TomboyX is on The L Word: Generation Q
It’s 2019 and The L Word is back! For all you baby gays who missed the first run of the show get ready for some beautiful queer television. And for those of you who watched the first series when it ran, you know full well how amazing it is to watch a full cast of queers on primetime television.
The series returns as Generation Q, with a new cast coming to join old favorites. If you can’t already tell, we here at TomboyX are big fans of The L Word and you can bet we all gathered around to watch the series premiere. The show is so important to our co-founder and CEO Fran because “TomboyX and The L Word have a similar ethos of loving yourself unapologetically and being kind in a harsh world.” Which made it all the more special when The L Word: Generation Q not only wanted to collaborate on a branded pair of underwear, but also feature TomboyX on the show.
We sit down with The L Word: Generation Q’s showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan to talk about the series return and how TomboyX underwear made a silver screen debut.
Can you start by telling us a little about yourself and your role on The L-Word?
I am the showrunner of the show, which means I am the head writer and producer. I hire all department heads, I cast everyone, all final decisions–including wardrobe–go through me. I also directed the season finale, which was a blast.
What are some of the things you consider when styling a character?
I wanted to find more range in style this go around. I think about practical things like–what is the character’s job, how much money do they make, etc. And I also think about how to take that reality and dial it up so that the whole show has an aspirational quality.
When it came to Jacqueline Toboni’s character, what did you want to convey with her costume and look?
I always imagined that Jacq would play Finley. I wrote the role for her. So when I thought about what she’d look like, I thought about what she actually looks like when she’s not at work. She came in and auditioned in a tattered True Value t-shirt. She’s just such an east side twenty something it’s not even funny. When it comes to fashion, she’s effortlessly beautiful and always (secretly) knows what she’s doing. So Finley is inspired by that. But probably dialed up a notched to make her even more playful.
We saw a flash of TomboyX underwear in the trailer, can you tell us a little bit about how TomboyX ended up on the show and how you picked that pattern?
One thing I do before I start production on anything is come up with a few adjectives that define the project. For TLWGQ those words are: queer, confident, aspiration and joyful. From there, I figure out how to represent those things in every area of the show. This underwear feels like all of those things. I was always trying to get various forms of deconstructed rainbows enmeshed in the show. These are a perfect example of that.
Is there anything folks should be looking for in the new season that you’re particularly excited about?
Well, not to give away too much but, this exact pair of underwear makes several appearances this season alone. I think three times in all. We always joked that Finley must have bought a whole pack.