More than 30 years after it was published, Armistead Maupin's Letter To Mama is still so powerful that Laura Linney, Ellen Page, and their Tales Of The City co-stars can barely get through reading it without crying.
Such an incredibly talented cast. Watch how Olympia Dukakis takes in each line before connecting with the camera with devastating honesty.
If you haven't watched the new Netflix revival of Tales of the City, you really must.
Murray Bartlett and Laura Linney in 'Tales of the City'
Netflix’s highly anticipated revival of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City has released its first official teaser trailer.
Based on the serial novels by Maupin, Tales of the City chronicles the lives of a group of friends living at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco.
“When I first got off the bus years ago,” says Laura Linney’s character at the beginning of the trailer, “I had the strangest feeling that I’d come home.”
Before HBO’s Looking or Showtime’s Queer As Folk, Tales of the City developed a huge following due to the acclaimed PBS miniseries in 1993. That success spawned two sequels (More Tales of the City in 1998, Further Tales of the City in 2001) produced by Showtime.
More than 20 years later, original cast members Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are back, and they are joined by new cast members including Ellen Page, Charlie Barnett, Murray Bartlet, Daniela Vega and Molly Ringwald.
In the 10-episode series, Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney) returns to San Francisco after 20 years and is reunited with her ex-hubby Brian (Paul Gross) and daughter Shawna (Ellen Page).
Despite a "picture-perfect" life in Connecticut, a mid-life crisis sends Mary Ann back into the world of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and Maupin’s signature slate of eccentric San Francisco characters.
Look for RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, Bob the Drag Queen, in the mix along with more of the rich tapestry of community that is San Francisco.
Olympia Dukakis and Bob the Drag Queen (courtesy photo)
The series is scheduled to have its world premiere at the San Francisco Film Festival this Friday, April 10.
The rest of the world will have to wait until the June 7 debut on Netflix.
Check out the new teaser trailer for Tales of the City below.
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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 also 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, 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 is arguably one of the best-known gay authors in the world. His Tales of the City began as an ongoing serial in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper during the 1970s. The serial became a novel in 1978 and was followed by 8 sequels published over the past four decades.
Maupin's novels led to three Tales of the City mini-series for Showtime/PBS starring Linney and Dukakis. Along the way, Tales of the City (1993), More Tales of the City (1998), and Further Tales of the City (2001) garnered a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy Award nominations.
The new 10-episode season is scheduled to begin filming later this year and will debut in 2019.
Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will be joined by @EllenPage (playing Linney's daughter!) in Netflix's continuation of the beloved "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," coming in 2019. pic.twitter.com/9txclJtT0S
