FX has given a series order to Ryan Murphy’s Pose. A period piece set in the mid-’80s in New York City, Pose examines the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in Manhattan: the emergence of the luxury Trump-era universe, the ball culture world, and downtown social and literary scene. Murphy co-created the drama with Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, who will executive produce with Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh, and Erica Kaye. Janet Mock and Our Lady J will serve as producers.
Orphan Black star and Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany, who had been set to star in Pose, is no longer attached to the project. The role Maslany was to play has been reconceived for actress Charlayne Woodard. Evan Peters, James Van Der Beek, and Kate Mara are still aboard the series, which is also set to feature the largest cast of trangender actors ever for a scripted television program. Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions are producing. Murphy will direct the first two episodes.
“In the 15 years we’ve worked with Ryan, he has demonstrated time and again that every person’s story is joyful, illuminating, and must to be told,” said FX CEO John Landgraf. “With ‘Pose,’ Ryan, and his producing partners Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, introduce us to a new group of characters whose talent, life force, and self-made community is greater than the daunting obstacles created by a society that can be threatened by their native identities.”
Reports surfaced in March that Murphy was working on Pose for FX, home of his anthologies American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and Feud. The cable channel announced in October that it had ordered a pilot for the series.
“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. “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. 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.”
