Season two of Ryan Murphy‘s Pose, a groundbreaking TV series about New York City ballroom culture with a largely transgender cast, will star beloved stage actress Patti LuPone and take place around March 1990, when Madonna released the “Vogue” track which introduced ballroom culture to the mainstream. Madonna is not slated to play herself or appear in the series.
At PaleyFest, the annual New York City TV festival, Murphy told trans actress MJ Rodriguez and gay actor Billy Porter that they’d both have plenty of scenes with LuPone, though Murphy stopped short of revealing what role the 69-year-old actress would play.
Murphy also revealed that trans journalist Janet Mock, Porter and trans musician and writer Our Lady J will all direct episodes in the upcoming season, reports Deadline.
The first episode of season two will take place on March 27, 1990, the day that Madonna released “Vogue.” Her song, which went on to become an international chart-topper, featured several gay dancers and real-life ballroom performers in its music video including Luis Xtravaganza Camacho and Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza from the legendary ballroom House of Xtravaganza.
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Related: New York’s mayor marks March 9 as Hector Xtravaganza Day in honor of the ballroom legend
“Vogue” makes an interesting start to the show’s second season as it dropped near the height of the ongoing HIV epidemic and was seen as a major career landmark for Madonna. Madonna’s sexually charged and unapologetic performance in the music video flew in the face of ’80s-era sexual conservatism.
Some of her backup dancers on the Blonde Ambition world tour (which featured “Vogue” among other crowd-pleasing hits) later contracted HIV and sued Madonna for outing them as gay in the resulting tour documentary Truth or Dare.
Pose itself also has the largest LGBTQ cast in television history, with 140 trans actors and crew members and 35 non-trans LGBTQ characters.
Mimi77023
I found that the Bar has no RESPECT for seniors! and the people will be that age too hopefully one day. Very SAD & MEAN SPIRITED on behalf of the Bar?we all age with each second.
ShiningSex
I do see what you’re saying. Too young gays don’t know or care where we come from and what others went throught to at least get to THIS POINT in the struggle. Hopefully more and more will learn or be taught history and respect.
Doug
??? Am I missing something? What bar are you referring to?
alfredoloveslife
Agree
DCguy
I kind of wish they second season wasn’t going to happen while VOGUE is out. I wish they did another season of the time before so we could see more of the day to day of it.
Quick correction: The author said : “Some of her backup dancers on the Blonde Ambition world tour (which featured “Vogue” among other crowd-pleasing hits) later contracted HIV and sued Madonna for outing them as gay in the resulting tour documentary Truth or Dare.”
Actually at least one of the dancers was HIV positive before the tour started, the way that is written makes it sound like they were suing her somehow for them contracting HIV which I’m guessing is just a mis-type. 🙂
alfredoloveslife
So sad but true
stanhope
Pose is one of the best shows on television…excellent
NeilIN72
I wish they would have done one more season in the 80s before jumping to the 90s. A six year time jump between seasons 1 and 2 seems a bit large. Hopefully there will be a lot of flashbacks to show what happened in the intervening years!
Frank McGinness
Thankful for the article’s title being misleading. Great that Madonna’s part in Pose is her yesteryear music only and not today’s sicko who adopted 2 kids because they had penis to exploit and modify to be signposts advertising her own beliefs.
Aggravated Sexploitation.