Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City series (1 Viewer)

I've read a little of and about the memoir. It was distinctly unappetising.

Oh
I actually finished reading his memoir yesterday and since I knew nothing about him whatsoever, I found it quite interesting.
 
I probably need to unfollow him on Facebook. That was a significant factor in making me less interested. Together with books 7, 8 and 9.
 
I also downloaded two of the Tales books and will be hopefully reading them soon.
 
It's official: Netflix is reviving Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City as a 10-episode limited series.

The streaming giant on Tuesday confirmed the 10-episode sequel to the Showtime/PBS take on the LGBT-themed novel. Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are confirmed to reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal, respectively, from the original series. Barbara Garrick will return as DeDe Halcyon Day. The Netflix take also has enlisted Ellen Page, who will play Shawna. Lauren Morelli (Orange Is the New Black) has joined the production and will serve as writer and showrunner.

Based on the books by Maupin, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter (Page) and ex-husband Brian, 20 years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture-perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and the residents of 28 Barbary Lane.

Maupin wrote nine novels in the Tales of the City series, which led to three Tales of the City limited series starring Linney and Dukakis. Alan Poul served as producer of the first three adaptations (Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City), which earned a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy Award nominations. Maupin and Poul return to exec produce the Netflix take, with the latter also on board to direct. Linney will be credited as an executive producer. The series hails from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International Studios. Working Title's Andrew Stearn, Liza Chasin, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner exec produce; Michael Cunningham is set as a consulting producer.

"I couldn't be more excited about this brand-new incarnation of Tales. It's set in present-day San Francisco with all the joys and complications that might suggest for the residents of 28 Barbary Lane," Maupin said. “Mrs. Madrigal's tenants, both old and new, will be entangled in delicious new adventures and ever-expanding possibilities for love".


APRIL 24, 201810:30am PT by Lesley Goldberg

'Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City': Ellen Page Joins Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis in Netflix Sequel
ellen_paige_and_lauren_morelli_-_split_-_getty_-_h_2018.jpg

Left, David Livingston/Getty Images; Right, courtesy of Netflix
From left: Ellen Page and Lauren Morelli

Former 'Orange Is the New Black' writer Lauren Morelli will serve as showrunner on the sequel, with Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis returning to reprise their roles.

It's official: Netflix is reviving Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City as a 10-episode limited series.

The streaming giant on Tuesday confirmed the 10-episode sequel to the Showtime/PBS take on the LGBT-themed novel. Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are confirmed to reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal, respectively, from the original series. Barbara Garrick will return as DeDe Halcyon Day. The Netflix take also has enlisted Ellen Page, who will play Shawna. Lauren Morelli (Orange Is the New Black) has joined the production and will serve as writer and showrunner.

Based on the books by Maupin, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter (Page) and ex-husband Brian, 20 years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture-perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and the residents of 28 Barbary Lane.



WATCH
'Tales of the City' Trailer




Maupin wrote nine novels in the Tales of the City series, which led to three Tales of the City limited series starring Linney and Dukakis. Alan Poul served as producer of the first three adaptations (Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City), which earned a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy Award nominations. Maupin and Poul return to exec produce the Netflix take, with the latter also on board to direct. Linney will be credited as an executive producer. The series hails from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International Studios. Working Title's Andrew Stearn, Liza Chasin, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner exec produce; Michael Cunningham is set as a consulting producer.

"I couldn't be more excited about this brand-new incarnation of Tales. It's set in present-day San Francisco with all the joys and complications that might suggest for the residents of 28 Barbary Lane," Maupin said. “Mrs. Madrigal's tenants, both old and new, will be entangled in delicious new adventures and ever-expanding possibilities for love."



tales_of_the_city_1_copy_-_embed_2018.jpg

Courtesy of Netflix


Added Morelli, who met her now-wife Samira Wiley on Orange Is the New Black during her time working on the Netflix series and shared the first page of the premiere's script (above): "The magical, vivid world that Armistead Maupin built in Tales of the City is one that offered so many — particularly the LGBTQ+ community — a home for the first time. For many, Tales was the first time they saw themselves on screen. I am humbled to now find my own home within Tales and to continue telling Armistead’s stories."

Added Poul: "For me, the opportunity to come back to a series I started work on 25 years ago is the homecoming of a lifetime. There's never been a better moment to reignite Armistead's timeless take on family and community, and I'm thrilled to be collaborating with such a brilliant mix of old friends and new."

Production on Tales of the City is expected to begin later this year for a 2019 debut.
 
'Mary Ann in Autumn' is the best out of the 7, 8 and 9 books. If that is the basis of the new series, then it might be OK.
 
Today Netflix announced even more queer talent involved with the upcoming series Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, including Murray Bartlett (Looking), Jen Richards (Mrs. Fletcher, Her Story), Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman), and RuPaul's Drag Race winner Caldwell Tidicue aka Bob the Drag Queen. They join previously announced out actress Ellen Page and a host of LGBTQ newcomers. Showrunner, Executive Producer, and writer Lauren Morelli and Producing Director, Executive Producer Alan Poul, who are both part of the LGBTQ community, have assembled an entirely queer writing team and brought in several queer directors for the 10-episode series.

Armistead Maupin's much-beloved novel, Tales of the City, first came to television on PBS in January, 1994. Set in Mrs. Madrigal's bohemian San Francisco home at 28 Barbary Lane, the series centered LGBTQ stories and characters in a way that was completely unheard of for the time. (Showtime's Queer as Folk didn't premiere until December, 2000.) Tales of the City won a Peabody Award, garnered multiple Emmy nominations, and received a GLAAD Media Award. But anti-LGBTQ activists mobilized against it, sending a 12-minute clip reel to conservative members of Congress and creating a flyer that said "Your Tax Dollars Used to Air Pornographic, Profane, Homosexual TV Series." PBS caved to anti-LGBTQ pressure, backing out of its commitment to fund and air the sequels. Thankfully Showtime stepped in and aired More Tales of the Cityand Further Tales of the City in 1998 and 2001.

The new Netflix series is inspired by the Maupin novels, but will bring us entirely new stories set in present-day San Francisco. Netflix already announced that queer fave Ellen Page will be playing Shawna, the estranged daughter of Mary Ann Singleton, played once again by the brilliant Laura Linney. They will be joined by other cast members from the original series including Olympia Dukakis returning as transgender landlady, Anna Madrigal, and Barbara Garrick who plays heiress DeDe Halycon Day.

Today, Netflix announced that Murray Bartlett, a fave from HBO's Looking, will be playing Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, and that Chicago Fire's Charlie Barnett will be playing his (much younger) boyfriend, Ben.

Among the new residents living at Barbary Lane, Josiah Victoria Garcia will be playing Jake Rodriguez, a character first introduced in Maupin's 2007 novel Michael Tolliver Lives. Jake is a transgender man and a caregiver for Anna Madrigal. May Hong will play Jake's long-term girlfriend, Margot Park.

Recurring queer characters will include Jen Richards (Mrs. Fletcher, Her Story) playing a young Anna Madrigal; Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) as Ysela, a trans woman who plays a pivotal role in Anna's life; Caldwell Tidicue aka Bob the Drag Queen as Ida Best the manager of a burlesque club where Shawna and Margot work; Matthew Risch (Looking, Modern Family) as Mouse's ex-boyfriend Harrison; Dickie Hearts (Grace & Frankie) playing Mateo, DeDe's housekeeper; Benjamin Thys (The Meyerowitz Stories) and Samantha Soule (Godless) as a queer polyamorous married couple; and Juan Castano (The OA) as Flaco Ramirez, one of Ben's co-workers.

The all-queer writing team that Morelli and Poul assembled is comprised of Andy Parker, Patricia Resnick, Marcus Gardley, Jen Silverman, Hansol Jung, and Thomas Page McBee; while the directors who are part of the LGBTQ community including Silas Howard, Sydney Freeland, Stacie Passon and Kyle Alvarez.

Since the series features two prominent trans characters, Morelli and Poul included trans creators behind-the-scenes to help tell their stories. Trans people involved in the production include Josiah Victoria Garcia, a non-binary trans actor who uses they/them pronouns and the name Garcia in daily life; Jen Richards, a trans woman who starred in and was a writer and producer on the Emmy-nominated web series Her Story, about dating as a trans woman; Daniela Vega, a trans woman and the star of the Academy Award-winning film A Fantastic Woman; writer Thomas Page McBee; and directors Silas Howard and Sydney Freeland.

Netflix also announced that Paul Gross (Due South, Slings & Arrows) will be returning to reprise his role as Brian, Mary Ann Singleton's ex-husband. He will be joined by newcomers Michelle Buteau (First Wives Club) as Wren, Brian's no-nonsense best friend; Ashley Park (Broadway's Mean Girls) and Christopher Larkin (The 100) as twins Ani and Raven who are newer residents of Barbary Lane, and Michael Park(Dear Evan Hansen) as Mary Ann's husband Robert.

When it premieres next year, this diverse LGBTQ cast and creative team will bring new queer and trans stories to 28 Barbary Lane, and introduce younger generations of LGBTQ people to Michael Tolliver, Anna Madrigal, and Mary Ann Singleton. Is it 2019 yet?
 
I'm not sure that piece makes me more eager to see this.

The guy from Looking seems a good fit, though quite a bit younger than I imagined Mouse to be in the new books.
 
I see lovely Alan from Russian Doll.

I haven't read Michael Tolliver Lives but is Anna still at Barbary Lane in it?
 


They seem to be keen to make it clear this is not just about nostalgia and young people might want to watch it too. I just hope there is sufficient Mary Ann and Anna time and they manage to make Mouse less irritating than in the later books.
 
An article in the TV guide today in which Maupin mentioned he was working on a book about Mona running an English manor house in the eighties. I do remember Mouse visiting in one of the old books.
 
Oh darling simply everyone comes to our new CULTURAL HUB at the STORYHOUSE

Think I'll PASS on old ARM though
 
Loved the show, very loving and positive. I got teary eyed at the final episode. I think Jake and Margot are my favorites of the new characters.
 
Started on the series this afternoon and now four episodes in. In large part it is very comfortable and warm and it is lovely to see all the old characters, obviously Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton first and foremost, but also especially enjoying Mrs Madrigal and DeDe. This has to be the best television incarnation of Mouse too.

The new characters are fine, with the exception of the twins who have at least been a minimal presence thus far.

That dinner party in episode four though...
 
I loved it. And I agree about those bloody twins. Dreadful.

Episode 8 is an absolute delight.
 
What's the story with Mona Ramsey? She was my favourite character in the original series but if I remember correctly she was written out rather unceremoniously in the later ones and doesn't seem to have been brought back for this either.

Is she a big presence in the books? I have read the main six, but well over a decade ago and I barely remember the later ones.
 
I watched the first episode and I wasn't struck. That party, I mean PLEASE. I miss Mona too, at least she had a bit of fucking EDGE to her.
 
What's the story with Mona Ramsey? She was my favourite character in the original series but if I remember correctly she was written out rather unceremoniously in the later ones and doesn't seem to have been brought back for this either.

Is she a big presence in the books? I have read the main six, but well over a decade ago and I barely remember the later ones.

It has been a while but she flitted in and out a bit if I recall correctly. It was a bit odd that she was written out completely, I did wonder if old Arm had based her on someone he had a falling out with. He is now working on an eighties set book with Mona living on an English country estate though, so maybe not...
 
It has been a while but she flitted in and out a bit if I recall correctly. It was a bit odd that she was written out completely, I did wonder if old Arm had based her on someone he had a falling out with. He is now working on an eighties set book with Mona living on an English country estate though, so maybe not...

Armistead is reading the first chapter of the new book 'Mona Of The Manor' on his Facebook page tomorrow at 5pm GMT.
 

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