Ryan Murphy’s Pose Breaks New Ground With Five Trans Actors Cast In Major Roles

As if Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Feud, Scream Queens, American Crime Story) wasn’t busy enough already, he’s got big plans for 2018, which include the major series Pose. Much of the casting for the series has been announced in the past few days, and that includes the fact that there are a record five major trans roles in the show, and they have all been filled by trans actors.

It’s the most transgender series regulars ever for a scripted television show in the US.

Those roles will be taken on by MJ Rodriguez (Blanca); Indya Moore (Angel); Dominique Jackson (Elektra); Hailie Sahar (Lulu) and Angelica Ross (Candy). It’s not just in front of the camera that trans people are involved, as the likes of Our Lady J and Janet Mock have been working on the scripts.

Variety reports that the show is a ‘period piece set in the mid-’80s in New York City, examining 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.’

The trans characters will joins a variety of other LGBT people of color in the part of the show that looks at ball culture – the LGBT subculture that emerged in the 1980s, and which sees different ‘houses’ and people competing against one another in balls.

Co-creator Steven Canals comments, “We are thrilled that POSE pushes the narrative forward by centering on the unique and under-told experiences of trans women and gay people of color. Ryan has assembled a strong team of storytellers and innovators to collaborate on telling this important narrative. As a Bronx-bred queer writer of color, I’m honored to aid in ushering this groundbreaking show into homes.”

The great cast will also include the likes of James Van Der Beek, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mara, Evan Peters, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter, and Dyllon Burnside.

At the moment, only a pilot episode of Pose had been commissioned, but given Murphy’s track record, there’s a strong chance a full season of the show will arrive sometime in 2018 on FX.