It’s been 10 years since the revolutionary lesbian drama left our screens, but The L Word new trailer is showing that the reboot is here, queer, and ready for a 2019 audience. The eight episode follow-up series, Generation Q, sees the return of several of the original cast members – we can confirm that Shane is still the ultimate lesbian fuckgirl, and we love it. She will be joined by some of the originals, except now, Alice is professionally flourishing as a talk show host, and Bette is mayoral candidate of LA, while Shane is a successful hairdresser. 

Joining the seasoned Los Angeles lesbians will be a few fresh faces leading the new queer vanguard. Among them are transgender actor Leo Sheng (“a soft-spoken adjunct professor forced to confront his fear of vulnerability”, according to a synopsis), Orange is the New Black’s Rosanny Zayas (as Sophie Suarez, a TV producer), and Jordan Hull as Bette and Tina’s now-teen daughter. Olivia Thirlby – who you may remember from Juno and who is IRL bisexual – plays the reportedly “kind-hearted Rebecca, who often finds herself attracted to the wrong kind of women”. There’s also trans actress Sophie Giannamore (Transparent) as Jordi, a rebel teenage with absent parents, Fortune Feimster (The Mindy Project) as aspiring comedian Heather and Lex Scott Davis as “sensual lead singer” Quiara.

At the helm is screenwriter and playwright Marja-Lewis Ryan (known for The Four-Faced Liar), and Jennifer Beals (our original, much-loved Bette) is executive producing.

The first trailer, which dropped last month, hinted at all the themes that made the show as iconic and campy as it was – sexy trysts, personal and professional drama – as well as a fresher move towards representing the spectrum of sexuality in the contemporary. We also get a little spot of Shane’s salon – Dana’s, named after the late original character who passed away of cancer in the original series – although no look at The Planet cafe where the gang would congregate and hang out yet. One of the more significant lines the trailer gives away is that this season is set in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighbourhood, rather than the original West Hollywood setting.

The Showtime series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009 – while pioneering in its own right, the original L Word had been criticised for not being as LGBTQ-inclusive as contemporary shows that have followed, like Orange Is the New Black and Pose. But by all accounts, this remake is set to shake up issues of race, bi-identity, and queerness, propelling the 00s classic into 2019. Less Lisa the lesbian man and casual transphobia, more bi visibility and the next, fluid generation.

Watch the new teaser below.

The L Word: Generation Q premieres on December 8