Ilene Chaiken, the creator of The L
World and The Real L Word, believes
television is failing to produce gay dramas.
Chaiken's
groundbreaking lesbian drama The L Word premiered
on Showtime in 2004 and ran for six seasons. The show's
reality-based spinoff, The Real L Word,
ends its third season on September 6.
In a
wide-ranging interview with The Huffington Post,
Chaiken lamented that getting a gay drama on the air remains a
difficult task.
“I would say this
and it's very specific and it's an entertainment industry
specificity: There are some great comedies on television with gay
characters but show me a drama?” she asked.
“There
isn't one. It's barely changed and since The L Word
and Queer As Folk went
off the air, we are back where we are before they came on the air –
unrepresented and occasionally represented as ancillary characters
like best friends or fifth year members of an ensemble cast. You
know, in the fifth year of a show that's very solid and secure they
can decide to let a character 'go gay.' Otherwise it's guest stars
who get murdered,” she
added.