It goes without saying that the first season of “Pose” made history. The FX series was the first narrative television program on cable TV to primarily feature transgender actors and, most importantly, a predominantly LGBTQ PoC cast. There have been primarily gay programs on premium and ad-based cable networks in the past such as “Queer as Folk,” “The L Word” and “Noah’s Arc,” but nothing as diverse and inclusive as “Pose.” Created by Steven Canals, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the program was set at the tail end of the ’80s when New York City’s ballroom scene was jumping and the AIDS crisis cast a deathly shadow over the entire gay community. And outside of a few documentaries and a random episode of television here and there, this is a world the mainstream media has rarely touched upon. So, it’s creation was a very good thing. That being said, as a narrative series, it had issues.
READ MORE: Steven Canals on the long road to strike that “Pose” [Podcast]
The creative team behind “Pose” tried to cover a lot of ground over the course of its first eight episodes. There were at least seven primary storylines (maybe more) and at least one of them fell completely to the wayside. Most disconcerting was a narrative thread that centered on transgender street hustler Angel Evangelista (Indya Moore) and Stan Bowles (Evan Peters), a married New Jersey stockbroker trying to have it all, including her. Kate Mara played Stan’s increasingly frustrated wife and James Van Der Beek, his slimy co-worker who served no real purpose but to make us happy Van Der Beek was back on TV. No fault of the actors, Stan’s storylines felt completely out of place to the ballroom “Houses” Angel was from, houses filled with LGBTQ characters of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. The best news about “Pose” season two is that Stan and his faux “Wall Street” plotline are completely gone. Canals, Murphy, Falchuk and their writing staff have smartly centered on just the Houses competing for ballroom glory and thank heaven for that.*
*We’re assuming they’re gone based on the episodes screened. Fingers crossed.
If you need a quick refresher, the up and coming House of Evangelista is run by Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista (MJ Rodriguez) and at the end of last season its members included Angel, Damon (Ryan Jamaal Swain), Ricky (Dyllón Burnside), Lil Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) and, in something of a surprise, Elektra (Dominque Jackson), a legendary mother who became “house-less.” The House of Abundance is their primary rival and is led by BFF’s Candy (Angelica Ross) and Lulu (Hailie Sahar) who lack style but make it up with nerve to spare. A third House enters the fray for season two, but we won’t spoil why or who it’s run by. The episodes screened for critics highlight the fact that despite the fierce battles in the ballroom scene these houses are run by “mothers” who truly depend on each other when things take a turn for the worse. They may deliver catty remarks and throw epic shade at one another on a daily basis, but they’ll put it all aside when things get serious and when the series returns in 1990 things are very, very serious. As all these mothers are trans women, as well. It cannot be discounted how important their depiction is even in this era of “progressive” Peak TV.
The first episode wants to make sure the audience knows how bad things are, but gets off to a rough start doing so. Blanca and Pray Tell (Billy Porter), the emcee of the balls in New York City and a father figure to almost everyone in the series, are visiting Hart Island, an island the city of New York used to bury unclaimed bodies for decades. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, many gay men were buried there without their friends or family’s knowledge which brings us to Blanca and Pray Tell. Searching for their friend Keenan, the explanation of the island and how dire things are is thrown out in a long monologue that even Porter’s talents can’t save. Thankfully, events begin to unfold that require much less exposition.
The producers and FX’s marketing have fixated on how Madonna’s “Vogue,” a dance anthem inspired by the ballroom scene, will be a key part of this season. That’s true, but it’s also a bit of an exaggeration. No, Madonna doesn’t make a surprise appearance at one of the balls and dancers Damon and Ricky don’t magically become part of her tour. Blanca is the first one who recognizes that the song’s popularity means hope, however. The song breaking out (it became one of Madonna’s all-time biggest hits) means a spotlight would be placed not only on the gay community but a ballroom community that was more diverse than the white gays hitting the bars in the East Village and the focus of most of America’s media coverage. Pray Tell has seen this scenario before, however, and is skeptical. He remembers straight boys dancing to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” in the ’70s and then burning their disco records just a few years later. Of course, “Vogue” was the bellwether of a dance music craze that dominated the pop charts for much of the decade and into the early ’00s, but we’re obviously in the early stages at this point. But there are teases of what’s to come. The boys in the House of Evangelista go to the Palladium and use their voguing skills to bask in the attention of the Chelsea gays. And there’s a throwaway line that legendary DJ Junior Vasquez has stopped by the balls to check out the scene. But, overall, it’s a thin narrative thread in the lives of characters with much more drama in their lives.
Early on, Blanca discovers that she has been classified as having AIDS, and is no longer just HIV positive. How can she run her “house,” launch her own nail salon while dealing with the side effects of AZT? Elektra finds a new profession that allows her riches that she’s only dreamed of, but has she really been humbled enough to continue living in Blanca’s packed apartment? Candy is desperate for Pray Tell to acknowledge her talents on the runway, but he continues to embarrass her in front of her peers. Blanca encourages Angel to audition for a modeling talent search, but will she discover its a business almost as seedy as hooking on the street? And can Damon and Ricky’s love affair survive? (And are we even invested enough to care?) If it sounds a bit melodramatic and borderline soap-ish, well, it is a bit. It’s still a Murphy show, after all. But it’s the actors are who keep “Pose” grounded and considering how fast some of these storylines move that’s huge.
Porter carried much of the series on his shoulders in season one and, at times, it seems like that’s still his primary responsibility. Happily, he’s got more company to help with the burden this time around. Rodriguez, in particular, is much more comfortable in front of the camera and is, frankly, a much better overall actor than the first go around. Moore was the secret star last season and she continues to impress. There is simply no other actor outside of Curiel who feels as grounded and real as she does. And Jackson? Talk about an actor where you simply cannot ignore her presence on screen. She steals scene after scene pulling off drama fits no one in their right mind should believe, but somehow you do.
The cast is assisted by the addition of Sandra Bernhard playing a physician who also happens to be an old friend of Pray Tell’s and Patti LuPone, in the most obvious Murphy casting, as a homophobic landlord that seems loosely inspired by Leona Helmsley.
Season two a huge improvement from the first eight episodes, but the series still seems a little all over the place at times. A storyline involving the houses getting involved with ACT Up and a protest at St. Patrick’s Cathedral disappears rather quickly and after four episodes Damon’s character, who was basically the introduction to the entire series, still has little to do than deal with a potentially cheating boyfriend. But there are glimmers here and there. The ballroom scenes are still exquisite and Porter can grab your attention like no other. And Janet Mock‘s direction of the third episode is so superb you wish she was helming the entire series. The good news is for season two “Pose” is making its mark on the runway. Whether that means it ends up with 10’s across the board when its all said and done remains to be seen. [B]
“Pose” season two debuts on Tuesday, June 11 at 10 PM ET/PT on FX.