The series that brought the ballroom culture to the mainstream is bringing down the curtain.
Following two culturally core-shaking seasons that gave America a peek into the world of ballroom and made television history for its portrayals of black and brown LGBTQ people, Pose has announced its final season. Co-creator and Executive Producer Steven Canals said yesterday “Good morning, America. I’m Steven Canals co-creator and executive producer of Pose,” Canals said in a video posted to social media “Our audience has been so incredibly supportive of the show and I wanted to tell you directly that our new season, which debuts on FX on Sunday, May 2 will be its last.” Co-creator Ryan Murphy followed up by saying in a statement “We got to tell the exact story we wanted, as we wanted to tell it, and I’m incredibly honored and grateful”
Fans have been eagerly anticipating the return of the groundbreaking drama, but knew that the combination of a global pandemic and the necessity for on-screen intimacy to properly tell stories would make filming scenes in locations like packed ballrooms challenging at best. Production had been shut down, but Canals said at the time “how are we going to do the balls? Do we wait and shoot the balls later in our production cycle when hopefully the restrictions have loosened up some? A lot of it is a question mark and we’re having to figure it out as we go.” Plot-line wise, Canals has already disclosed that there will be another time jump involved, along with casting surprises and a love interest for Blanca (portrayed by the luminous M.J. Rodriguez).
Deadline offers some elaboration on what we will see for the final season, saying “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.”
The final season of ‘Pose’ will contain seven full episodes. Season 3 will debut Sunday, May 2, at 10 p.m. with two episodes; the series finale will air June 6.
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