A new lesbian show to fill the L-shaped hole in your heart.
Out with The L Word, in with Exes & Ohs? When the big L waves its final goodbye, Exes & Ohs will be the only scripted lesbian-focused series on the air. Based on a 2002 short film The Ten Rules: A Lesbian Survival Guide by Michelle Paradise, this quirky docudrama-style comedy follows the lives of documentary filmmaker Jennifer, played by Paradise, and her best friends as they deal with life, love and friendship.
The cast also includes Curve favorite Heather Matarazzo as Crutch, an angsty purple-haired barista with dreams of rock stardom. Angela Featherstone, a former Italian Vogue cover model who you’ll recognize from the films 200 Cigarettes and The Wedding Singer and A League of their Own star Megan Cavanagh play Chris and Kris, a yin-yang lesbian couple trying to get pregnant, and super-hot Canadian actress Marnie Alton plays Jennifer’s ex and bed-hopping best friend Sam.
Season two is now airing on Logo, and if the first season is anything to go by, there is going to be a lot to love. Last season, Chris and Kris searched for a sperm donor, Jennifer struggled to find a sponsor for her documentary and escape the vicious lesbian cycle of exes-turned-BFFs, Sam confronted her father’s homophobia and Crutch pursued her dream of rock-stardom. Still need ten more reasons to tune in?
1. For Us, By Us
Not only was Exes & Ohs the first lesbian-themed sitcom on air, it is also written and by lesbian author Michelle Paradise. With Logo’s support and co-producers like Billy Grundfest, a three-time Emmy nominated writer from Mad About You, it just keeps getting better.
2. Real Women
These are real women and real lesbians—poor, rich, thick, thin, glamorous, attractive, plain, vulnerable, struggling. Not everyone has a high-profile job, a sleek ride and a supermodel physique, but the show’s better for it. Seeing Sam humble herself by serving hot dogs in a little tank top in order to pick up some extra cash makes us feel we could just reach out and touch her.
3. Lesbian Dating 102
The show takes a “serious” look at the unspoken—or sometimes loudly spoken—rules of lesbian dating, breaking down lesbo lingo like “The I Bridge Girl” (the girl you hook up with to get you from one relationship to the next).
4. Wonderfully Awkward Humor
Last year the show was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Best Comedy Series, alongside Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. It is full of funny faux pas and foot-in-mouth scenes thanks to Jennifer’s awkward honesty. In one episode she wrongly calls a fellow lesbian speed dater a trans man, and she attempts to rectify the mistake by declaring loudly that she is not transphobic. The blunder is just one more in a string of offenses to the “rules of lesbian life.”
5. Eye Candy
Sure, it’s a shallow reason—actually, it’s two shallow reasons—but Kris and Sam are definitely worth tuning in for. They are hot and hotter, respectively, though unfortunately not together. But not to worry. With all the bedroom action Sam gets, new hot bodies are flying on and off the screen before there is a chance to get bored.
6. Light on the Drama
Paradise’s quirky, fast-paced writing highlights honest moments of tension, passion, friendship and struggle with a lighthearted touch. Done in a docu-drama style, it more closely mimics early Sex & the City episodes than the dark, steamy drama of The L-word. Paradise understands that sometimes it’s fun not to take everything so seriously.
7. The Beever Café
Lesbians gathering daily at the Beever Café to kvetch and drink soy lattes served by baby dyke Crutch? Check! Between the café setting and occasional shots of Seattle’s sparkling seaside scenery, the sense of place in Exes & Ohs is clichéd if only because it’s so relatable.
8. Small Town Coming Out
Cavanagh’s character, Chris, was the first lesbian to come out in her small Ohio hometown. Not always an easy transition, as small-town lesbians across the nation can attest to.
9. Chris & Kris, Thick & Thin, Babies & Puppies
Watch opposites-attract couple Chris and Kris, one boisterous and butch-esque, the other low-key and feminine, experience the joys and dramas of pursuing lesbian parenthood, all while running an online pet accessories boutique.
10. Overthinker? You’re Not Alone
Not to stereotype or anything, but it may be a remote possibility that women, particularly those of the lesbian ilk, just might have a tendency to overanalyze scenarios, details, tones of voice, intention, looks, thoughts and words. You know, just every once in a while. Watch Exes & Ohs and you can live vicariously through Jennifer’s neurotic lovelorn analysis and indulge in excessive emotional outpouring without ever leaving the couch.