They killed Jenny. Can 'The L Word' survive?

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The future

Though "The L Word" will soon end, at least one character's journey could continue. Chaiken has written and directed a pilot presentation for Showtime costarring Hailey, whose chirpy, gossipy Alice has often provided the show its funnier side. That it's a women-in-prison show that Showtime recently likened to a female version of "Oz" -- the uber-bleak HBO drama -- has not only caused utter confusion among fans, but worry that, in fact, we already know who killed Jenny. (Spoilers abound ahead.)

Not that the finale will provide an answer. According to Chaiken, the whodunit will end unsolved. "There are ways I could still answer it if the need were to arise," she said. "But I don't actually feel compelled to answer it. The show is about character and relationships, and I used this story to deeply explore those relationships. It's a risk not to solve a mystery, admittedly."

(Showtime's Blank did not appear to know that the mystery stays mysterious. He said: "Hopefully, we will find out. Don't spoil it for me!")

Chaiken seems to have embraced the possibility that her ending will confuse or even anger viewers ("You're absolutely failing if you don't have plenty of people ranting and raving," she said). She is also aware that for the first and only successful television show about lesbians to end with a dead lesbian -- most likely murdered by another lesbian -- is politically charged. ("I'm mindful of it," she said. "But I've always considered my primary responsibility to entertain and tell good stories.")

Perhaps the reason she is so sanguine is that she thinks the show isn't really over. "I don't believe it, I don't see it in that way -- I don't know what I'm talking about when I say this. I hope we'll do an 'L Word' movie -- there's no plan to do an 'L Word' movie. But I would love to do that. I just believe that in some way, the show will live on.

"And that if there are questions that need to be answered, they'll get answered," Chaiken said with finality.

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kate.aurthur@latimes.com