Ellen Page Joins Tales Of The City Revival!
And More Exclusive Details!
#YES! Okay, so last month we informed you that one of the greatest LGBTQ novels of all time, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City is receiving a revival on Netflix. The news broke into our trending topics, letting us know we're not the only people overly excited for this to come back!
Maupin is a literary genius and one of my inspirations, so there’s no way this won’t be legendary. I was too young to catch the series when it aired on PBS / Showtime and had to sneakily stream the episodes in horrible quality while I was in college. The fact the revival is heading to Netflix is truly magical! There’s nothing more Id rather do than sit at home watching television, I could cry at how convenient this is going to be. We’ve already told you Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are returning and now we finally have more details!
Openly lesbian Actress, Ellen Page, who you may recognize as an LGBTQ juggernaut and Kitty Pryde in the X-Men franchise, is joining the cast as Linney’s daughter, Shawna! Ahh! Did you just hear the gay gasp from me?! Page has been having an incredible year after exposing Brett Ratner allegedly, essentially outed her in front of the X-Men cast. She announced her marriage to Dancer, Emma Porter, earlier this year. But wait, Page’s character isn’t the only news released…
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tales of the City is getting a whopping 10 episodes and will follow Linney’s character from the original series as she returns back to San Francisco. While we don’t have an exact date, Netflix is expected to release the revival sometime in 2019. Which isn’t too far away if you don’t think about it! Here’s the official synopsis:
“Based on the book, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter (Page) and ex-husband Brian, 20 years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture-perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and the residents of 28 Barbary Lane.”
Maupin, who I need to be like, mentored by, is thrilled for the revival. He tells THR:
"I couldn't be more excited about this brand-new incarnation of Tales. It's set in present-day San Francisco with all the joys and complications that might suggest for the residents of 28 Barbary Lane. Mrs. Madrigal's tenants, both old and new, will be entangled in delicious new adventures and ever-expanding possibilities for love."
To make our LGBTQ hearts explode with even more love of actually having members of our community in front of and behind the screens; Orange is the New Black’s Lauren Morelli (who recently married OITNB Actress, Samira Wiley) will serve as Writer and Showrunner. I’m gagged- I literally can’t. Someone please get me in this writers' room!
Will this series may take the top spot for LGBTQ shows…dethroning Queer as Folk? We will have to wait and see. With the combination of on and off-screen talent, this project is going to blow us all away!
I’m keeping a close Google Alert on all things Tales of the City, so trust me: I’ll keep you updated!
Check out Page’s Instagram post, revealing a page of the script, below:
This post is the opinion of this contributing writer to Instinct Magazine. Opinion pieces do not always reflect the stance of the magazine or the other contributing writers.