Journalists got a peek inside Ryan Murphy’s forthcoming portrait of 1980s ballroom culture, Pose, when he and the series’s cast and producers debuted four minutes of footage from the anticipated series at FX’s Winter TCA presentation.
Murphy also fielded questions about his approach to casting the series — which features the largest ensemble of trans actors ever in an American series — including the last-minute recasting of Emmy-winning Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany, announced in October.
“I love her, we are friendly,†said Murphy of Maslany. “But when we got into shooting the pilot, it became apparent that we needed an older figure to be the dance teacher; more of a mentor than a peer. That was simply the thing. Sometimes you recast. You’re in the middle of the pilot and realize, ‘We don’t have this ingredient.’ This show has an element of a show I loved growing up, Fame. We needed our Debbie Allen character.†Ultimately, the role was reconceived and recast with 50-year-old black actress Charlayne Woodard. Pose is set to premiere in June of this year.