Billy Porter in FX’s POSE (screen capture)
FX’s acclaimed series, Pose, preps for its second season as the groundbreaking television show flashes forward in time to 1990.
Created by Ryan Murphy (GLEE, American Horror Story, American Crime Story), the series explores the lives and aspirations of LGBTQ performers in the ballroom scene of 1980s New York City. The show made history last year employing the largest number of transgender cast and crew members in television history.
As the ballroom scene begins to emerge in mainstream pop culture with the release of Madonna’s “Vogue,” the members of the House of Evangelista finds itself wondering how their private refuge will be affected.
At the same time, the AIDS epidemic worsens reaching a fever pitch.
Golden Globe nominee Billy Porter (‘Pray Tell’) and Mj Rodriguez (‘Blanca’) are featured in two new teaser videos in advance of the upcoming June 11 premiere of season two.
Shot in high contrast black and white, the high concept spots cut from stylish fashion sequences to candid and sobering testimonials.
In his new promo, Pray Tell shares that he is “trying to stay positive” as “our community is going through a lot of stuff right now with the plague.”
Sensing “a change coming,” he also extolls the virtues and necessity for the ballroom scene in 1990.
“Joy is a choice,” says the ballroom emcee. “Choosing life in the darkest of times is a choice. That’s what the ballroom scene is about.”
In her promo close-up, Evangelista house mother Blanca shares with the audience that her kids “can always lean on me no matter what.”
“If they fall, they know I’m going to always be there, even if I’m gone,” she adds. “That’s how you create a family. My words are powerful, and I hope I can live to tell the story. I want my legacy to be love.”
In addition to two Golden Globe nominations, the series has been honored as AFI’s “TV Program of the Year,” and nominated at the Gotham Awards, the Writers Guild Awards, and the Broadcast Film Critics Awards.
And just this weekend, the cast and creators celebrated another win as the show scored at the 78th Annual Peabody Awards, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Since 1941, the Peabody Awards have honored programs that demonstrate how media can defend the public interest, encourage empathy with others, and teach us to expand our understanding of the world around us.
A post shared by Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) on May 19, 2019 at 8:28pm PDT
Pose returns to FX on June 11.
