Fresh off the (fashionable) heels of EW’s reunion, we’ve learned that Showtime is currently developing another season of its hit lesbian drama The L Word.

Co-creator Ilene Chaiken will be an executive producer of the series with a new writer/EP being brought in to run the production and once again chronicle the friendships and love lives of modern gay women.

Sources reveal that stars Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moenig, and Leisha Hailey will executive-produce as well as appear on the series if it moves forward. Other characters from the original series may also pop up and will be paired with a whole new cast of women.

The new installment of The L Word isn’t entirely surprising. When EW reunited the cast and Chaiken in May, they all expressed interest in returning to the series. “We talk about it all the time,” Chaiken told EW about the series returning. “When we went off the air in 2009, I think a lot of people thought, Okay, the baton is passed now, and there will be lots of shows that portray lesbian life. There’s really nothing. It feels like maybe it should come back.”

The L Word is officially back at Showtime.

The premium cable network used its time Thursday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour to announce that the revival of the groundbreaking lesbian-focused drama is moving forward with an eight-episode series order. The series is expected to premiere before year's end.

Playwright and screenwriter Marja-Lewis Ryan serves as showrunner and exec produces alongside original series creator Ilene Chaiken. Stars Jennifer Beals (Bette), Katherine Moennig (Shane) and Leisha Hailey (Alice) are also on board to exec produce and will reprise their roles from the original series while also introducing a new ensemble of self-possessed LGBTQIA characters experiencing love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success on the east side of L.A. The reboot, first announced in July 2017, arrives nearly 10 years after the original wrapped its six-season run. It is considered a sequel to the original. Lewis-Ryan was selected following an extensive search for a writer with ties to the LGBTQ community to document how relationships, lives and experiences have evolved — as well as what has and hasn't changed since the show launched in 2004. Other characters from the original series — which included fan favorite Erin Daniels (Dana), Laurel Holloman (Tina), Mia Kirshner (Jenny), Sarah Shahi (Carmen) and Pam Grier (Kit) — may appear in a potential new version.

Chaiken, who remains under an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television, exec produces Fox hip-hop drama Empire and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale after writing the original draft for Showtime, which passed on the Emmy-winning drama.

The L Word bowed on Showtime in 2004, a year before the cabler's Queer as Folk wrapped its five-season run. At the time, both series were hailed for their groundbreaking portrayal of the gay and lesbian community. Queer as Folk and The L Word were the first U.S. dramas to revolve around the lives of gay men and lesbians, respectively. A new take on Queer as Folk — based on the Canadian series that inspired the Showtime drama — is currently in development at Bravo. Both shows continue to be hailed for their realistic portrayal of the communities, and they helped provide representation on television that inspired a new generation come out. The success of both series ushered in a new era of LGBT visibility on the small screen that helped pave the way for such shows as Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Looking and The New Normal, among others.

Set in the gay mecca of West Hollywood, The L Word earned multiple GLAAD Awards, as well as NAACP Image Award nominations for Beals and Grier. The series kicked off with Jenny's arrival and followed her friendships with a group that included married couple Bette and Tina as well as their friends Shane, Dana and Alice. During its run, the drama included storylines about equality, legal marriage and benefits, and HIV/AIDS, as well as a transgender storyline that saw Daniela Sea's Moira transition to Max in an era well before Amazon's breakout Transparent.

The L Word sequel comes years after Showtime developed and ultimately passed on a spinoff, the prison-set The Farm starring Hailey. Since then, network topper David Nevins revived the franchise, originally developed by his predecessor Bob Greenblatt, as a racy docuseries, The Real L Word — which ran for three seasons — and then a one-off documentary.

The L Word sequel comes as Showtime is also reviving Penny Dreadful with a new take — City of Angels — from series creator John Logan. This year, Showtime will part ways with flagship drama Homeland. The cabler's scripted roster includes Ray Donovan (with Moennig), Billions, The Chi, Shameless, Kidding, SMILF, Black Monday and the upcoming Halo andCity on a Hill, among others.

SHOWTIME has announced that the highly anticipated sequel to the groundbreaking drama series THE L WORD(R), titled THE L WORD: GENERATION Q will premiere on Sunday, December 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc., at the Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour. THE L WORD: GENERATION Q is executive produced by showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan (The Four-Faced Liar, 6 Balloons), with series creator Ilene Chaiken, Kristen Campo, Steph Green (pilot), and original series stars Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey. It continues to follow the intermingled lives of Bette Porter (Beals), Alice Pieszecki (Hailey) and Shane McCutcheon (Moennig), along with new characters Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas) and Gigi (Sepideh Moafi) as they experience love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in L.A. The series is currently in production on eight episodes in Los Angeles. Guest stars include Brian Michael, Stephanie Allyne, Olivia Thirlby, Fortune Feimster and Latarsha Rose.

PRINCIPAL CAST INFORMATION:
· Arienne Mandi as Dani Nùñez
· Fortune Feimster as Heather
· Jacqueline Toboni as Sarah Finley
· Jennifer Beals as Bette Porter
· Katherine Moennig as Shane McCutcheon
· Leisha Hailey as Alice Pieszecki
· Leo Sheng as Micah Lee
· Lex Scott Davis as Quiara
· Olivia Thirlby as Rebecca
· Rosanny Zayas as Sophie Suarez
· Sophie Giannamore as Jordi

CREW INFORMATION:
· Ilene Chaiken as EP
· Jennifer Beals as EP
· Katherine Moennig as EP
· Kristen Campo as EP
· Leisha Hailey as EP
· Marja-Lewis Ryan as CRTR/EP
· Steph Green as EP/DIR (Pilot)