FX has given an eight-episode series order to the Ryan Murphy drama “Pose,” the network announced on Wednesday.
The series, which stars Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek and a record number of transgender series regulars, looks at the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in 1980s New York: the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe, the downtown social and literary scene and the ball culture world. The series will debut in summer 2018.
Peters and Mara will costar as a New Jersey couple who get sucked into the glamour and intrigue of New York City in the 1980s. Van Der Beek will Peters’ financial kingpin boss. MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore (above), Hailie Sahar, Angelica Ross, Billy Porter, Ryan Jamaal Swain and Dyllon Burnside also star.
Tatiana Maslany had previously been attached to play a dance teacher in the pilot, but the role has since been reconceived as a 50-year-old African American woman, played by Charlayne Woodard.
“I am thrilled to join forces with John Landgraf and FX Networks and FXP and Dana Walden, Gary Newman and Fox 21 Television Studios to present what I think is a game changer of a show, which at its heart is an uplifting series about the universal quest for identity, family and respect,” Murphy said in a statement.
“Along with being a dance musical and an affirming look at American life in the 1980s, I’m so proud that Pose and FX has made history right from the beginning by featuring the most trans series regular actors ever in an American television production,” he continued. “Additionally, the first season Pose will feature 50-plus LGBTQ characters – a record in American television history. I can’t wait for people to see this incredibly talented, passionate cast.”
Pose was written by co-creators and executive producers Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson also executive produces alongside Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh and Erica Kaye. Janet Mock and Our Lady J are also producers on the show from Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.