FX's groundbreaking series Pose
will end with an abbreviated third season.
The drama's upcoming seven-episode
third season will premiere on Sunday, May 2.
Pose,
which explores New York's vibrant ball scene of the 1980s,
features television's largest cast of transgender actors in series
regular roles and the largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series,
according to FX. The show also tackles important issues about race
and discrimination, including how AIDS impacted the LGBT community.
In its final season, the series will
jump ahead to 1994.
“Ballroom feels like a distant memory
for Blanca, who struggles to balance being a mother with being a
present partner to her new love, and her latest role as a nurse’s
aide,” FX said in a release. “Meanwhile, as AIDS becomes the
leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44, Pray Tell
contends with unexpected health burdens. Elsewhere, the emergence of
a vicious new upstart house forces the House of Evangelista members
to contend with their legacy.”
Ryan Murphy created the series with
Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals. Other Murphy properties include Glee,
Nick/Tuck, Hollywood, American Crime Story, and
American Horror Story.
“Pose has been one of the
creative highlights of my entire career,” said Murphy. “From the
very beginning when Steven Canals and I sat down to hear his vision
and ideas for the show, it has been a passion project. To go from the
beginning of my career in the late 90s when it was nearly impossible
to get an LGBTQ character on television to Pose – which will
go down in history for having the largest LGBTQ cast of all time –
is a truly full circle moment for me.”
“This show made history behind and in
front of the camera, and its legacy runs deep,” he said. “We got
to tell the exact story we wanted, as we wanted to tell it, and I’m
incredibly honored and grateful. Pose’s story may end in
1996, but its impact will go on forever.”
The show's five transgender characters
are played by transgender actors. They are MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore,
Dominique Jackson, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross. The series also
features Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter, James Van Der Beek, Evan
Peters, Kate Mara, Charlayne Woodard, and Dyllon Burnside.
(Related: Billy
Porter on coming out gay at the height of the AIDS crisis: It was a
dark time.)
Pose's series finale will air on
June 6.