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February 15, 2006
Showtime's 'L Word' Growing in Popularity
Posted at February 15, 2006 11:26 AM in Gay & Lesbian Issues .
I know my friends and I are into it -- apparently, so is everyone else. The Internet is abuzz over "The L Word," Showtime's original drama about a group of lesbian friends.
Since kicking off its third season in January, the show already has generated more than a third of all the traffic to Showtime's Web site, and its downloadable clips have ranked among the top 10 video clips streamed on the site.
Yahoo! Inc. noted a 26 percent spike in online traffic related to the show in its "Buzz Log" last week. The show also is moving its way up in the old-fashioned measure of Nielsen Media Research ratings, The New York Times reports.
The Internet activity and the interest generated by "The L Word" already secured its place on the lineup for next year.
"When we have this much equity in a show, and the audience responds as rabidly as they did this year, it's a big success for us," says Robert Greenblatt, Showtime Networks' entertainment chief. "This is and will remain one of our signature shows. A pickup was a no-brainer."
This is great news for series creator/executive producer Ilene Chaiken, who credits the show's growing popularity to the universal appeal and freshness of its storytelling.
"Putting aside that it's the lesbian show," says Chaiken, "I always believed that when a good show finally came around that told stories about people who were lesbian, it would reach a wide audience because people are interested in our stories. They haven't been told as often in movies and TV. People are yearning for that."
Source: DiversityInc Subscription Required