FX’s groundbreaking series Pose is set to walk its final ball. The series co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals will enter its third and final season on May 2 at 10pm ET/PT with its first two episodes of its seven-episode run. The series finale will shablam its way to FX on June 6. The news was revealed during Good Morning America on Friday.
In this final season, it’s now 1994 and ballroom feels like a distant memory for Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) 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. Meanwhile, as AIDS becomes the leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44, Pray Tell (Billy Porter) 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.
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Since debuting in 2018, Pose has snatched numerous accolades including a Peabody Award, AFI honors and an Emmy for Billy Porter, who became the first openly gay man to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Pose executive producer, writer and director Janet Mock becoming the first trans woman of color hired as a writer on a TV series, as well as the first transgender woman of color to write and direct a TV episode.
The drama puts the spotlight on New York’s underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the 1980s and had a huge impact on the masses when it came to dancing, fashion and music. The drama put an authentic lens on trans people of color and AIDS epidemic of the era.
Pose made television history, featuring the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles, including Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross who star alongside Porter, Dyllón Burnside, Angel Bismark Curiel, Sandra Bernhard and Jason A. Rodriguez
“We got to tell the exact story we wanted, as we wanted to tell it, and I’m incredibly honored and grateful,” said co-creator Ryan Murphy in regards to the end of the series. “Pose’s story may end in 1996, but its impact will go on forever.”
Murphy goes on to say, “Pose has been one of the creative highlights of my entire career. 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.”
With the trailblazing show coming to an end, the show’s creators and producers as well as FX execs had a lot to say as Pose enters its final season purse first.
Falchuk, writer, director, co-creator, executive producer, said, “I am more proud of this show than anything else I have created – or ever will create. I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.”
Canals, who serves as executive producer, writer, director and co-creator said that he was told to write the TV show he wanted to watch. He saw a void of Black and Latinx characters that happened to also be LGBTQ+ on TV. As a result he wrote the first draft of a pilot that would become Pose.
“I, along with my incredible collaborators, never intended on changing the TV landscape,” said Canals. “I simply wanted to tell an honest story about family, resilience, and love. How fortunate am I to have done that for three seasons. I’m filled with gratitude to our intrepid writers, cast, crew, and producers who worked tirelessly to make Pose come to life, humbled by our loyal audience, thankful to the ballroom community who trusted us to tell their story, overwhelmed by the critics who warmly embraced us, and forever indebted to Ryan Murphy, FX, and 20th Television for changing my life.”
John Landgraf, Chairman, FX, said “Words cannot truly express my gratitude and appreciation for those who have given FX and the world the gift that is Pose. Ryan Murphy, Steven Canals, our incomparable cast and their collaborators created a masterpiece and, in doing so, have left an indelible legacy that will open doors, new doors, for the trans community.”
He added, “Pose is proof that Ryan’s, Dana [Walden]’s and our commitment to giving more opportunities to underrepresented writers, directors, producers, actors and craftspeople was not done to signal our virtue — but because our world is literally filled with untapped geniuses looking for nothing more than a chance to prove their extraordinary talent, beauty and value in the marketplace of stories.”
Walden, Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television added to the sentiment giving gratitude to the cast, writers and creators saying that Pose represents a great source of pride for all of us inside Disney Television Studios “This show demonstrates the power of our industry to shine a light on the underrepresented and point to our common humanity—and to do it with glitter, gusto and sheer fabulousness!” she said. “A special thanks to Ryan for introducing us to voices like Steven Canals and Janet Mock, and then for clearing the way for them to do their best work.”
“My life has been forever changed because of Pose, a drama series that centered around trans and queer people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and Black and Latinx people – without trepidation or apology,” said Janet Mock.
She continued, “Though I am heartbroken to say goodbye to our beloved characters, I know the work my fellow writers and producers, our crew, and trailblazing cast did on Pose will live forever as a glittering, heart-filled, bright beacon of love, acceptance, family and community.”
The final season of Pose did not let the pandemic stop its shine. Mock and Canals as well as cast members posted pictures of them in fabulous PPE while they were shooting season three in New York.
Season 2 of Pose ended with the male emcees literally stepping into the shoes of the women who walk the balls as the females judged them. At the yearly Mother’s Day Ball we saw Blanca continue to power through and conquer her battle with HIV and perform a lip-sync to Whitney Houston’s iconic rendition of the National Anthem performed at the Super Bowl in 1991 and we see Elektra win “Mother of the Year”. Meanwhile, Patti Lupone’s Frederica Norman sits in prison for setting Blanca’s nail salon on fire — with many regrets. Papi books a gig for Angel under his new agency and the two are about to get hitched! The episode ended with Blanca taking in two kids who could very well be the next generation of the House of Evangelista.
Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall and Sherry Marsh also serve as executive producers of Pose. Our Lady J is co-executive producer. Tanase Popa is supervising producer. Lou Eyrich, Jeff Dickerson, and Kip Myers also serve as producers. The show is produced by 20th Television and FX Productions.
