Pose Season 3 - What We Know So Far

In 2018, a bold new show took the television world by storm. That show is Pose, and it came from FX, the network that's effectively built a brand on unconventional television shows of sweeping scope. Created by American Horror Story scribe Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals, Pose explores New York City's queer underground ball culture of the '80s and '90s, set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic and the rise in the city of Trump's empire, and his particular brand of capitalism.

The show premiered in June of 2018 and immediately garnered critical acclaim, including from The New York Times and Variety. It catapulted actor Billy Porter into mainstream fame, and he in turn gave us iconic red carpet looks and moments with all his chic, gender norm-busting style. Pose also quickly became an awards behemoth. Its first season garnered two Golden Globe nominations (the show for Best Television Series-Drama, and Porter for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama), six Emmy nominations, including for the Best Actor in a Drama Category (which Porter won), and a handful of various other awards. Its second season followed suit, earning nominations across different award programs and winning several, including the AFI award for TV Program of the Year.

The second season aired in the summer of 2019. FX wasted no time renewing Pose, making the announcement shortly after the second season premiered. Like many shows, however, the third season fell victim to the coronavirus. Thankfully, though, the show will go on, as Pose season 3 is still very much in the cards. Here's what we know so far.

When the pandemic hit last year, production was already underway on the new season of Pose, but according to Variety, FX shut things down in March. In December, during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Porter revealed production had resumed, but what they were working on was limited, because they hadn't figured out how to safely tackle the crucial ball scenes, since the scenes involve a high quantity of cast members and extras. Actress Indya Moore, who plays the character of Angel Evangelista on Prose, confirmed they are indeed on set, at least, sharing dressing room photos on Instagram in January.

Then, on March 5, the bittersweet news dropped that Pose would officially be returning in May 2021, but that the abbreviated third season would be the celebrated drama's last. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the final season will debut on Sunday, May 2, at 10 PM Eastern, airing two of its final seven episodes. That means Pose is set to make its final bow on June 6. Too soon, surely, for fans, but all good things must come to an end.

From their public disclosures, we know that Moore and Porter are back. Moore plays Angel, a transgender woman who, due to her parents' refusal to accept her identity, ran away from home at a young age and became a sex worker before joining a ball house and competing as she works toward her real dream of becoming a model. Porter plays Pray Tell, a ball scene emcee who's both suffering from AIDS and working as an activist to raise awareness of the epidemic.

According to IMDb, it seems all of the other main players are returning alongside Moore and Porter. Fans can expect to see Dominique Jackson back as ball scene House Mother Elektra Abundance, MJ Rodriguez back as the protagonist Blanca Rodriguez, Angel Bismark Curiel as Lil Papi, Sandra Bernhard as nurse and HIV/AIDS activist Judy Kubrak, Hailie Sahar as Lulu, and more.

As far as new cast members or guest stars, the show has a reputation for bringing on big stars as a surprise — for example, Patti LuPone. No specific follow-ups have yet been announced, but in a September 2020 interview with TV Guide, Pose co-creator Steven Canals said, "We have some exciting casting this season. People are definitely going to gag when they hear who we have coming up."

The creators of Pose haven't released too many details about the plot of season 3, but there's been a sprinkling of hints throughout different interviews. In an August 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, producer Janet Mock spoke to the fact that season 2 left Blanca's House of Evangelista at a crossroads. Mock said, "I believe there will be a new House of Evangelista. I think [that's] something that we could boldly say that Blanca will likely have new children in season three [since her others] are grown."

Additionally, co-creator Steven Canals told TV Guide last fall that the show will jump from 1990 to 1994 — similar to the time jump between seasons 1 and 2. He said that though the setting switches to the mid-'90s, the theme of the show will remain the same. What won't remain the same: Blanca's love life. Canals said Blanca will get a love interest, and have to navigate balancing the roles of being a mother and a partner.

Fans have both that to look forward to, and the notion that given the era Pose is set in, there won't be any signs of COVID in the show's world, which should be refreshing. Catch up on the revolutionary show by streaming the first two seasons on Netflix.