The word is out on ‘The L Word’

IN 2004, “The L Word” was hailed as a groundbreaking look at the sexed-up lives of lesbians in Los Angeles. Now in its fourth season, the Showtime series’ cast has expanded to the point where its women seem to constitute a small city unto themselves.

Increasingly, “The L Word’s” new additions are well-known actresses who have found themselves outside of the narrow range of options available -- or, rather, not available -- to them. Kristanna Loken, the Nordic cyborg from “Terminator 3,” plays a single mom beginning tonight. Cybill Shepherd joined the Sapphic ensemble in this season’s second episode, playing the boss of Bette (Jennifer Beals -- an “L Word” star since it began). And to heighten the nostalgic “I love the ‘80s” vibe evoked by the very idea of Shepherd and Beals acting together, Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin also makes her debut tonight as Bette’s new love interest.

Twelve of “The L Word’s” 13 regular cast members, who now include Shepherd and Matlin, are women. That represents an unprecedented majority for a television series, particularly when you consider that other female-driven shows, such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” usually require that each woman has a male counterpart.

And if “Desperate Housewives” was praised from its start for offering meaty parts to actresses, the “The L Word’s” casting in Season 4 is an example of a series that keeps doing it -- and adding them as flamboyantly sexual characters, to boot. (It’s a strategy that is not without risks, if you ask Loken: Assembling all that greviously ignored female talent offers a unique creative opportunity, but also, it must be said, a certain built-in combustibility.)

In a telephone interview, Ilene Chaiken, the series’ creator and executive producer, said, “We all know that there is an incredible dearth of roles of substance for actresses in every single age category.” She continued: “It gets truer as women get older.”

From the inception of “The L Word,” Chaiken has taken advantage of Hollywood’s penchant for ageism, and more broadly, the film and television world’s static idea of who can play a romantic lead. Showtime executives had told her that they expected her to cast only unknowns, and they were enthusiastic about the show despite that hurdle. Chaiken recalled: “I said, ‘That’s great, I’m really delighted by your support for the show and the premise and really thrilled to know I can make it regardless of the actresses available. That said, I wager you that we’re going to cast some stars.’ ”

Her confidence was borne out when Beals accepted the part of Bette, and Pam Grier was cast as her sister. Both actresses had experienced ups and downs after starring in iconic projects early in their careers: Beals as the leg-warmer-wearing welder/dancer of 1983’s “Flashdance,” Grier as the gun-wielding vigilante of “Foxy Brown” in 1974. The two had carved out a space for themselves in independent films, but being able to cast them as leads, Chaiken said, was “a great opportunity once we started putting the show together.”

Since then, Rosanna Arquette, Anne Archer, Sandra Bernhard, Dana Delany and Kelly Lynch, among others, have done guest stints on “The L Word.”

For her part, Shepherd said that she had been interested in the series since she first heard about it, and met with the producers when it was being cast to discuss whether she might play Kit, the part that went to Grier. “Usually when they say they’re ‘going in a different direction,’ they mean they’re going younger,” Shepherd said. “But when I found out it was Pam Grier -- well, maybe she is younger -- but I realized they actually meant it.”

Shepherd plays Phyllis, a WASPily buttoned-up academic administrator who realizes that she has always been a lesbian, though she has a husband and children. Through Bette, Phyllis meets Alice (Leisha Hailey) and is voraciously making up for lost time.

Sitting on her couch, clad in blue silk pajamas, a robe and Ugg boots, Shepherd sounded gleeful about the opportunity to play a sexualized character. Her only stipulations were, she said: “No nudity. And it’s simulation. Otherwise, it’s up for grabs -- I’m up for pretty much anything.”

It had been awhile since she had been asked to be so free-spirited. Shepherd said: “I’ve told the truth about my age for too damn long to lie about it now, so I’ll be, in February, 57. How many parts for women that age -- where women have love scenes, period -- do you see? Can you think of one?” She stopped talking and began cackling.

When Shepherd came to Los Angeles at age 22, she was told “you’re over the hill when you’re 25.” While that clearly did not apply to her -- “Moonlighting” and “Cybill” both occurred long after that -- Shepherd said she has not always been sanguine about being an aging actress. She said there are only “five parts” for actresses her age, and they go to Meryl Streep or Anjelica Huston, about whom she said, “It’s hard not to wish that they didn’t exist.”

She paused to let that sink in, and smiled. “I’m better with it now,” Shepherd said. “It was very, very difficult for me for so many years to not feel -- and this sounds, like, really crazy -- that when you see someone else do something, that I was cheated.”

A welcome role

MARLEE MATLIN, 41, won an Academy Award for best actress 20 years ago for “Children of a Lesser God,” in which she played opposite William Hurt. While she has worked steadily since then, on series such as “Reasonable Doubts,” “Picket Fences” and “The West Wing,” Matlin said of her new “L Word” role: “I haven’t had a part this full since ‘Children of a Lesser God.’ ”

During breakfast recently, accompanied by her interpreter and producing partner Jack Jason, Matlin said she assumes that her deafness has stood in the way of her being cast in romantic roles. And when she has played characters who have sex, the results have been more tawdry than tasteful. “There are movies that I did for money, because I needed to work, and I want to work -- I won’t even mention their names.”

On “The L Word,” Matlin plays Jodi, a sculptor for whom Bette falls. Though she and Beals have been close friends for 20 years, Matlin had never seen the show. When she watched the DVDs, “My mouth was agape,” she said, dropping her jaw to imitate her reaction. “Well, I’d never seen anything like that on television ever.”

Chaiken and the other writers worked with consultants, as well as Jason and Matlin, to make sure they constructed a realistic storyline for Jodi and Bette -- how would they communicate, flirt, end up in bed? “They left it open to me that I would read the scripts and tell them if anything needed to be done,” Matlin said. “But they figured it out -- it’s not brain surgery! It’s not science!”

Chaiken said: “We all recognize what the obstacles are to Marlee’s playing those kinds of parts. But she is just such a remarkable actress, and I can’t believe that there weren’t more people along the way who saw that who simply couldn’t resist working with her.”

Later, over e-mail, Matlin wrote, “There have been a few roles where the romance looked as if it was going to go someplace but more often times than not, writers have put me into situations where my character never seems to experience passion or has a chance express herself sexually.” And, “I’m not sure if writers are afraid to look at me as a romantic/sexual character or if it has to do with the fact that they write this kind of stuff only for 25-year-olds.”

Tall tales

THOUGH Kristanna Loken is only a shade past that age, the 27-year-old, who also makes her debut on tonight’s “L Word,” has taken a circuitous career path since a very high-profile gig in 2003’s “Terminator 3.” In the role of the Terminatrix, the nearly 6-foot-tall Loken was cast in part because she looked like she posed a credible threat to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heroic Terminator.

But such great heights have proven to be a hindrance to Loken, she said during an interview. She has most often played parts in action, fantasy and horror offerings, with varied success: she has been in schlock (the movie “BloodRayne” -- as a “dhampir,” half-human, half-vampire), but will also star in Sci Fi Channel’s anticipated new series “Painkiller Jane.”

Did she choose her route down the genre road? “Not really, not really,” Loken said. “I feel like it chose me.” She laughed, and added: “I’ve been this height since I was 18 years old. On ‘The L Word’ it didn’t really matter because we’re all the same lying down, and that’s what we did for half the show.”

In a whiplash-inducing contrast with the rest of her resume, Loken plays a PTA mother on “The L Word” who pursues the lady-killing Shane (Katherine Moennig). “I’ve never played a mom before, so that was fun,” Loken said of her character. “She was also bisexual, and was attracted to an individual -- the gender was secondary, which is always how I’ve been.”

Loken is openly bisexual, which contributed to her desire to be on the show. “I liked being able to have a same-sex relationship on screen and have it be OK,” she said. That makes her one of the few “out” members of the “L Word” group, since most of the cast identifies as heterosexual or won’t speak publicly about their sexuality.

Her character will be on the series through the rest of the season, but unlike Shepherd and Matlin, Loken has no plans to return to the show, regardless of whether “Painkiller Jane” is a hit. She called Chaiken and the other producers and writers “fantastic,” but said her “L Word” run was soured by “the most difficult cast I’ve ever worked with.”

“I’m not naming names,” she said. “Let’s just start with the fact that it’s an entire show of women. And the amount of egos and insecurities and cattiness that can go on with a bunch of women -- that’s what you get. It attracts certain people that want to do something different in their career, but the girls were tough. You know?”

Loken continued. “I really like Ilene -- a lot. It’s a big, ensemble cast. And sometimes you wonder if they’ve bit off more than they can chew.”

Chaiken complimented Loken, and would not comment on what she said about her experience on the set.

But she did address the complaint that the “L Word” collective has grown too big. “We think there’s room,” Chaiken said. “I think that, ultimately, it keeps it fresh, and it’s much more like real life. As life goes on, and these characters grow and change, we have to bring new people into their sphere, or it would stagnate.”

“I get really excited every time I work with somebody whom I’ve admired,” Chaiken said. Who is at the top of her wish list? “I’ve always dreamed of having Susan Sarandon on the show. You know, who wouldn’t want Meryl Streep?” Chaiken laughed, and added: “She’s a little busy.”

kate.aurthur@latimes.com