Who Are The New Actors On ‘The L Word: Generation Q’ and What Characters Do They Play?

Original L Word cast members Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey are back for The L Word: Generation Q. Creator Ilene Chaiken and new showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan created a new slate of characters for the revival series. 

New cast members Jacqueline Toboni, Rosanny Zayas, Arienne Mandi and Leo Sheng were part of the L Word: Generation Q panel for the Television Critics Association. Here is an introduction to them and their new characters. The L Word: Generation Q premieres December 8 at 10 p.m. on Showtime.

Jacqueline Toboni plays Sarah Finley on ‘The L Word: Generation Q’

Toboni added that her character is usually simply called Finley. 

“She is very fun, is always moving, and I think she doesn’t want to stop moving because then she’s going to have to confront what she’s lost,” Toboni said. “I think a lot of that has to do with her family and her religious upbringing. I think we’ll see her sort of deal with that.”

TV tends to avoid dealing with religion, but The L Word: Generation Q will face it head-on.

“I think what’s interesting is that she is Catholic, which I don’t think you see a lot of on TV,” Toboni said. “I think when queer people are dealing with religion, it’s a lot of it is religions that aren’t as open, I think, as Catholicism and are much more involved, so yeah.”

Rosanny Zayas plays Sophie Suarez on ‘The L Word: Generation Q’

Suarez is a television producer.

“She’s just a big heart,” Zayas said. “She really loves the people around her. She takes care of them, trustworthy. You get to see her go through these different relationships in her life and her career, especially being a woman of color in this world and how she navigates her life through that and what she has to do to keep pushing forward and her the come up, working hard in her career.”

Sophie Suarez represents people of color as well as the LGBTQ community.

“[It] is a beautiful thing to see on TV, brown people, black people really seeing the struggle of what it is to be in America today, which is another part of the discussion,” Toboni said. “There are a lot of groundbreaking things that this show did for people of color in Los Angeles and the LGBTQ community, and I feel like now you get to see a different part of it as the time has passed, and I think that’s something beautiful to watch throughout the show.”

Arienne Mandi plays Dani Nunez on ‘The L Word: Generation Q’

Dani Nunez is a PR head for a company that is her family’s business. 

“What’s great is that she, like all of us, we go through our changes throughout the season, and she has many realizations, carries a beautiful relationship with someone who she loves a lot, and kind of navigating herself within and what she really truly cares about and what she wants to fight for,” Nunez said. “I think it’s really amazing to see how the old mixes in with the new and how our lives intertwine.”

Leo Sheng plays Micah on ‘The L Word: Generation Q’

Micah is a social worker, which meant a lot to Sheng.

“I was actually studying social work before I got this role and it’s not a far reach from me,” Sheng said. “He is a very kind young man. He cares very deeply for all of his friends. I can definitely relate to it and I think it’s going to hopefully open doors to what some trans folks might experience.”

As much as The L Word champions representation, Micah is also a unique individual.

“I think we’ve talked about whether or not he’s representing all Chinese trans men,” Sheng said. “He’s definitely not, but we are working on making him authentic and genuine. I think that unfortunately in our history of representation, stories around trans folks have often been very tragic, and those are a reality for many trans people, but I’m really excited that we are going into a different direction for Micah. There’s a lot of excitement, and not everything is necessarily about his transition, and that’s kind of fun.”