'Pose' Was 'Always' Intended to Be Three Seasons, Says Co-Creator

Three seasons of Pose was always the plan.

In fact, "from the inception of the story, I knew— I always knew what the beginning and I always knew what the end of the narrative would be," said co-creator Steven Canals at a Monday press conference dedicated to the FX drama's final season. A reporter had asked Canals why the groundbreaking series centered on trans and queer people of color was concluding.

"Every choice was intentional," he said. "Everything that we've done this season was leading up to the story that we tell."

Canals said that, as a fan of television, he knew when shows were stretching seasons as "filler." And he did not want to impose that on Pose.

"The last thing I wanted to do to our audience to create narrative simply for the sake of creating narrative with no real intention," he said. "So, I could see that there was the ending and we all agreed that it just made sense for us to land the plane, if you will, comfortably as opposed to continue to give an audience story that just simply didn't have any real core intention or a real thrust towards specificity."

Premiering in June 2018, Pose began with a contrast between characters in New York City's ballroom community and white-collar workers, some of whom worked for real estate tycoon Donald Trump. Ensuing seasons recentered on the former. The show, which was also co-created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, is comprised of the largest cast of transgender series regulars in TV history.

The final season will tackle the AIDS crisis, the changing ballroom scene, and the legacy of the House of Evangelista. And although the series may be ending, cast members present at the press conference asserted that the platform it provided them will ensure even greater representation in Hollywood moving forward.

Murphy and Janet Mock, a transgender executive producer and director, "taught us to fish," said Billy Porter, who won an Emmy in 2019 for his role of Pray Tell.

"The idea that the little Black church sissy from Pittsburgh is now in a position of power in Hollywood in a way that never existed before, you can damn sure believe that I will be wielding that power and there will be a difference and a change in how things go from here on out," he said.

Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, Angel Bismark Curiel, Dyllon Burnside, Jason Rodriguez, Sandra Bernhard, and Mock were also present at the press conference.

The final season of Pose premieres Sunday, May 2 at 10pm Eastern and Pacific on FX.