Pose
Ground-breaking US series about the underground world of 1980s ball culture, set at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
Published: 1 March 2019
Making television history, Pose features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles, as well as the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. The transgender cast includes Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross, who co-star alongside Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek, Tony award-winner Billy Porter, Charlayne Woodard, and newcomers Ryan Jamaal Swain, Dyllón Burnside and Angel Bismark Curiel.
Evan Peters and Kate Mara play New Jersey couple Stan and Patty Bowes, who get sucked into the glamour and intrigue of New York City in the 1980s, as epitomized by Matt Bromley (James Van Der Beek), Stan’s boss. Mj Rodriguez stars as Blanca Rodriguez, who breaks from the House of Abundance and her former house mother Elektra Abundance (Dominique Jackson) to form her own 'house', a self-selected family that provides support to LGBTQ youth rejected by their birth families.
Indya Moore plays Angel, a streetwalker who develops feelings for her new client, Stan. Ryan Jamaal Swain plays Damon Richards, a dancer who joins Blanca’s house. Together they compete in the Balls - where house members challenge each other in various categories and are judged on their outfits, attitude, or dance skills. Under the watchful eye of Pray Tell (Billy Porter), Grandfather to all the children who compete in the house balls, Elektra’s House of Abundance and Blanca’s upstart House of Evangelista face off in what may develop into a legendary rivalry.
Pose was co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals.
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Character bios
Mj Rodriguez
Blanca Rodriguez
After a life-threatening medical diagnosis, Blanca Rodriguez decides to take fate into her own hands and form a 'house' - a self-selected family that provides safety and support to youth rejected by their birth family. She soon finds herself balancing the demands of motherhood and a battle on the ballroom floor with her former house mother, Elektra.
Dominique Jackson
Elektra Abundance
Blanca’s shrewd former house mother, and current rival, Elektra Abundance is the reigning queen of the ballroom community. Despite her outward confidence, she is hypersensitive about her look. Elektra’s desire to have sexual reassignment surgery threatens to end several of her longtime relationships.
Evan Peters
Stan Bowes
A typical family man, Stan Bowes has always worked hard to provide for his loving wife, Patty, and their two small children. When a new job opportunity presents itself, Stan quickly finds himself thrust into a world of superficiality. Searching for a reprieve from the artifice of his life, Stan begins an authentic relationship with Angel.
Kate Mara
Patty Bowes
A loving wife and mother, Patty is devoted to her family and friends. Selfless and trustworthy, she works hard to ensure that her family will be protected. When her husband, Stan, begins a new job, she soon observes his distance and becomes concerned that he may be having an affair - a concern that is soon substantiated.
James Van Der Beek
Matt Bromley
Stan’s lascivious supervisor, Matt often overindulges in the finer things in life. After learning about Stan’s affair with Angel, Matt pursues Patty to unpredicted consequences.
Billy Porter
Pray Tell
Grandfather to all the legendary children who compete in the house balls, Pray Tell serves as a source of support to Blanca and her house. An adept fashion designer, Pray Tell aspires to one day have his own clothing line sold in a high-end boutique.
Indya Moore
Angel
With faux fur on her shoulders and her heart on her sleeve, Angel, a Puerto Rican streetwalker, wants nothing more than to find true love. Her fantasy of being swept away by the man of her dreams is complicated when she falls for a new client, Stan, and discovers true love comes at a cost.
Ryan Jamaal Swain
Damon Richards
An ambitious aspiring dancer from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Damon Richards moves to NYC after being kicked out of his home for being gay. He quickly discovers that the road to success is paved with failure. Once recruited by Blanca, he begins to pursue his modern dance dreams.
Charlayne Woodard
Helena St. Rogers
Dean of the new school for dance, Helena St. Rogers is a renowned dance instructor with an eye for emerging talent. After taking a special interest in Damon, Helena becomes a trusted adviser.
Co-creators
Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody award-winning screenwriter, producer and director. He created the ground-breaking television drama Nip/Tuck. He also created the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series’ Glee, American Horror Story and American Crime Story, Emmy-winning anthology series Feud, Scream Queens and 9-1-1.
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is the co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series American Horror Story. He was also co-creator, executive producer, writer and director on Scream Queens, and an executive producer on American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Falchuk co-created FX’s series Pose and served as an executive producer and writer.
Steven Canals
Hailing from The Bronx, Steven Canals is a 2015 graduate of UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting Program. He began his writing career as a Research Assistant at Hungry Jackal Productions for Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black. In 2016, Canals served as a Staff Writer on Freeform’s Dead of Summer. Later that year, his short film, Afuera, about an undocumented transgender woman, premiered at the L.A. Film Festival. FX’s Pose, co-created with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, is his first original series.
