There is no feeling more bittersweet than the emotional avalanche brought on by your favourite TV show finishing. In our case, that’s Pose: the Ryan Murphy-produced series about how the queer ballroom community of New York City spilled out onto the streets at the end of the 20th century, their immense power and colour pushed back with the arrival of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. After two acclaimed seasons, it’s been announced that the forthcoming third will be the show’s last. Now, we’ve got our first look at the trailer for season three of Pose.
The trailer, which dropped last night, picks up where season two left off. Fast forwarding to 1991, Blanca’s nail salon is no more, and she and Pray Tell are both dealing with their HIV diagnoses and illnesses. Blanca’s retrained, and is working in a New York hospital, while Angel and Papi, both a couple and business partners, are riding high in the modelling world. The series seems to be wrapping up at the apex moment of AIDS activism, when ACT UP became a common sight on the streets of New York City. “There used to be a sense of urgency and community, and then folks just started dying,” Pray Tell says in the trailer, as the lights on the ballroom competitions seem to go dark with the disease’s spread.
It’s common knowledge that HIV/AIDS had a knock-on effect on queer social spaces, but as urgently as ever, Pose seems to capture the scene’s resilience more than its mortal fate. MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Angel Bismark Curiel, Mugler queen Dominique Jackson and Billy Porter will, of course, be returning, alongside the cohort of supporting characters. And don’t be surprised if some guests make an appearance for the show’s send off.
The Emmy award-winning series won’t leave us waiting long for its return either. FX will air the season premiere on 2 May, meaning we’ll get one last summer with the characters of Pose. What will come afterwards? Here’s hoping the show’s concept can be continued through the lens of other trans and queer characters. The queer worlds of New York are still facing the same issues they did back then: a lack of access to affordable HIV preventative medication; the onslaught of gentrification claiming their spaces. Pose may be coming to an end, but the lives of trans and queer folk in America are still, and always will be, as colourful as ever.
Watch the trailer below: