alice’s tribal tattoo? It’s gone.
A lot can happen to people in ten years. Lots of things happen!
Will we ever get justice for Dana?
What do you mean by justice? Define justice.
Will we get a retcon and learn she actually survived breast cancer?
[Laughs.] Do not hold your breath for that. Generally when people die, unless it’s magical realism, they do not come back. I’m sorry to be so harsh.
Half of the comments on the Generation Q trailer are about how you haven’t aged. Why don’t you age? What is the secret?
I completely do age. It’s a testament to our DPs and our gaffer if there’s any kind of magic going on. Believe me, I definitely do age. And I wouldn’t want to remain the same.
Well, thank you for chatting. I’m very excited to figure out where Kit is. I’m stressed because she’s not in the pilot or on the cast list.
I hope we can talk again after the series. Because it would be really fun to do a revisit. There’s so many things I want to talk to you about, but I can’t.
Jennifer Beals on The L Word, Jenny’s Death, Her Sexuality
What would The L Word be like without Bette Porter? It’s unthinkable to even contemplate such a question, and thankfully, we never had to, as Jennifer Beals was indeed available to star in The L Word: Generation Q. The reboot finds Bette running for mayor, which is also to say running away from her grief in the wake of her sister Kit Porter’s death. Shane (Katherine Moennig) and Alice (Leisha Hailey) round out the original cast, though they’re later joined by a special guest: none other than Tina (Laurel Holloman). “She walked in the door like part angel, part baller,” Beals recalled of her on-screen reunion with Mama T, who turns up on Bette’s doorstep wearing leather pants.
Beals is well aware that Tina’s reappearance was all too brief; the actress—who’s also one of the series’s executive producers—is already working on bringing her back for season 2. (“If I have to drag her,” she said with a laugh.) Here, Beals reflects on Sunday night’s season 1 finale, and foreshadows a bit more of what’s next.
I’m very excited to be talking about the finale with you—it was great. I cried a lot.
What made you cry? Tell me what made you cry.
Well, mainly seeing Bette break down like that, and then seeing Angie comfort her. That really got me.
Yeah, yeah. To have a child comforting a parent in that way is really brutal. Early on, I realized, Oh—this whole season is about mourning, about grief. Bette doesn’t really know how to deal with that, and she’s been working and working and working. Her way of honoring her sister has been to run for mayor, and to try to right the wrongs that caused her sister’s death. And so when she doesn’t make it—when she isn’t able to offer her sister that gift—it just takes the wish for the next day away. First there’s the dinner with Tina where she says she’s getting married, and then when that’s topped with losing the election. And then she just can’t anymore. There’s got to be a tipping point. Once somebody who avoids things by being in movement stops moving, it’s a real signal of a breakdown. I think in a way, Angie is really the only thing that keeps her alive in that moment.
I thought that was a really smart way to do it—it was so much more effective than just seeing her cry. Since we haven’t seen Bette get that low before, how did you decide what it would look like for her to reach that point?
We talked about it a lot. We thought, Okay, what would be the scariest thing for Angie to see? And it’s when her mother wants to do nothing. Her mother, who’s always working and trying to solve problems, is sleeping on the couch, and can’t really move. That’s probably the most terrifying thing for her child to see.
Did you know at that point that the series was going to be renewed?
Well, I had a feeling. I mean, I’m a hopeful person in general—oddly so. Also, I feel like I’ve been on a lot of shows, and so at a certain point you’re crafting things. It’s a different relationship than when you’re just starting out.
Have you spoken with Pam Grier [who played Bette’s sister Kit] at all since the original series?
I gave her my number and I haven’t heard from her in a while, but we were talking when the show first started. I know she’s working really hard. She’s working a lot.
How did Bette come to focus on the opioid crisis?
Well, we were trying to figure out what Bette would be motivated by, so we were talking about the issues at play in Los Angeles. And obviously the homeless crisis looms large. You can’t avoid thinking about it. Even people who would want to bury their heads in the sand—you’re driving and you see people suffering. And once you start going down the rabbit hole of homelessness, it then tangentially starts to get to other issues. I think it was an issue that Marja[-Lewis Ryan, the showrunner] really wanted to work on in detail, and I think she did a really good job of doing that.
Have you ever thought about going into politics yourself?
Oh my god, oh my god, never. [Laughs.] Never in a million years. Like, can I tell you—when I was six, seven years old, I would have these nightmares that the world was ending. The apocalypse had come. And there was this building with all these chairs and old paintings that was sort of bombed out, but was still clearly Congress. I was being asked to be president, and I ran away. [Laughs.] I was like, I don’t want to be president! I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.
You’d rather the apocalypse?
No. I’d rather be an actor, and be able to tell many, many, many stories, than be a politician. I tip my hat to anybody who wants to become a politician, especially in today’s age.
Did the role make you feel more sympathetic toward politicians, especially now that the presidential race is getting underway?
I mean, if you follow politics at all, you have an awareness of what’s at stake for someone personally, and what’s at stake for their families. What I think surprised me—and the writers didn’t catch on to this—is why nobody came after me for a friend of mine dying at my house. You know what I mean? That never came up.
Well, you mentioned it to Dani, right?
Yes, I mentioned it to Dani: Here’s these things that are in my past. But the fact that the press doesn’t do it is interesting, because it could have been another way to bring up Jenny’s story.
I’m sure people would have loved that.
Yes, yes.
Did you raise that point?
There are so many things, you know? What’s interesting and really beautiful about this new iteration of the show is you have all these new characters that need to be tended to, like a garden. You really have to tend to those new characters and make sure they get rooted—in the case of a television series, make sure they have the time on-screen for people to understand who they are. I think that was the big priority for Marjan—to make sure that those characters had enough time on-screen for people to be able to understand and empathize with them.
That’s part of why I was so happy to hear it was renewed. It felt like just as I was getting to know the new people, I wouldn’t be able to spend time with them anymore.
Exactly. You understand the characters from the previous show, because you share a history with them. But the newer characters need more time.
Have you seen all of the original series?
I have, but not all of it recently. I rewatched a lot of it to prepare in the writers room, talking with the writers about the character.
Was there anything that stood out to you, even just on the level of what you were wearing? I guess Bette was pretty well-dressed compared to everyone else.
You know what? Everyone was well-dressed for their time—it’s when you go back and look at things. But I think Bette’s wardrobe was great, and it lasts. It’s classic. There’s not much I can think of in Bette’s wardrobe that doesn’t pass the 10-year test.
Bette Porter in The L Word (2004).
I noticed that Bette was wearing cufflinks in this series, just like in the original.
Deirdra [Govan, the show’s costume designer] and I were trying to figure out, Okay, in 10 years, how has she changed the way she dresses? She’s also running for mayor, so perhaps can’t be as fashion-forward as she would normally be. Deirdra was trying different things and being very adventurous, and at a certain point, I said, I think I just need a power suit and some cufflinks. In the first go-round, that was what really grounded me to the character. I had a whole collection of different cufflinks that were so exquisite. I really loved this taking on a man’s uniform and making it my own, and having a difference.
Do you still have any of those original cufflinks?
I do, actually.
Do you ever wear them?
I don’t. I don’t really have many shirts that require them. But I get to look at them every now and again, which makes me happy. And if my husband’s lucky, he can borrow them.
I have to ask you about Tina. I was ecstatic to see her.
Oh, you and me both.
I was freaking out about it, and then it was so nice to see interviews with you saying you wanted her back more than anyone.
Oh my gosh, yeah. It would have been great to have her back fully, but Laurel [Holloman] has been working [as a full-time painter]. And it was sort of a Tetris puzzle for Marjan. She only had eight episodes to figure out how to board everything in.
Do you know if Laurel will be more available next season?
If I have anything to say about it, yes. [Laughs.] If I have to drag her!
Have you started work on season 2 at all?
No, we haven’t started talking about the story too much. But I did talk to Laurel, and she said she would definitely be open to it, if her schedule allows it.
Ah! That’s so great.
I think it’s such an important story to tell, you know? The coparenting, the continuation of that relationship—it’s important, and it’s rich with all kinds of nuance and complexity.
What’s it like for you and Laurel to work together now? Is it different?
Not at all. It’s like no time has passed at all. Zero time. It’s just really simple, you know? Almost like a shorthand. And I love that Deirdra put her in leather pants. It was so fantastic. She walked in the door like part angel, part baller. It was incredible.
What did you think about how things turned out for the other characters in the finale?
Well, I’m dying to see how all the business at the airport works out. That’s a really hard one. Maybe it’s because I personify Bette working with Dani, but I have to say that Dani’s been working really, really hard. She’s drifted away because she’s been working hard, but to judge her for working hard doesn’t quite seem fair. But then again, if she’s pulled away that easily, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
You and Shane have some really nice scenes together this season.
Yeah, we didn’t really have very many scenes together the first go round, so it was a really nice change. I love working with Kate. We had so much fun, playing together. I think our favorite scene, for sure, was pretending to be high. It was so weird, because when we left, the crew kept coming up and saying ‘God, I feel like I’m high, just watching you guys.’ And both of us felt like we were stoned by the time we left. Even though, obviously, we were not smoking any cannabis at all.
It would be nice to see some of Laurel’s work featured in the next season.
Well, that would be a little tricky and a little meta, right? I did think about it. I thought, Okay, if Laurel can’t come back, can we have some of her work? But it gets a little meta. That’s a conversation to be had with the writers, and with Laurel, because I don’t know how she’d feel about it.
Did Erin Daniels [who played Dana in the original series] actually join you guys on set? I couldn’t tell if the photo of you all together in front of Dana’s was Photoshopped—it seemed too good to be true.
Oh, that’s so funny. No, no, it wasn’t. Kate called and said, you know, Please come back to set. We have a surprise for you. We wanted to show her Dana’s before she was on TV. And it was amazing. I mean, I’ve seen and spent time with Erin since then, but it’s always nice to have everybody together.
What did you think of Alice’s storyline?
I think Alice is so brave, you know? She’s sort of always been the extremely brave one, and I think the throuple gives the opportunity to tell a very, very complicated story. I really appreciate how she’s so great, so funny with those kids—trying really hard, but not really wanting to be around them, but wanting to be loved nonetheless. It’s interesting, because it makes you think: Well, if they were cuddly with her, and really warm and engaged with her, would she feel differently? How would that change?
Bette was the first guest on Alice’s show, and then there was Megan Rapinoe and Roxane Gay. Who would you like to see make a cameo in the future?
Oh gosh, I’d have to think about that. Well, it would be kind of great if Kamala Harris had shown up.
Who’s been your favorite guest on the show in the past?
I mean there’s a lot of people that I want back, frankly. But I cannot stop thinking about Holland Taylor.
Oh my god, same. Please make that happen.
Yeah, I really want Peggy Peabody back. I was begging the writers; she really sticks in my mind. But there are so many people. I want Marlee Matlin [who played Jodi] back. And I know Pam’s really busy, but I want to figure out if it’s within her time schedule to do some flashbacks or something like that. It would be great to have Helena back, too—to have Rachel Shelley back.
Do you know about the Instagram account @betteportergallery?
Somebody mentioned it earlier, but I haven’t seen it.
It’s great. It’s like all celesbian content.
See, I remember my fantasy was that it was an Instagram of all the art that Bette has shown, whether in her gallery or in her house. But the person who mentioned it was like, No, that’s not that. [Laughs.] But that would be great to see.
Related: The L Word Generation Q Episode 8 Recap: Some Shanes Never Change
Earlier this month, Tara Belmont posted an ad on the queer dating app Lex: “Give me an original Bette Porter type of Dyke.” Belmont, an art director—just like The L Word character to which her ad refers—tells ELLE.com she identifies with Bette on many levels, even though this declaration can be polarizing.
Bette (Jennifer Beals), is the definition of a “power lesbian.” In The L Word, she had a high-powered career in the arts, and in the new Generation Q reboot, she’s running for mayor of Los Angeles. She’s open about her opposition to big pharma and her mission to fix opioid addiction in Los Angeles after her sister, Kit (Pam Grier), died of a heroin overdose. As we’ve seen in the first seven episodes of Gen Q, she’s still in love with her ex-wife and daughter’s mother, Tina Kennard (Laurel Holloman), but she’s also wrapped up in a controversial affair she took part in during her campaign. Bette has a tendency to lead with her heart even when her head says no, but her faults have a positive flip side: She’s loyal and a fierce protector. She never backs down from what she believes. When it looks like her ex-girlfriend’s angry husband is about to take a swing at her daughter, she lays him out flat until he sees every star in the cis-man galaxy.
Even Bette knows she’s a bit of an asshole, but many L Word fans—this writer included—wear their identification with her as a badge of honor. “I knew I always wanted to be an artist and Bette stood there telling me I could be a boss bitch, gay, and create a world of wealth and comfort within the arts as my career,” Belmont says. “If being a Bette is a bad thing, then I’m prepared to be hated.”
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Beals as Bette, Leisha Hailey as Alice, and Katherine Moennig as Shane in The L Word: Generation Q.
Riese Bernard, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Autostraddle.com and co-host of the «To L and Back» podcast says she doesn’t think of Bette as a polarizing character. Though Bernard and her co-hosts are critical of Bette and her often-questionable choices, there’s no denying she’s a force. “Bette Porter is an icon who represents a very unapologetic and powerful type of person who isn’t ashamed of her sexuality or her feelings or her ambition,” Bernard tells ELLE.com. “Before The L Word, I’d never seen anybody like Shane or Bette, who saw their prowess with women to be a source of strength and confidence rather than evidence of shame or an inability to ‘get a man.’»
Jennifer Beals, who reprises her role in The L Word: Generation Q, talked to ELLE.com about the character she’s played since 2004, the power of the pantsuit, and her personal take on Bette’s zodiac makeup.
Saying that you identify with Bette can be a polarizing thing. People love her, they want to be her, and they want to be with her—or they’re intimidated by her. Why do you think people have such differing opinions about her?
The polarity is so acute. She’s a wonderful leader in many ways; she’s a great crusader in many ways. She is both a very loving partner and maybe not the partner that you want. And by the way, she hasn’t completely learned from her mistakes when we find her [in this new series]…It’s like that friend who keeps making the same mistakes and dating the wrong person or doing that thing they know they shouldn’t do. Hopefully the people who love them are going to love them through it and support them through to [that friend’s] change.
What was so attractive about revisiting this character after a decade?
Kate [Moennig], Leisha [Hailey], and I are EPs on the new series, because we were all very active in getting the new show back. We wanted to work together again and have that time and revisit the characters but also, we were aware that online, people were still engaged by The L Word. There were these new conversations about this new generation that refuses to let anybody define them. They are adamant about defining themselves and their sexual orientation. It might not look like their mother’s generation—as progressive as that might have been [then]. And we thought how fascinating it would have been to take those original stories of The L Word, that original gestalt of The L Word, with these new stories and these new energies.
Which new Generation Q character is the most Bette-like?
I share probably the most in common with Dani [played by Arienne Mandi]. At the end of the pilot when she looks at her, she looks like she’s looking at part of herself. There’s a mirror being put in front of her.
What I love most about the new series is seeing how the original characters have grown over the past 10 years. In what ways has Bette grown?
Having a child has made her practice more patience. [She’s trying] to balance giving her daughter independence and putting down boundaries and doing that without being controlling, as we know Bette can be.
I love the scene when Angie gets in trouble and Bette comes to the school and says “You’re going to have to go through the world differently.” I assume she tells her that because she’s a woman of color.
Oh, I loved it. That’s a Regina Hicks [written] episode. I was really excited to have that conversation with [Angie]. Bette understands that, and as someone who is light-skinned, she dodged that bullet. She’s had to experience it sometimes, but she would not have had to experience it in the same way that Angie has to experience it.
Beals and Jordan Hull as Angie in Generation Q.
How does Bette inform your other characters?
She carries such authority. Once I was able to expand into that authority, [that was] the beginning of a series of roles playing women who inhabited that space. Whether it’s the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department in The Chicago Code or Margo Taft in The Last Tycoon. It allows me to occupy a different kind of space.
That’s why people love Bette, because she just takes such an authoritative lease on life.
We all want to feel that! There are moments in my life where I’m like, ‘Where is Ilene [Chaiken, the series creator] with my witty Bette comeback?” I know what it feels like to do it, but I don’t have the language on the tip of my tongue. One of my favorite scenes [in the original series], actually, is when I’m so upset with what’s going on with Tina that I get in a car accident, and I push the guy against the car in just pure Bette rage. It doesn’t have anything to do with him; it has to do with the thing that’s come before, which is why it’s a satisfying scene.
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The L Word — Anrgy Bette — Car Crash
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Outside of Tina, what was your favorite friendship or relationship for Bette?
Oh, I loved Peggy Peabody so much. To me, working with Holland Taylor was like going to a master class, and she created such an amazing character. I had pitched that she be one of my main donors for the [mayoral] campaign.
What other romantic partner did you like for Bette?
Well, the fact is, there’s only Tina. I loved working with Marlee Matlin, and I think that Bette learns so much from Jodi. But the fact is, the love of her life is Tina, and she’s just too foolish to figure out how to handle that.
Beals and Laurel Holloman as Tina Kennard in Generation Q.
What was something Bette’s done where you just want to go, “Why did you do that?”
Everything would have been OK if there had been no Candace. Sometimes a carpenter is not just a carpenter.
I think my moment is while she drives away with her baby in the car while Joni Mitchell is playing.
It’s so funny. I was talking to Jordan Hull, who plays Angie in this second series. I was like, “Are you aware that at one point I drove away with you? I guess maybe legally kidnapped you?” She started laughing and said, “Yes, I’m aware of that.”
When my friend and I were watching this for the first time together, she texted me and said, “What? She takes her baby? And this Joni song is playing?
[Laughs] What would you have preferred had been playing?
I think that was perfect; I just think it was a lot of emotion.
Yeah. Sometimes you do desperate things in life.
What is something that Bette’s done that’s made you proud of her?
When she testifies to Congress. I think whenever she stands up for her principles—that’s one of her better characteristics for sure.
Astrology is a very big deal in the queer community. I know a lot of Fire signs really identify with Bette. What do you think her sign is, if you could guess?
I’m sure there’s some Scorpio in that chart, without a doubt. Some Leo. Maybe Aquarian a little bit. I don’t know if it’s the dominant sign, but it’s definitely…because she’s an iconoclast.
What is it about that power suit that’s just so right for Bette? It’s like, “That is Bette Porter.”
It transforms the thing that is traditionally masculine and turns it on its head and makes it a feminine symbol, feminine masculinity. It’s almost like having a female warrior, like when you see those images of Joan of Arc. You take a masculine signifier and you match it with the power and what we know is true feminine energy—it’s potentially quite fierce—and you have both things at once. Any time the alchemist can bring the yin and the yang together, I think it’s a very powerful combination. I guess when you sit in meditation, when you go deep into yin, it’s not what is so often characterized as being flaccid or weak or passive. It’s not that at all. It’s the power of absolute darkness…You make me want to write an essay about it right now.
When I go to Dyke March every year, I see “I Killed Jenny Schecter” shirts, and I’ve seen at least one “Bette killed Jenny” shirt. What do you think about the theories that Bette had a hand in it?
Oh, I think that’s hilarious and obviously untrue. There’s no way. It’s not possible—she would never, ever kill anybody. I mean, somebody would have to literally have a gun to her child’s head…that’s where we are with that. I mean, never say never, but it’s not gonna be over that.
Hilary Weaver is a freelance writer based in New York who writes about politics, queer issues, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and every woman the Queen has ever made a dame. I saw Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again three times in theaters, and that’s pretty much all you need to know.
About The L Word BOOK
During the six years we were shooting The L Word, I kept a photographic journal of the cast and crew. This show was breaking new ground and It was an era of my life I was eager to preserve: I wanted to remember the cast, the readthrus, the dinners, the rehearsals — everything. I took pictures and saved my scripts, callsheets, and memos and organized them every year. I used them for reference as the seasons moved on, but frankly I held onto them because I knew I would want to revisit them as the years passed. Mostly, I wanted to remember the joy, because no matter where the storylines went, we always managed to have fun.
Years ago, I started a tradition of making a photo book, to give as a gift to the cast and crew, after completing projects that were near and dear to my heart. As I started working on my cast-and-crew present for The L Word, I realized this wouldn’t be like the others. The L Word was about the power of storytelling. And it was particularly unique because there were two streams of stories being told. Clearly we were telling your stories, but in some way we were telling our stories — the story of a group of colleagues who became friends while endeavoring to make something worthwhile. Somewhere along the line there was a kind of convergence. Somewhere underneath the plotlines of The L Word ran our own stories of friendship and struggle. These photographs evoke the various bonds and battles we as a cast endured.
The L Word as a series was, at its core, about community and that played out behind the scenes as the cast formed its own community. But the series also was about all of you who made our collective journey possible. That is why I wanted to make the book available to fans of the show.
Sincerely,
I have a confession to make: Bette Porter of The L Word (and it suffices to say, Jennifer Beals) is a huge part of my queer origin story. When the original series first aired, I was still only dating men and streaming the show piecemeal on my shitty Macbook, letting the 50-minute episodes buffer for two hours or more and watching them at extremely low quality. When I divulged this to a friend recently, she said to me, “Your queer awakening was extremely lo-res, and a little illegal.” But who among us?
The original series was a beacon. When it aired, it stood alone — there was nothing else like it for lesbians, other queer-identified women, and the many nonbinary people who saw themselves represented in characters on the show, as well. That said, it wasn’t without its problems. Bisexual people were often treated as second-tier to lesbians, especially “gold star” lesbians. All representation of sex workers seemed to indicate that the only reason someone would take that career path is if they had trauma in their past or desperately needed the money. And then…Max.
But taken in the context of the time (the show originally aired between 2004 and 2009) when representation was minimal and in mainstream LGBTQIA+ discourse, the words «marriage equality» were synonymous to equality itself, the show still took on a lot. Beals recognizes that while the show did a lot of good, some mistakes were made along the way. “You can’t get it 100 percent right, you just can’t» she admits in an interview with Allure. «But you can try your best. With the original, I’d tell Ilene [Chaiken], ‘I hope we just reach one girl, just one girl, maybe in the midwest, who feels alone,’ and she was like, ‘Let’s just make a good show.’”
Courtesy Everett Collection
And it’s safe to say that the show did, indeed, reach much more than just one viewer. In fact, the number one comment Beals says she hears from fans is “Thank you» — that is, before they tell her their coming out story. (I was guilty on both counts during our interview.)
Now, with The L Word: Generation Q set to debut on Showtime on December 8 (with three of the original cast members reprising their roles: Jennifer Beals as Bette Porter, Leisha Hailey as Alice Pieszecki, and Katherine Moennig as Shane McCutcheon), fans of the original are excited, if not a little trepidatious. After all, though reboots are huge these days, they can either breathe new life into an old favorite or create some sort of zombified, Frankenstein-like monster of something you once loved. However, with Beals herself executive-producing this particular sequel, my hopes are high.
Rather than attempt to recreate the original series, Generation Q welcomes a slew of new LGBTQIA+ characters from a new, well, generation. Beals acknowledges that the queer community is not a monolith and that representation in media is far more diverse than when the original aired, which both takes a bit of the pressure off of the reboot and offers a little more room to play around. The original L Word was big on the queer theme of chosen family, and it’s clear from just the pilot episode (of which I’ve watched a screener) that Generation Q will be rife with opportunities to not only continue exploring this theme but queer mentorship, too.
“I think the theme of chosen family plays out almost in all of the storylines, truly. It definitely plays out in the Dani storyline, and it continues to play out with Bette’s, as well. Especially with the newer characters, I think — when you’re younger, and perhaps newer to your community, it becomes really crucial to understand that there’s your biological family and then there’s your chosen family and chosen family can be, perhaps, even more loving and accepting than your biological family, and that’s OK,” she says.
In the new series, Bette is running for office, and one of her platforms is taking a stance on the opioid crisis. And, slight spoiler alert, from the pilot episode it’s clear she’s opposed to big pharma not only on a moral basis but a personal one, as well. “I wish I could tell you exactly what’s going on with her right now, but you’ll see it soon. But these are issues that are affecting people right now, and in our current climate, it felt like something we had to address,» she says.
Though she can’t tell me exactly what Bette has been through, we talk a little about how she’s evolved since we last saw her 10 years ago. For those who don’t remember, she and Tina were back together, raising baby Angie, and considering a move to New York. She was passionate as ever, and — elephant in the room — a suspect in Jenny’s murder (no, I did not ask Beals who killed the writer-turned-filmmaker we all loved to hate). “She was a very passionate person in the first series. Very quick to anger, but also very vulnerable, and coming back after 10 years… Well, some challenging things have happened in her life, and it seems like right now she’s much more grounded, but that may be just a facade,” Beals teases.
Beals has also done some evolving over the past 10 years. Between working on the original L Word and the sequel, she’s garnered two NAACP Image Award nominations, a Satellite Award nomination, and was presented with the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award for her support of the LGBTQIA+ community in 2012. I ask what the word «ally» means to her.
“It means knowing I hold immense privilege, being a straight woman playing a lesbian character. It means being there for the LGBTQIA+ community when and how I can, and it means listening,” Beals explains. “I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but you got to try. You’ve got to start somewhere.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Part of being an ally includes working to create a better future, something Beals is doing in her work as a C40 Goodwill Ambassador. After receiving an invitation to a C40 event in Paris and learning more about how she could get involved with the organization, the idea of helping impact climate change on a local level appealed to her. “What C40 is, essentially, is a group of mayors across the globe who are dedicated to upholding the Paris Agreement, regardless of what their federal governments may say,” she explains. As far as what she’s doing? Lots of things, but one example, in particular, is asking Showtime to make their set is as green as possible. “Fortunately for me, I’m in a position to go to my employer and talk to them about changes that we can make.”
Engaging in climate change activism can feel overwhelming, but making small changes and thinking locally is a great way to start. “I understand the anxiety, but I know that we can do it. Somehow, I find a way to just put my hands in the ground to understand what it is I’m fighting for so that it’s not just a conceptual idea, it’s a real thing,” she says. And that’s when we get back to the idea of family, chosen or otherwise. Because in the end, that’s really what it’s all about — whether you’re fighting against climate change or fighting for better representation in media, you’re likely doing it to make a better world for those you love.
This is when I thank her for her work, however imperfect (because as we’ve already both acknowledged, we all are) and tell her my own story, though her response to that is just for me. However, she does leave me with one important word of advice, which I will share. “Hold your chosen family dear. Hold your chosen family dear and take care of them.”
Catch Beals reprising her role as Bette Porter on The L Word: Generation Q on Showtime on December 8.
Read more stories about identity:
- The Complicated Benefits of Coming Out
- Why It’s So Hard for Queer Women and Nonbinary People to Find Casual Sex
- Learn How to Be a Good Ally to LGBTQIA+ Friends
Now, watch Liza Koshy try nine things she’s never done before:
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