Hey, did they just reveal the
killer?!
The
final season of Showtime's lesbian drama The L Word kicks off
Sunday night with a ginormous murder mystery at its center, and unless
you fans have been living under a rock, the victim is the show's most
love/hate-worthy character, Jenny Schecter. But never mind all that:
Showtime is already looking ahead to a potential spinoff, The Farm.
Earlier this week,
network president Robert Greenblatt revealed that the series would
revolve around Leisha Hailey's character, Alice (pictured), who'll be
sent to prison. Which immediately begged the question: Um, didn't
they just reveal the murderer??
EW rang up creator Ilene
Chaiken to clarify the big reveal. According to her, the murder-mystery
storyline was created before talk of a spinoff even began. "My answer to
your question is this: If the new show goes on the air, it will be
connected to the Who-Killed-Jenny? storyline, and I would say that
that's what Alice is in prison for. I don't know that she actually
killed Jenny..." And she remains coy about whether or not she's
pleased to have the mystery essentially spoiled. "We still have
opportunities to resolve the storyline in different ways," she promises,
though she says that no alternate endings were shot—and that are no
current plans to shoot new scenes. "To me, it's not as if the entire
final season is only about the murder mystery. It's all about life and
love and everything else that the show fumbled around and wanted to be
about."
Chaiken confirms that
three actresses—Melissa Leo, Laurie Metcalf, and Famke Janssen—filmed
roles for the potential series. Leo and Metcalf play prison
administration officials, while Janssen takes on the role of a fellow
prisoner. And don't go looking for Alice to rock any pink couture
jumpsuits on the show. "The tone of the show could not be more
different," says Chaiken. (Indeed, Greenblatt has described it as a
"female Oz.") "It's not about fashion and glamour."
Of course, we've still
gotta get through the final eight episodes of The L Word. And
you longtime fans out there will be thrilled to hear about the return of
five beloved former characters for the final hour! Chaiken tells EW that
Eric Mabius (Tim), Holland Taylor (Peggy Peabody), Karina Lombard
(Marina), Kelly Lynch (Ivan), and Sarah Shahi (Carmen) all filmed new
scenes for the series finale.
