By Magdalena Burnham

Before I watched the season premiere of The Real L Word, a reality show following a group of Los Angeles-based lesbians, I was lucky enough to meet two of the stars, the unbelievably gorgeous Lauren and Amanda. They were enthusiastic as they discussed the new season. “Both coasts colliding is really the best part,” Lauren said. “There’s definitely an interaction between every different person in the cast and there’s a way that each of our stories actually naturally ties to each other,” added Amanda.

It was interesting to hear how magnanimous their reasons for auditioning for the show were. They both talked about wanting to help normalize the lesbian community in the eyes of viewers. “The show was something that I wanted to do to get involved with the community and show a very femme/not femme point of view. I see myself as femme but not exactly your typical femme,” Lauren explained. “For me, it was trying to show my story, get involved in the community and do something fun.”

Lauren and Amanda both emphasized how much fun doing the show was, but acknowledged that there are challenges. “When you have somebody waking you up every morning and putting you to bed every night for months, there’s no way to hide anything,” Amanda explained. “If it can go back and normalize [the community] and create equality, then I don’t give a f—k.”

With the promise of a fun show about a group of friends who really care about each other that also represents the lesbian community in an interesting and diverse way, I was sold and ready to dive into the season premiere.

The show didn’t disappoint. All the bubbliness and affection and charisma of the cast translates well to the screen. And there really is a nice variety of relationships on display. We see single girls, a couple in an open relationship, newlyweds, a couple that is soon-to-be-engaged, friends with benefits and a married couple expecting their first child.

The character I’m most interested in is Romi, who is now in a relationship with a man. She explains that being gay has never been a big deal to her, but now that she’s involved with her boyfriend Jay when all of her friends are lesbians, everyone she works with is a lesbian and she’s on The Real L Word, she understands what coming out is like. What’s nice about this portrayal is that it’s so different from the cliché way scripted shows always portray lesbians who decide to be with men. While the nauseating, insulting TV trope is to show lesbians helplessly overcome with some primal desire to be with a man, here Romi is very much an in control adult making a decision about who she wants to be with. I’ve seen many TV shows where a lesbian decides to be with a man and this is the first time this story has been told in a way I found relatable. This is just one example of how The Real L Word feels more genuine and complex than your average reality TV show.

Overall, the show is seriously sexy, relatable, entertaining and funny. While the girls in the cast are, of course, more beautiful and glamorous than your average girl off the street, there’s still a nice variety of types and lifestyles that reflects a fair amount of diversity within the community.

The Real L Word airs Thursdays at 10 on Showtime.

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston. Photo courtesy of AMC.

BY Magdalena Burnham

Monday – July 9

Eureka

The SmartDust control unit breaks, causing the town’s communication system to go haywire. The bio-printer vanishes and Holly is acting weird. That doesn’t sound that dramatic after last week’s episode brought up the possibility that the population of Eureka might be destroyed forever.  Airs at 9:00 on Syfy.

Also On:

8:00 – Hell’s Kitchen (Fox)

8:00 – The Bachelorette (ABC)

10:00 – Teen Wolf (MTV)

Tuesday – July 10

White Collar

Finally, one of the best and handsomest shows on TV is back! This one has Neal and Mozzie being adorable on a remote island while Peter tries to find Neal and warn him about a bounty hunter on his trail. Airs at 9:00 on USA.

Also On:

8:00 – Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)

10:00 – The Glee Project (Oxygen)

10:00 – Franklin & Bash (TNT)

Wednesday – July 11

Futurama

Zapp Brannigan starts dating Leela’s mom. I think that’s weird and gross and I betcha Leela will agree. Airs at 10:00 on Comedy Central.

Also On:

8:00 – Melissa & Joey (ABC Family)

9:00 – Dallas (TNT)

10:00 – The Soup (E!)

Thursday – July 12

Suits

Harvey’s enemy returns, which will really grind my gears, but on the plus side Mike and Louis become closer as friends. BFF! Airs at 10:00 on USA.

Also On:

9:00 – Burn Notice (USA)

10:00 – Rookie Blue (ABC)

10:30 – Awkward. (MTV)

Friday – July 13

Live! with Kelly

Ray Romano is the guest and SNL hunk Seth Meyers co-hosts. Airs at 9:00 AM on ABC.

Also On:

8:00 – A.N.T. Farm (Disney)

10:00 – Common Law (USA)

10:30 – Bunk (IFC)

Saturday – July 14

Merlin

In the first episode, Camelot hosts a peace conference. Then in the second episode, a ruthless warlock asks Morgana for help. Episodes air at 9:00 and 10:00 on BBC.

Also On:

9:00 – The Suze Orman Show (CNBC)

Sunday – July 15

Breaking Bad

Season premiere! Walt must deal with the aftermath of the explosion as Hank wraps up the investigation of Gus. Airs at 10:00 on AMC.

Also On:

9:00 – True Blood (HBO)

9:00 – Falling Skies (TNT)

10:00 – Weeds (Showtime)

By Magdalena Burnham

Monday – July 2

Eureka

Eureka gets cut off from the world and the entire population might be destroyed. Wow, Eureka is not messing around with the stakes of this episode.  Airs at 9:00 on Syfy.

Also On:

8:00 – Hell’s Kitchen (Fox)

8:00 – The Bachelorette (ABC)

10:00 – Teen Wolf (MTV)

Tuesday – July 3

The Glee Project

The theme for the week is “adaptability”, which should be less uncomfortable than the “sexuality” episode.

Also On:

10:00 – Franklin & Bash (TNT)

10:30 – Workaholics (Comedy Central)

Wednesday – July 4

Futurama

This episode has Bender trying to become a paparazzo. Let’s see how many TMZ jokes they can work in. Airs at 10:00 on Comedy Central.

Also On:

9:00 – Dallas (TNT)

10:00 – The Real World (MTV)

10:00 – The Soup (E!)

Thursday – July 5

Wilfred

Ryan has to deal with the issues that arise from Wilfred’s popularity, which is a vague enough description that, considering the show, there’s a good chance some unspeakable acts comprise the main arc of this episode. Airs at 10:00 on FX.

Also On:

8:00 – Duets (ABC)

10:00 – Rookie Blue (ABC)

10:30 – Louie (FX)

Friday – July 6

Bunk

This week’s panelists are Dana Gould, Michael Che and Andy Daly. Watch for Michael Che. That is a damn funny dude. Airs at 10:30 on IFC.

Also On:

9:00 – The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO)

10:00 – Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC)

Saturday – July 7

Merlin

In the first episode Arthur duels a mysterious warrior. In the second episode, Merlin saves a beautiful girl from a bounty hunter. Episodes air at 9:00 and 10:00 on BBC.

Also On:

9:00 – The Suze Orman Show (CNBC)

Sunday – July 8

True Blood

Jason has a disturbing dream. Meanwhile, Bill and Eric want Sookie to help them look for Russell. Maybe I’m missing something, but that doesn’t sound like a lot of plot. Airs at 9:00 on HBO.

Also On:

10:00 – Weeds (Showtime)

10:00 – Iron Chef America (Food Network)

12:15 – Metalocalypse (Cartoon Network)