"Pose has changed lives especially mine!"
Mey RudeIt’s a wrap on Pose, as the creator, crew, and stars of the hit, groundbreaking show were saying goodbyes to each other and their characters over the weekend.
Pose, which has been named one of the best shows of the past decade, recently announced that its upcoming third season will be its last, and now the show has wrapped all of its filming. Of course the moment was emotional for the entire cast and crew, and they took to social media to say just how hard it was wrapping up the project.
Creator Steven Canals posted an emotional photo of him, star Mj Rodriguez, and writer/director/producer Janet Mock embracing. “This is the moment at 3:37 in the morning in my beloved Bronx that we wrapped the series finale of Pose,” he wrote. “I’ll never forget the experience. It’s left an indelible mark on my heart.”
Mock shared the same photo, along with a few others of the cast and crew. “There are no words to describe the abundance this show has brought to my life,” she said. “I will be forever changed by the people who poured their everything into our visions, by the world we built together, by the characters we loved on, and by the family we assembled and nurtured.”
Rodriguez, who plays Blanca Evangelista, the founder and mother of the House of Evangelista, also shared her feelings in a post with a picture of the Evangelista flag. “And just like that... it’s a Wrap. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast and crew to work alongside,” she wrote. “The long hours, emotional pull, the early calls were all worth it in the end. This show has changed my life, And I wouldn’t have it any other way. So thank you pose fam, we did it! We changed the world, and we showed them how to love a bit harder again!”
She also had a message for fans and friends. “None of this will be possible without you,” she wrote, “From the interviews, right down to the comments, you all have been nothing but positive lights! Thank you thank you thank you.”
Other actors from the show also shared their memories. Angel B. Curiel, who is dating Mock and plays Lil Papi on the show posted that his character was his hero and “the kind of man I aspire to be.”
“Papi openly loved Angel, a Black and Latinx trans woman. No fucks given. He didn’t care what anyone had to say,” Curiel wrote. “I hope Papi’s love story encourages men to stand in their truth, unlearn all that toxic shit, and learn to love. Period. The killings of Black and brown trans women has everything to do with shame and toxic masculinity and the harmful effects of the gender binary. If you love someone, truly love someone including yourself, no harm is being done. We must love and protect the people we love.”
Dyllón Burnside, who plays Ricky Evangelista on the show, said that he barely had words to express what the show has meant to him. He said the show helped him learn about “love, life, family, art, community, myself, this industry,” and more, and called the cast and crew “realness personified.”
Jason A Rodriguez, who plays Lemar Wintour, said that he was struggling to type out his feelings because he was crying so hard. “I’m going to miss this work I called home so much. I wouldn’t be who I am nor continue to be without all I was allowed to experience and expand upon. Pose gave me a win.”
Pose is ending after an upcoming shortened third shortened third season. “Good morning, America. I'm Steven Canals co-creator and executive producer of Pose,"Canals said in a video he posted on his Twitter recently. "Our audience has been so incredibly supportive of the show and I wanted to tell you directly that our new season, which debuts on FX on Sunday, May 2 will be its last."
In addition to the stars mentioned above, Pose stars Dominique Jackson, Billy Porter, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross among a large ensemble cast. The show gave audiences a glimpse into New York’s famous ballroom scene.
"Pose has changed lives especially mine!" Jackson wrote. Jackson is an icon in the ballroom scene and lead on the sohw. "I have been taught, loved, validated, acknowledged, tried, proven and once more loved. Tonight Elektra becomes an accomplishment! She is perseverance, She is TRUTH! SHE IS US, SHE IS ME! She is EVERYTHING I wanted to say but could not! She is EVERYTHING I never wanted to be but needed!"
In just it’s two seasons so far, the show has been nominated for Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards and more. They’ve also won two GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, a Peabody Award, and Billy Porter became the first out gay Black man to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
The show documented and celebrated the lives of Black and brown gay and trans people who helped to build the modern LGBTQ+ community in ways that no show has before. We’ll surely miss Blanca, Elektra, Angel, Lil Papi, Pray Tell, Ricky and the rest.
As Mock said in her Instagram post, “Live. Werk. Pose. Forever.”
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