FX Bids Farewell to Its Groundbreaking Series "Pose"

The final season finds the characters living amid the turbulence of New York City circa 1994 when AIDS has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44 For many life has moved to the point that the ballroom culture that has powered their community is now secondary and while the Houses they have so fiercely represented still stand many of the families they made are now splinteredFor Billy Porter pictured at top who plays ballroom emcee Pray Tell saying goodbye to his character and the series that finally put him on the map is hard especially during the COVID pandemic which has brought forth painful memories of the AIDS plague amp8220The parallels are quite profoundamp8221 he said during a sometimesemotional Zoom panel to promote the last seasonamp8220I know that as a Black gay man who lived through the AIDS crisis I have been dealing with a lot of PTSD during this COVID timequot Porter explained quotIt39s very reminiscent of what it was like then But the best news about that is I survived We got through it and there is another side that we can get to I feel what Pose really accomplishes this season is reminding the public that when we come together and when we lead with love thatamp8217s how we get to the other sideamp8221A takeaway for viewers of the final season of Pose is closure to the story amp8220From the very beginning from the moment that Ryan Murphy and I first met to talk about what Pose could be we had a very specific ending in mindamp8221 said series cocreator and executive producer Steven Canals quotThere were a lot of conversations in our writers39 room between Janet Mock Brad Falchuk Our Lady J and me about what we wanted to accomplish this season All these incredible experiences that we knew that we wanted all our characters to have going back to the first season were a setup for this final chapteramp8220Stories have a beginning a middle and an endamp8221 he added amp8220This final season was the end of this threeact narrative that we39ve been telling Every choice was intentional To synthesize this season very simply I was finally allowing our characters to explore what it means to have all the things that they very clearly stated in the first season they wanted This final season is an exploration into the idea of once you39ve accomplished the dream is it everything that you wanted Is it everything that you wished it would be Is it quite as shiny as you imagined it to beamp8221Everyone in the show39s stellar cast is clearly grateful to have had the opportunity that Pose posed and for the voice it provided them amp8220I39m an immigrant Black trans woman whoamp8217d been on sets before but not sets that celebrated validated or acknowledged meamp8221 reflected Mj Rodriguez pictured above center amp8220To walk on to that set and hear Mr Murphy say 39Is that how it39s done39 was validation in and of itself I am ballroom so watching everything happening around me I saw the passion the compassion the care the want to know that it was being done right Only on one of our last scenes did I have to say amp8216noamp8217 We were loved and brought the best even in the worst of timesamp8221amp8220Having Steven and Janet particularly as a Black trans woman in the writers39 room was perfectamp8221 added Indya Mooreamp160above second from right amp8220There were so many different parts of this story we39re all telling and we39re using details from our own experiences and lives Janet and Steven did that brilliantly and beautifully We were all able to relate and see ourselves in the lives of these characters so fully because of the way the writers39 room was organized I can39t remember a time I ever felt like I needed to say 39This doesn39t feel right39 They frequently came to us about the content and made sure that things felt right and felt naturalamp8221Pose will be remembered as an important piece of television and for Canals saying farewell to his baby left him emotional amp8220Pose was created out of a selfish actamp8221 he said through tears amp8220It came from a place of my wanting not only to be seen heard and affirmed but also to center and honor Black people Latinx Afro Latinx queer and trans people because those are my family and my friends To be a part of the storytelling has been incredibleamp8221amp8220I know that Pose has been both entertaining and educationalamp8221 he added in closing amp8220It has moved so many folks who don39t happen to hold those identities and it will never be lost on me that this show was created by and for our community I hope if nothing else that all the folks out there in the LGBTQ community and all those folks who happen be Black and brown know that we will always have your back We will always see you We will always affirm you The work will always be to honor youamp8221Ed Martin contributed to this storyNew episodes of Pose will be telecast Sundays at 10 pm on FX They will debut the following day on FXonHuluClick the social buttons above or below 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FX Bids Farewell to Its Groundbreaking Series "Pose"

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Steve Gidlow

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FX Bids Farewell to Its Groundbreaking Series "Pose"

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