Pose (TV series)

• Evan Peters as Stan Bowes, Patty's yuppie husband who works in Trump Tower and later becomes Angel's lover. (season 1)[2]
• Kate Mara as Patty Bowes, Stan's wife and mother of their children. (season 1)[2]
• James Van Der Beek as Matt Bromley, Stan's kingpin boss. (season 1)[2]
• Mj Rodriguez as Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista, a trans woman with HIV/AIDS and former member of the House of Abundance. She is the founder and mother of the House of Evangelista.
• Dominique Jackson as Elektra Wintour, mother of the former House of Abundance. After brief stints in the Houses of Evangelista and Ferocity, she forms the House of Wintour.
• Billy Porter as Pray Tell, emcee of the balls in New York, fashion designer, and mentor to members of the community, especially the members of House Evangelista. He is also in a relationship with Ricky.
• Indya Moore as Angel Evangelista, a trans woman sex worker who joins the House of Evangelista after leaving the House of Abundance. She has a relationship with Stan during the first season.
• Ryan Jamaal Swain as Damon Richards-Evangelista, a homeless, talented dancer who becomes the first member of the House of Evangelista.
• Charlayne Woodard as Helena St. Rogers, a modern dance teacher at the New School for Dance.
• Hailie Sahar as Lulu Ferocity, the founder of the House of Ferocity alongside Candy.
• Angelica Ross as Candy Johnson-Ferocity, the founder of the House of Ferocity alongside Lulu.
• Angel Bismark Curiel as Esteban "Lil Papi" Martinez-Evangelista, a member of the House of Evangelista.
• Dyllón Burnside as Ricky Wintour, Damon's boyfriend and a former member of the House of Evangelista who joins the House of Wintour.
• Sandra Bernhard as Judy Kubrak, a nurse who works with people with AIDS and member of ACT UP. (season 2; guest season 1)[3]

On March 16, 2017, it was announced that FX had given the production a pilot order. The pilot was written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals all of whom were also set to executive produce alongside Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Sherry Marsh. Production companies involved with the pilot were slated to consist of include FX Productions and Fox21 Television Studios.[23] In October 2018, it was reported that Leiomy Maldonado and Danielle Polanco would be choreographing the series' ball scenes[24] and that Janet Mock and Our Lady J had joined the show's writing and producing staff.[25]

On December 27, 2017, it was announced that FX had given the production a series for a first season consisting of eight episodes.[26] On May 9, 2018, ahead of the series premiere, Murphy announced that he would be donating all of his profits from Pose to non-profit charitable organizations that work with LGBTQ+ people, including the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.[27][28][29] Murphy explained this decision saying, "The thing that struck me in talking to so many of them, was how much they've struggled, how under attack they feel, how many of them find it difficult getting healthcare, and finding jobs. I just decided I need to do more than just making a show for this community. I want to reach out and help this community."[30] On July 12, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season which premiered on June 11, 2019.[31][32] On June 17, 2019, FX renewed the series for a third season.[33]

Stars from the show "Pose" at Los Angeles Pride Parade

In March 2017, Ryan Murphy and his team began casting for the series. On October 25, 2017, it was announced that transgender actors MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross and cisgender actors Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter and Dyllón Burnside had been cast in main roles. The series' production team claimed that they had assembled the largest transgender cast ever for a scripted series.[24][34] The series was expected to include over 50 transgender characters total.[1] On October 26, 2017, it was announced that Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek, and Tatiana Maslany had also joined the main cast.[35][36]

On December 27, 2017, it was reported that Maslany had exited the series following the redevelopment of her part into that of a 50-year-old African-American woman. The character was then recast with Charlayne Woodard assuming the role.[37] On September 19, 2018, it was announced that Sandra Bernhard would reprise her role of Nurse Judy in season two as a series regular.[3] On March 23, 2019, at PaleyFest, Ryan Murphy revealed that Patti LuPone will guest star in Season 2.[38]

Production for the series' pilot began in New York City in October 2017.[39] The following episodes of the first season were expected to begin production in February 2018.[26] Murphy directed the series' first two episodes[1] and Mock directed the sixth, thus making her the first transgender woman of color to write and direct any episode of television.[40] On March 14, 2020, production on the third season was suspended due to the COVID-19 health crisis.[41]

Promotional poster featuring Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista (MJ Rodriguez), star of Pose, portraying the drag ball culture of Manhattan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

On April 12, 2018, FX released the first teaser trailer for the series. It was also announced that the series was set to premiere on June 3, 2018.[42] On May 3, 2018, the first official trailer was released.[43]

On May 17, 2018, the series held its world premiere at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.[44][45] On July 23, 2018, Dyllón Burnside emceed a benefit concert, duetting with co-stars Billy Porter and Ryan Jamaal Swain to celebrate the season one finale, and raise money for GLSEN.[46][47][48] During the event, a conversation was held between Burnside and former Vibe editor-in-chief Emil Wilbekin, where Burnside discussed his coming out story and spoke about the importance of safe spaces for LGBTQ people. Later on in the evening, Porter sang from his latest album and MJ Rodriguez sang "Waving Through a Window" from Dear Evan Hansen.[48]

In March 2019, the series was part of the Paley Center for Media's annual Paleyfest LA at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[49]

Pose premiered in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2019 on BBC Two, also being available on the BBC iPlayer in full.[50] Season 2 premiered on BBC Two on October 26, 2019. As with season 1, the full series was also made available on BBC iPlayer.

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8.21/10 based on 81 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Charged with energy, poise, and confidence, Pose pirouettes between artistic opulence and deliciously soapy drama to create a fresh new addition to Ryan Murphy's lexicon."[54] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 75 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[55]

In a positive review, Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson was effusive describing the series as "an engaging portrait of dark days met with merriment. Pain and perseverance are sewn together to create something humble yet fabulous—and, it should be shouted over all the show's loud and glorious clamor, very much long overdue."[56] In a similarly favorable critique, Vulture's Matt Zoller Seitz praised the series' ambition, aesthetic, and spotlight on minorities saying, "it shows American audiences a world that has never been visualized on television at this length and at such an obviously grand budget level. The camera swings and swoops, glides and tumbles as in a Scorsese epic like Gangs of New York; in both the outdoor street scenes and indoor crowd scenes, it's obvious that FX has spared no expense to get the clothes, the cars, the streets, the business signs, and even the distinctive yellow-brown glow of streetlights correct."[57] In a more mixed assessment, Newsday's gave the series two-and-a-half stars out of four and described it far less approvingly saying, "good intentions don't always lead to good TV, and a couple episodes in, that appears to be the case with Pose. This certainly isn't bad TV—Murphy isn't about to leave his longtime home with a turkey—but it's often bland TV, and oddly enough, stock TV."[58] In a negative evaluation, Slate's Willa Paskin was outright dismissive saying, "It's a TV show from one of the most canny creators working today, yet as a viewing experience it can feel like an object lesson." She continued on specifically criticizing the show's character development saying, "So many of the people on Pose are strong women, trans paragons, and this comes at the expense of them being recognizably flawed human beings."[59]

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 8.25/10 based on 39 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A delightful, delicate dance of light and dark, Pose's second season achieves a striking balance between the grittiness of reality and the glamour of the runway and shines even brighter."[60] On Metacritic, season 2 holds a score of 79 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[61]