Ryan Murphy teases what's ahead on FX's groundbreaking series Pose
Warning: This article contains spoilers from the Pose premiere. Read at your own risk!
The House of Evangelista is now born! The premiere of FX’s new drama Pose found Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) fleeing her former mentor Elektra (Dominque Jackson) and the seemingly very unpleasant House of Abundance and starting her own house named after the legendary model.
Two of Blanca’s “children” also made dramatic decisions. Angel (Indya Moore) began an affair with married businessman Stan (Evan Peters). Meanwhile, Damon (Ryan Jamaal Swain) was accepted into a dance academy.
So what’s in store for the next seven episodes? Co-creator Ryan Murphy, who crafted the series with Brad Falchuk (American Horror Story) and Steven Canals (Dead of Summer), teases what’s next for Pose.
“It’s about a trans woman who realizes, ‘I only have one life to live, and I’m going to strike out on my own, and I’m going to try and become a legend.’ So the first season is about her adding members to her house, and trying to make her house a legendary house,” explains Murphy. “So the way that you win that is by a series of victories. So, she is against her mother, Elektra, who’s now her rival. Elektra is going to do everything to crush her because she feels betrayed.”
Murphy continues: “And interwoven with that is about the rise of a young man, Stan, within the Trump organization, as he realizes he’s falling in love with a trans woman. And what’s going to happen to his marriage and Patty (Kate Mara). Who’s going to find out, and when? And if they do, because it’s 1987, and he’s a married man working at a very conservative organization, what’s going to happen to him?”
In the next episode, Damon will develop a romance with fellow ball-goer Ricky (Dyllón Burnside). “You get into this amazing dance school but now you are the talk of the ball world where you truly can also become a star. Is this going to propel him into stardom? Or is he going to stay with the dance goal? It’s a Sophie’s Choice for him. Obviously Blanca wants him to stay and get his education. And I was very interested in that story, about the back story of Willi Ninja, who wanted to be a big superstar, and thought he was going to have to go to dance school but didn’t, and he became a huge star in the ball world. It’s not completely based on that, but I was inspired by that.”
And Murphy says that the show will dive further into the personal lives of the ball competitors. “They are complicated human beings who all want love and have love relationships,” says the co-creator. “Showcasing the sexuality of these characters is interesting to me and important.”
And, saving the best for last, viewers can also expect an appearance from Sandra Bernhard. The actress will appear as a AIDS nurse who befriends Pray Tell (Billy Porter).
Pose airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on FX.
