Though the second season in his latest anthology series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace doesn’t hit television screens till January 17, series creator Ryan Murphy is already prepping to make history with his next venture. Pose follows various movements during New York in the 1980s, from the rise of Trump Tower to ball culture, an underground LGBT dance world that dominated the decade.
Murphy will make history with Pose, featuring both the largest cast of transgender actors as series regulars as well as having the largest LGBTQ cast ever brought together for a scripted television series in the United States. The majority of the cast are newcomers, hired after a six-month nationwide talent search. They include MJ Rodriguez as Blanca. Rodriguez is best known for playing the role of Angel during the Off-Broadway revival of Rent and was recently featured in the musical drama Saturday Church. Others include Dominican-American model Indya Moore and Dominique Jackson and Hailie Sahar who were also hired based on the search.
Behind-the-scenes, Latino scribe Steven Canals is co-writing the series with Ryan Murphy. During a Q&A put on by the Television Critics Association, Canals discussed how he initially wrote Pose‘s script in 2014 while studying to be a screenwriter at UCLA. As with most groundbreaking material, Canals was told time and again the series’ “niche” subject matter would prevent it from finding a home on television. Canals eventually got the script to Murphy, who decided to take the show to the networks and produce it.
Puerto Rican choreographer Danielle Polanco will coordinate the dance sequences. She’s previously worked with Janet Jackson, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. Polanco will be aided by Leoimy Maldonado, considered the Puerto Rican “Wonder Woman of vogue.” Hector Xtravaganza, “grandfather” of the voguing House of Xtravaganza will also serve as consultant on the show.
Pose is also set to include Sebastian Chacon of Narcos, alongside Murphy alumni Evan Peters, and actress Kate Mara.
The series starts filming in New York in February for a premiere in summer 2018.