Showtime Production Notes for Season 4

The L Word Season 4 picks up with the women wrestling with issues close to their hearts. As with previous seasons, old demons rear their ugly heads and a host of new characters are brought into their fold, offering them access to a broader community with diverse issues. The L Word returns for its 4th season on Showtime, Sunday, January 7, 2007. It stars Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Katherine Moennig, Dallas Roberts, Daniela Sea, Rachel Shelley, and Pam Grier. Newest editions to the cast include Cybill Shepherd, Marlee Matlin, Janina Gavankar and Rose Rollins. Special guest stars are Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Bruce Davison, Kristanna Loken and Jane Lynch.

This season the war in Iraq becomes an integral part of Alice's (Hailey) life as she struggles to move on after the death of Dana; Helena (Shelley) tries to find financial independence and come to terms with leaving behind a world of privilege; Phyllis Kroll (Shepherd) - who takes the courageous plunge late in life to come out of the closet - risking everything that has defined her life up to now; and, Bette (Beals) has to deal with Jodi Lerner (Matlin), a woman who confronts her head-on about her Type-A personality.

As Hailey says,"...even though there are serious dramatic moments, the series continues its mission to deliver stories in an entertaining way. I feel this Season is a lot lighter - it's more like Season 1. This show has hit some pretty dark points and I think we're coming out of that and it's gone back to more about us interacting as friends again, almost like situational comedy. It feels great!."

Creator and Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken reveals, "...bringing in fresh blood with the likes of Marlee Matlin, Cybill Shepherd, Janina Gavankar and Rose Rollins has definitely infused the show with stimulating new energy. We have some exciting new relationships, it feels like things have been shaken up a lot and our characters' lives are evolving in interesting ways."

Chaiken goes on to describe some of the new characters that debut in Season 4: "Phyllis (Shepherd) is telling a story that I felt we haven't told yet, but that curiously seems to be happening all around me since we started telling it. Phyllis is a woman who comes out later in life. She's someone who's lived a whole, full, rich heterosexual life - husband, children job - and everything that goes along with it. But Phyllis finally comes to terms with the fact that's she's a lesbian and goes through the difficult, sometimes painful and exhilarating process of coming out of the closet as a woman in her fifties."

For Shepherd, getting the opportunity to play such a complex character was worth the wait. "I love all these women in THE L WORD, you get to see every conceivable story and they surprise you - these characters are funny, moving and intelligent. Phyllis is a fantastic part because she gives me so many dramatic things to play but also there's a lot of room for comedy - this is one of the best parts I've ever played."

Another groundbreaking relationship that takes center stage this season is between intensely talented and deaf artist Jodi Lerner (Matlin) and that of control freak Bette (Beals).

Matlin weighs in on this storyline: "Audiences have never seen a deaf woman and a hearing woman in a relationship; it's never been done on television before. This is a very interesting storyline because this happens out there but it's never been highlighted. There are certainly some good times to be had between Jodi and Bette, but you'll also be seeing a point where communication breaks down and comes in the way of the two of them. They are two women who are very strong, very opinionated and even though they have a means to where they can meet with their heads and hearts, there are some points where they don't."

As the realities of life take their toll, all the women struggle with people growing apart, the complexities of motherhood, the cost of betrayal and the consequences of losing one's emotional ground.

Grier, who plays Kit, a recovering alcoholic, offers, "Kit goes through some serious, serious stuff. I don't know if I could be Kit," she laughs. "This show always has been so inclusive - we're trying to reveal so many voices, so many stories of a really diverse and large community. Politically, socially, religiously we have a lot more to go - we're exploring women's issues in the world. To some degree more and sometimes less, we are talking about global issues."

As The L Word provokes debate by offering different views on the war in lraq, the girls are also exposed to another community where they have not ventured - even though it's around the corner. New character Papi (Gavankar) brings the culture of East Los Angeles into the women's trendy West Hollywood world. Gavankar, who plays a Latina from Silverlake definitely has her own views on the West Hollywood lesbian lifestyle. Gavankar says, "Papi brings a kind of street attitude that the girls really haven't been exposed to so it lends to some funny moments. Papi and the girls start off thinking they are so different from each other - our mannerisms, even how we handle ourselves physically is worlds apart, but as we all become friends and we see that we aren't so different after all."

Chaiken was particularly drawn to explore and expose a reality of the lraq War that has been overlooked and ignored in mainstream media. "In my L Word travels, I've encountered a lot of women who are in the service, some who serve without incident and many of whom have dealt with the administration's policy on gays in the military. It was a story that we really wanted to take on and that gives us an opportunity to talk about a character named Tasha (Rollins) that is really interesting, but also to bring in some themes that seem to be touching a lot of our lives."

As the The L Word women weave in and out of life's chaos and unexpected turns, Chaiken feels confident that with time, the show will continue to empower and give voice to stories that are compelling and personal. Chaiken continues, "It's always been the central premise of our show that as we go on doing our show and as we all go on in life, our circles overlap and we meet different kinds of people. All those people who have asked me, 'why aren't you representing us?' I've often said, if we get to do The L Word long enough, in all likelihood, we will get there because our lives and experiences will touch one another's."