WWYD- The Trans Bathroom Episode

Finally found the YouTube video of the ABC What Would You Do show that featured Jazz Jennings and people in the situation of a transphobe dissing a trans woman for going to a fracking restaurant bathroom.

FYI for you transphobes.  Trans people have to poop and pee as well.   But then again you're more concerned with aiming oppression and disrespect at trans people than minding your own damned business and letting trans people go through their day without hearing your unsolicited comments.

It's one that we increasingly run to no thanks to the conservafools and evilgelicals stirring up anti trans hate, and even led to on August 13 a trans woman in the Philippines getting arrested for using the potty in a shopping mall in Quezon City.

If you're looking for predators and pervs, start in in your right wing evilgelical churches and Republican Party meetings. 

Here's the Friday episode of the WWYD show if you missed it.

POSE Renewed By FX For A Third Season!

The Emmy nomination voting opened on June 10, and don't be surprised if you see some folks from POSE snatching trophies when the Emmy Awards are finally broadcast to add to the GLAAD Media Award they received. .

POSE received a double dose of good news as it starts its second season.  It's Season 2 debut episode 'Acting Up'  not only got more viewers and higher ratings than last year's opening, it was announced by FX that POSE has been already renewed for a third season

We also are blessed with two more episodes in POSE season 2 for a total of 10.   It's also #MustSeeTransTV with the five major trans characters and trans actors playing them.

What that third season will look like we'll find out later, but season 2's opening with its time jump to 1990 has already ensured it will exceed the bar it set in Season 1.

Congrats to the cast of POSE, and hope that this year's season leads to some well deserved awards for your performances 

Nicole Maines Gets Supergirl' Role!

The shows I put in the #MustSeeTransTV category are continuing to expand with every passing year.

I was introduced to Supergirl by my friend Fabian Washington, who was such a serious fan of the show he got me curious enough to check it out and eventually binge watch two season of it

Now I'm happy to hear that Nicole Maines has been tapped for a groundbreaking role in the upcoming fourth season of Supergirl playing a transgender superhero.

Well, that's not too far from her real life in being a trans advocate, the victorious plaintiff in a groundbreaking trans rights case, and being in a well received April 2016 TedXTalk, but back to discussing her latest accomplishment.

The 20 year old Maines will be playing reporter Nia Nal, who is working alongside Kara (Supergirl) Danvers at CatCo.   Nia will as the season progresses have her superhero destiny revealed to her.

Her casting was revealed at the just concluded San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, and she is justifiably nervous about this groundbreaking role and the buzz it is creating for the show as the first ever transgender superhero on television.

"It feels fitting to say, with great power comes great responsibility, she said in a Variety interview.."I'm nervous because I want to do it right . 

Maines is no stranger to television, having guest starred on the show Royal Pains during its seventh season  .In the Variety interview she was asked what she would like out trans youth to take away from this groundbreaking step fo her and the community.

"We can be whoever we want, we can do whatever we want, we can be superheroes, because in many ways we are," she said. "We’ve had trans representation in television for a while but it hasn’t been the right representation ... I think we’re in a time right now where more than ever representation in the media matters. And what we see on television has a very dramatic effect on our society."

Yes ma'am, positive media representation most certainly does matter, which was why Scarlett Johansson got put on blast a few weeks ago.  Maines expressed her thoughts about that contentious issue of cis actors playing trans parts as well.

"I think that cisgender actors don’t take roles out of malice, it’s just a failure to realize the context of having cisgender people play transgender characters ... Having trans people play trans roles shows that we are valid in our identities and we exist,” Maines said.

Good luck in your new role, Nicole!  So proud of you and will be watching when the new season of Supergirl starts in October on the CW Network. .

Pose Gets Renewed For A Second Season!

We're not quite done with Season 1 of the FX series Pose that has trans actor,s writers and producers, but we do know that we will have more episodes of it to watch when this current 12 show run is over.

This show set in the late 1980's is earning tens across the board from the ballroom community, people who watch the show and television critics .

It also gets a TransGriot high five as well for the accuracy in telling our trans stories   Some of these episodes have hit extremely close to home as I've sat down to watch them
.

Pose was picked up by FX for a second season that will start in 2019. 

Congratulations to this groundbreaking series that has five trans main characters played by MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross, trans writers in Our Lady J, choreography by Leiomy Maldonado and a trans producer in Janet Mock.

Even better, we get to see some of our trans actors pop up in guest roles like Trace Lysette did in a recent episode.   Leiomy Maldonado also popped up with a guest appearance in an early episode

For those of you who have cable, you can check Pose out either on demand or on Sundays on FX at 8 PM CDT.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what happens between the Houses of Evangelista, Abundance and Ferocity.   I'm also looking forward to watching the evolution of all my fave characters on this groundbreaking show.

This is #MustSeeTransTV, so keep supporting Pose, give the actors some love, and thank FX for giving it a broadcast home through 2019.

SNL Black Jeopardy- T'Challa

One of the humorous skits on Saturday Night Live is the Black Jeopardy on in which contestants have yo give correct answers to categories that come straight from the hood.

I missed this one when it originally aired and has Chadwick Boseman reprising his T'Challa role from Black Panther as a contestant on Black Jeopardy with hilarious results.

But see for your selves.

Looking Forward To The Debut of 'Pose'

The number of shows I put in the 'Must See Trans TV' category is rising with each passing year as it is acknowledged in Hollywood that trans people exist, and we have interesting and compelling stories to tell.

The next #MustSeeTransTV scripted show I am eagerly looking forward to watching is Pose on FX when it debuts June 3.

Pose is set in late 1980's New York City, a time in which the ballroom scene was beginning to blow up.

Executive producers Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson began assembling the show in March 2017.  It is also being produced by Janet Mock and Our Lady J,  who will also be on the writing team with Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals. 

Leiomy Maldonado and Danielle Polanco will be choreographing the show's ballroom scenes.   

Pose will also have the largest ever cast of TBLGQ characters to date for a television show. 

After a six month nationwide search, it was announced that trans actors Angelica Ross, MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Hallie Sahar and Dominique Jackson were cast along with cisgender actors Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter and Dyllan Burnside.

Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek and Tatiana Maslany later joined the cast, but when the modern dance teacher for creative reasons was changed to an African American character, Maslany exited the production with Charlayne Woodard taking her place.

The pilot episode of Pose was filmed in October 2017, with the eight episode first season beginning production in February.

The trailer was finally released on April 12, and so looking forward to seeing my sis Angelica Ross on this show along with the other trans actors who are a part of the Pose cast.   

The Last 'Scandal' Episode

After seven seasons and over 100 episodes, the last episode of one of my fave shows is happening tonight. 

I've been a Scandal fan since the first episode in large part to my love of Kerry Washington .  I also love well written scripted shows, and Scandal definitely fit that bill as being one of Shonda Rhimes' hit shows.

The Blackness of this show also appealed to me. 

One of my favorite Scandal episodes is one in which her father Rowan has her repeat one of the lines that literally all Black children are told in this country as a way to deal with the anti-Blackness in this country.

'You have to be twice as good to get half of what they have." 



The various season ending cliffhangers that gave us a WTF reaction and scrambled what we thought we knew about the Scandal universe combined with the Washington DC setting and the storylines that seem at times ripped from the headlines.

But after seven years, Scandal is being broadcast for the last time tonight, and Thursday nights won't be the same for me when it ends.

Candis Cayne Gets A Multi Show Character On 'Grey's Anatomy'

It's been a while since the last time that Candis Cayne was on an ABC television show. 

Back in 2007-2008 Candis was on the show Dirty Sexy Money making history by playing Carmelita Rainer. 

At that time Cayne was the first out trans actress playing a recurring trans character on a major network show, and I was more than a little pissed when her character was killed off .

She has since moved on to play characters on multiple television shows like Necessary Roughness, Elementary, The Magicians, Nip/Tuck and Transparent along with appearing on the I Am Cait reality show.

Now she will return to the ABC network to once again play a trans feminine character on the show Grey's Anatomy with a multi arc storyline. 

Cayne's character will be checking into Grey Sloan Hospital for a groundbreaking gender confirmation surgery.   The storyline is modeled on a story that Grey's Anatomy writers read about Hayley Anthony who helped pioneer a new way for Dr Jess Ting to perform GRS surgeries.

The Grey's Anatomy writers thought this would make an interesting story to tell, and tapped Cayne to do it

It's all part of the announced effort of Grey's Anatomy in its t14th season to change the way television tells the stories of transpeople, and it is definitely appreciated at this tumultuous time in our history. 

Grey's Anatomy is also quickly establishing itself as a Must See Trans TV show. 

Meet Our Newest Trans TV Character, Dr Casey Parker

While we have seen the number of trans feminine characters increase on our nation's television and movie screens in the last few years, with some of those characters being played by actual trans actors, what we haven't seen is a corresponding increase in trans masculine characters played by actual trans masculine actors .

We've had my Texas homeboy Scott Turner Schofield 's historic recurring role on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful playing Nick in conjunction with the Maya Avant Forrester character played by a cis feminine actress.

We've had Toine Wilkins, a Black trans masculine character on the OWN network show Queen Sugar played by Brian Michael Smith

Now gracing your television screens is Dr. Casey Parker, who made his debut Thursday night on the long running ABC show Grey's Anatomy played by Alex Blue Davis.

"What's cool about the show, the episode and Krista's vision for this character is he's about way more than being trans," Davis said.   "I cried at the table read, it was very moving for me.  I've been waiting for a moment like this on TV my whole life.  I'm so honored I got to say that line on TV because it's a long time coming."

Alex's previous television acting credits include episodes on 2 Broke Girls and NCIS: Los Angeles before getting this role



"TV is opening up to a greater range of roles (for trans characters); laverne played a lawyer on Doubt, and I'm playing a doctor-- both roles haven't really been seen before (for trans characters), Davis says.

"People can see trans folks in a new light: these are people who walk among us and are human beings  who have lives.  They're not defined by being trans."   

That's precisely what we want, be we trans actors or trans folks getting to watch a guy or girl like us on screen.  We want to see characters that are like the peeps we know in Trans World and that are in our our everyday lives..

Congrats Alex for getting that role and also realizing the importance of it, especially in light of the act it's coming during a time when we have to fight a hostile administration and its fundamentalist allies seeking to eviscerate us from public life and discourse. 

Loving 'Riverdale'

As you long time TransGriot readers know I'm a huge fan of the Archie comics, and have written several posts about some interesting gender related developments in that iconic cartoon universe.

I was intrigued when the CW broadcast its first season of Riverdale, based on the iconic characters back in January.   But because I was busy with a lot of community events and fighting the GOP flavored transphobic evil emanating out of Austin I didn't get to watch the initial thirteen episode run.

Riverdale hit Netflix on May 18, but I finally got a chance to binge watch it this weekend, and I can see now why it got rave reviews from television critics.

This is definitely not your parents and grandparents Archie cartoon.  It basically shook up and blew up the classic love triangle between Archie, Betty and Veronica and in many cases everything you know from Archie canon about the characters.

The show starts with Archie getting busy with Geraldine Grundy, the school's music teacher during the summer vacation break.  Yeah, they went there.  Archie is also seen dating Valerie Brown and escorting Cheryl Blossom to one of her family events before he eventually starts the relationship with Veronica.

Girl next door Betty is not only shown to have a dark side and dates Jughead, Veronica in this show is moving to Riverdale from New York and is trying to be less mean girl than she was.

In addition to focusing the Season One storyline on who killed Riverdale queen bee Cheryl Blossom's twin brother Jason, the show is set in a contemporary time period.

Many of the beloved Archie characters you know are part of this show like Kevin Keller, Chuck Clayton, Moose Mason, and Ethel Muggs  The characters also all have deep secrets and backstories that get revealed as the show moves through those thirteen episodes that lead to a shocking whodunit.

They also flipped the casting script on many of those beloved characters.   Veronica Lodge and her family are Latinx.   Josie and the Pussycats are not only all African American, but Josie's mother Sierra McCoy is the mayor of Riverdale played by Robin Givens.

Pops Tate, the owner of the town's 24 hour diner Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe and RHS principal Mr. Weatherbee are also African American.  Reggie Mantle and Dilton Doiley are Asian.

Geraldine Grundy also became a younger woman instead of a senior citizen

Since I mentioned Robin Givens is in it, other recognizable actors you'll see in it are Luke Perry playing Archie's father Fred Andrews, Madchen Amick playing Alice Cooper, and Molly Ringwald playing Mary Andrews.

Riverdale has already been renewed for a second season slated to start on the CW in October, and in the upcoming Season 2 we'll not only see Sabrina Spellman enter this show, but also Hiram Lodge, played by Mark Consuelos.

The show also ended with a cliffhanger that if you haven't seen it, I'll let you head to Netflix to watch and won't spoil it for you

'I Am Jazz' Gets Renewed For Season 3

This is wonderful news to talk about on the Transgender Day of Visibility

It's took a while for ti to happen, but the news finally dropped that TLC has renewed I Am Jazz for a third season.

The second season received strong rating, so people were wondering why it took so long for TLC to greenlight a third season of the show chronicling the live of our fave trans teen,

In Season 3 we'll see her taking on conservative commentator Tomi Lahren (or maybe not since lahren is suspended from The Blaze) , trying to deal with all the issues of being a teen in addition to the aspects of it brought on by transition.

So starting on June 28 we'll be getting new episodes of I Am Jazz, and looking forward to seeing it this summer

'Star' Renewed For A Second Season

While I was more than a little shocked and pissed off to hear that Doubt has been canceled by CBS after only two episodes, I was happy to hear that the other primetime TV drama series with a major trans character in FOX's Star has been renewed for a second season.

While the show is a spinoff of Empire and focuses on an Atlanta based girl group trying to make it in the music business along with all the drama that comes with it in their personal lives, the storyline I have been focused on is the one involving Amiyah Scott's character Cotton and her mother Carlotta, played by Queen Latifah

They have a rocky relationship because of her transition and mom's reluctance to accept that her only child has become her daughter, and each week more of the backstory of both characters is revealed.

There aren't many episodes left in this initial 13 episode run, but looking forward to not only seeing how this first season ends, but picking up on all the storylines in Season 2

Rain Valdez Cast In The TV Land 'Lopez' Show

After the weekend we've had, we needed some good news this week in terms of another trans actress has landed a role in a TV series. .

Rain Valdez has been cast for a recurring role in Season Two of the TV Land Series Lopez, that will start airing on the network March 29.

She will play Coco, a pretty and enigmatic actress contracted to a network whose executives don't know how to cast her or even talk to her.   George basically talks to her like any other actress, and eventually offers her a role in his series.

Congrats Rain!   Hope this recurring role turns into something more substantial for you !

Wednesday Is Becoming Must See Trans TV Day

With the highly anticipated and historic for trans kind debut of the CBS legal drama Doubt, and FOX's Star both having major trans characters on both shows,  Wednesday night is quickly becoming Must See Trans TV Day.

While Doubt is getting much deserved attention because of my lovely Emmy Award nominated sis Laverne Cox and her groundbreaking Cameron Wirth character,  I have to point out that with the debut of tonight's show at 9 PM CST Laverne is only the second trans person to play a trans major character on a network drama series.  

That television history of a major trans character in a drama being played by an out trans woman was already made by Amiyah Scott because of the earlier December 14, 2016 debut of the Empire spinoff show Star on FOX..  

Amiyah is playing the trans character Cotton, a receptionist in me mother's beauty shop in the ATL who is in a sometimes contentious relationship with her devoutly religious mother Carlotta (played by Queen Latifah).  Carlotta is a former singer who now does so in her church on Sundays, and who is struggling to accept her only child's transition.



Cotton is a driven person who while acting as a big sister figure to Star, Simone and Alexandra and helping them realize their dream of becoming a successful music group, is pursuing her dream of being accepted as her mother's daughter.

But it's going to be a bumpy contentious ride along the way for both of them to get to that point, and it has been interesting to watch that particular trans themed storyline develop on the show that comes on at 8 PM CST on FOX. .

She also representative of the segment of the trans community that is struggling with accomplishing a  gender transition while on a low income.

Meanwhile Cameron Wirth is different from Cotton.  The obvious difference is that she's an Ivy League educated attorney working at this New York boutique law firm.

Cameron is also in my lifetime the second Black trans character who not only is a major character on a show, but has a professional background (Maya Avant Forrester on CBS soap opera the Bold and the Beautiful being the first).   It is in stark contrast in a landscape of Black trans characters that have either been played for comic relief, shock value, and have been sex workers, entertainers, a prisoner, or the murder victim.

We'll learn more about Cameron's backstory as the show evolves.  I'm looking forward to seeing the show every Wednesday at 9 PM CST on CBS.

And I'm so happy they are fortuitously scheduled on Must See Trans TV Wednesday so that I don't have to choose one show over the other

Britain's Next Top Model Gets Its First Trans Contestant

Isis King broke this ground back in 2011  as the first trans contestant on America's Next Top Model, and two trailblazing trans models in April Ashley and Caroline Cossey were both British.

So it's not surprising for me to hear that when Cycle 11 of Britain's Next Top Model kicks off on March 16, there will be a girl like us competing in it for the first time .

She's 22 year old Talulah-Eve Brown from the town of Burton-Upon-Trent.   The 5' 8" Brown is a blogger and trans advocate who transitioned in 2014, and was crowned Miss Transgender Birmingham in 2015.

She's also a black belt in karate, so don't mess with this sister.

She wrote in a post on her Instagram account:  "I never thought a girl like me would find a place on a show like this and compete against such beautiful girls.  But I guess all you have to do is believe."

"Life isn't about finding the label that fits you best.  Life is about finding you!  And it's that journey that is incredible. Appreciate the bad just as much as the good"

Your trans siblings around the world hope that part of appreciating the good in life is you and all of us around the world celebrating you winning this cycle of Britain's Next Top Model 

Amiyah Scott's Making History On The FOX Show 'Star'

Looks like we won't have to wait until February to see a scripted network drama show with a Black transfeminine character in it played by a Black trans feminine actor .

When the Lee Daniels produced FOX Empire spinoff show Star debuted December 14 with an audience of 6.71 million viewers watching it, our sis Amiyah Scott was making her small screen debut playing Cotton Brown, the trans daughter of Queen Latifah's character Carlotta Brown .



Amiyah made a little TV history as well when the show debuted..She became the first out trans person to play a trans major character in a scripted television drama series that is scheduled to have 13 episodes in Season 1.

Queen Latifah's character Carlotta sings in the church choir and runs a beauty shop in the Atlanta based show.  She is the godmother to Star and Simone, and serves as a surrogate mother to the rising girl singing group that the show is focusing on.

Even though Carlotta had her own brush with stardom, she is not that supportive of the musical stardom dreams.of her goddaughters.   Carlotta is also struggling as a devout churchgoer with accepting her daughter's transition

Amiyah's character Cotton is a receptionist at her mom's shop who moonlights as a stripper and helps the girl group formed by Star, Simone and Alexandra kickstart their careers.

There's also Miss Bruce, a recurring gender fluid in the series played by Miss Lawrence, who is an employee in Carlotta's salon.  In real life Miss Lawrence is a celebrity hair stylist who owns a salon in Atlanta's Buckhead area with celebrity clients such as Ciara  Jennifer Holiday and Serena Williams

Going to have to watch the show now that I know I have a reason to do so.

And congrats to Amiyah for making television history