The most important‘L word’ is love”
The first 60 seconds of The L Word: Generation Q feature boobs, feminism, and girlon-girl sex. So, basically, everything you signed up for. If the opening scene is anything to go by, you can rest assured that this time around will be just as progressive, provocative, and, if it’s possible, even more raunchy. The two characters getting it on with such gay abandon are Sophie Suarez, played by Rosanny Zayas, and her girlfriend Dani Núñez, aka Arienne Mandi, or Ari to you and me. When we chat long distance on the phone, Ari’s midway through shooting, and over the moon to be part of such an iconic, important programme. I ask her to describe Gen Q in three words and she thinks for a moment. “Sexy is definitely one of them.” Glad to hear it. “Sexy, loving and… complicated. There’s lots to unravel.”
Upbeat and charismatic, Ari is one of four diverse new leads joining Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig for the reboot. Let’s take a moment to imagine Alice’s Chart scrawled all over her whiteboard, and I’ll break down exactly what’s what, and who’s doing who. So, horny lovebirds Dani and Sophie have been together for years. They’re from very different worlds and family backgrounds, but they’re still totally besotted with each other. Their housemate, trans guy Micah (Leo Sheng), is Dani’s ex-turned-bestie, and Finley (Jacqueline Toboni) is the gang’s loveable goofball, a soft butch “wild card”. “We’re a great bunch. We’re the best of friends and it centres on us as we experience change. For Dani, her choices and what she wants to fight for really shift throughout the course of the season.” And where do the OGs fit into all of this? “How our lives entwine with theirs is where the juicy stuff happens.”
After watching the first episode, I can confirm that it’s extremely juicy, and Ari’s character, Dani, is a compelling addition to the show. There are shades of a young Bette Porter in Dani, an ambitious, twentysomething PR executive who works for her dad’s company. Like Bette, she is driven, uncompromising and has both a complicated relationship with her father and a wardrobe full of fashion forward trouser suits. Dani works incredibly hard, and loves even harder. As soon as Ari picked up the script, she felt instinctively that this was the role for her. “My team knows what really speaks to me and that’s strong, powerful women. When I read about Dani, where she comes from, and the struggles that she deals with, I was drawn to it. ‘This is mine.’ Certain things, you just feel it.”
Perhaps part of the reason that Ari wanted to play Dani was that the two have a lot in common. For a start, they are both mixed race women with Latinx and Middle Eastern heritage. They’re both “fitness junkies”, who work out daily – Dani’s a runner, while Ari’s a boxing fanatic. Check out her Instagram (@arienne_mandi) to see her in action in the ring. They’re both also “strong-willed”, and, Ari admits, “sometimes stubborn”. “Dani doesn’t really know how to process her emotions or talk about them, and that’s very much me.” When it comes to romance, Dani’s crazy about the long term girlfriend she’s had since college. Ari’s had relationships with men and women. She reflects, “It’s been interesting, actually, being in a more public light. I’ve never really found the need to label myself. I truly and deeply respect however anybody wants to identify. I just feel like it boxes me in a little bit, but if there were to be anything close to what I feel it would be pan. I accept love in all forms and I give love. It’s just all love.”
Ari grew up in LA, the daughter of a “pretty strict, conservative” Iranian dad and a Chilean mum, who nurtured her creative side. “My father ingrained in me that I had to go to college.” So, when the time came, she dutifully enrolled at UCLA. Then, one day, when she was 19, a chance meeting with her old acting teacher prompted a change in direction. “She said, ‘I’m managing now and building my client list. Why don’t you give it a shot?’ We gave it a shot together and here we are now.” Ari’s impressive CV includes performances in Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, and In The Vault, in which she plays a queer social activist. “That was a wonderful experience. My writer director really allowed me to explore this character without judgement, without imposing ideas of what queer life is.” It’s clear from speaking to Ari that her passion for LGBTQI representation is heartfelt and sincere. “It really makes me happy to see that
happening on more and more shows. It’s a beautiful thing. Although we haven’t quite reached where we need to be, we’re definitely on our way.”
We discuss how much Gen Q differs from earlier seasons. “There’s a lot more inclusivity. It’s very diverse.” Unlike the initial run, there are now trans actors like Leo in trans roles, and Latinx actors, including Ari and Rosanny, playing Latinx parts. Ari’s keen to commend new showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan for “making sure that everybody has a voice on the show”. “Everybody can find someone to relate to in this queer group of people.”
Having watched the original in secret as a youngster, hoping her dad wouldn’t wander in during a particularly steamy scene, she couldn’t be more thrilled to be starring in this bold new incarnation. “It was the most groundbreaking show of its time. It completely focussed on queer life and it was amazing.” Her favourite character? Dana (RIP). “Her relationship with Alice was the one I really loved. It gave me the warm fuzzies inside. Bette was, and is, an absolute powerhouse. And, fuck, Shane was so hot. I had my own feelings for everybody. They were a very special cast.”
As such a fan, what on earth was it like having her idols suddenly become her co-stars? “Pretty surreal”, to say the least. The two-month hiring process included a meeting with Jennifer Beals. They “clicked immediately” and their 30-minute encounter ended in tears, because they felt such a deep connection. When the final line-up was confirmed, Jennifer, Leisha and Kate welcomed the newbies with open arms. They went for dinners together and had heart-to-hearts about what lay ahead, sharing their wisdom, offering their support, but also giving them enough space to make their characters their own. “I remember Jennifer saying, ‘We had our thing. We want you guys to have your own experience, and we’re here if you need anything’.”
The new squad bonded further when they joined the parade for the 2019 World Pride celebrations. As they drove past The Stonewall Inn, 50 years after the riots, Ari was overcome with emotion. “There are no words to describe the feeling of being on a float in New York City, surrounded by people who just want to be loved. People that are free to be themselves and are celebrating the life that we have, but we had to fight for. We had a blast.” She adds, chuckling, “We were on the float for six hours in a traffic jam, so we really got to know each other well”. At Pride, she had the opportunity to see the profound, far-reaching impact of The L Word first hand. Fans were eager to meet the cast, old and new, telling them how much the show meant to them, that it made them feel seen, and inspired them to come out. “That’s the best thing you can ask for.”
I’m excited, a little nervous…I just want everyone to love the show as much as I do”
I always imagine the set of The L Word to be like your fantasy gay bar, a real-life The Planet packed full of queer folk having a ridiculously good time. Ari describes the atmosphere as “all inclusive”. “We have every kind of person and everyone’s free to be exactly who they want to be.” As well as forming new friendships and becoming part of queer televisual history, being on The L Word means filming her first ever onscreen sex scenes. And while the finished product looks fantastic, they can be pretty grueling to record. Dani and Sophie’s corker in the pilot took eight hours to shoot, which was both full-on and “a lot of fun”. “We have completely closed sets and there’s a lot of prep that goes into every one of them. There’s an intimacy coordinator present for every meeting, that you can just rely on to completely be your voice if you don’t feel you want to speak up about something. That’s a really beautiful thing that’s been established in the industry. They’ve made sure everyone’s super respectful. The scenes couldn’t be done more tastefully. I feel very comfortable.”
The results are bound to delight viewers, returning and new alike. Sixteen years after the season one pilot aired, it still feels powerful, validating and revolutionary to see queer sex, our sex, portrayed so gorgeously on TV. I wonder, is Ari ready to become an overnight pin-up for women worldwide? It turns out the OGs have offered advice on this very topic. “They’ve kind of verbally prepared us for this wave that’s going to happen, because it happened to them when they first did the show. But I don’t think anything can really ever prepare you until you experience it. I’m excited, a little nervous. More so, I just want everyone to love the show as much as I do.”
Responses so far have proved that to be very much the case. In fact, Gen Q is such a hit in the US it’s already been renewed for a second season. This is a programme that means so much to so many. It’s a show that unites our community, gives us a shared language, makes people feel represented and, of course, it’s sexy as hell. But what does The L Word mean to Ari? “The most important ‘L word’ is love. It’s accepting everybody and respecting them. This is a primarily lesbian show, but now we have trans characters and all kinds of people. To me, that is what The L Word is – the freedom to be whoever you want to be and love whoever you want to love.”
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