The L Word Television Program

In an interview last July on the Vancouver set of Showtime's soapy lesbian drama "The L Word," actress Mia Kirshner was asked where she imagined her character, Jenny Schecter, would wind up when the series ended its six-season run this winter. The show, after all, began with Jenny's entrance into a glittering, enticing West Hollywood lady scene, as she befriended the other inhabitants of "The L Word" world and soon realized she was a lesbian.

IN 2004, "The L Word" was hailed as a groundbreaking look at the sexed-up lives of lesbians in Los Angeles. Now in its fourth season, the Showtime series' cast has expanded to the point where its women seem to constitute a small city unto themselves. Increasingly, "The L Word's" new additions are well-known actresses who have found themselves outside of the narrow range of options available -- or, rather, not available -- to them.

HOW'S this for a parlor game: Which lesbian on 'The L Word' would you most like to sleep with?" It's a question that has begun popping up in certain social circles as women, gay and straight alike, speculate on the relative bedworthiness of the cast of Showtime's groundbreaking drama, which begins its second season tonight.

Jennifer Beals steps gracefully out of a black stretch limo in tuxedo-like slacks and blouse, her long brown hair piled atop her head. It's no surprise that the exotically beautiful actress has an attractive date on her arm -- except that her date happens to be a woman. Beals and Laurel Holloman are shooting a scene for Showtime's new series "The L Word." They play a couple, Bette and Tina, in the first dramatic series to revolve around the lives and loves of lesbians.

When costume designer Cynthia Summers was first approached about working on Showtime's "The L Word," she wasn't interested. "I wasn't sure how fun it would be to dress a bunch of butch girls," she says. What she didn't know was that she'd be costuming an L world of Gucci stilettos, Marc Jacobs miniskirts and white patent leather vintage Courreges jackets.