UNOFFICIAL PLOT SUMMARY:

The L Word is about the trials and tribulations of a group of friends in L.A., most of whom are lesbians.

The previously-straight Jenny (Mia Kirshner) moves to L.A. to be with her boyfriend Tim (Eric Mabius), who has befriended next-door neighbors Tina (Laurel Holloman) and Bette (Jennifer Beals). Tina and Bette introduce Jenny to the alluring Marina (Karina Lombard), who owns a local cafe, and Marina and Jenny begin a slow dance of seduction that eventually culminates in an affair, leaving Jenny torn between her love for Tim and her feelings for Marina.

Bette and Tina, meanwhile, have been in a stable relationship for seven years and are now trying to have a child, but are frustrated by the difficulties in finding a suitable sperm donor. Tina is a bit at loose ends after quitting her studio development job in order to focus on getting pregnant, and the amount of time Bette spends at her job as a museum director is putting a strain on their relationship. Bette is a type-A personality who sees herself as the "adult" of the group, and she has a complicated relationship with her older half-sister Kit (Pam Grier), a straight musician and recovering alcoholic.

Shane (Katherine Moennig) is a hairdresser who "doesn't do relationships," but sleeps with a different woman every night instead--including one (Tammy Lynn Michaels) who wants more than a one-night stand.

Dana (Erin Daniels) is a perpetually-single professional tennis player headed for stardom in the tennis world--as long as she stays closeted. She has been willing to make this trade-off in the past, but it becomes increasingly difficult for her when she unexpectedly falls in love with the sous-chef at her country club (Lauren Lee Smith).

As the only openly bisexual woman in the group, journalist Alice (Leisha Hailey) is looking for the same qualities in a man or a woman, and her love interests include an "emotionally-crippled" ex-girlfriend (Guinevere Turner) and a lesbian-identified man named Lisa (Devon Gummersall).

OFFICIAL SHOWTIME PLOT SUMMARY:

Jenny Schecter (MIA KIRSHNER) is a gifted young writer of fiction who just completed her MFA at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. With a major literary award and one published short story to her credit, she arrives in Los Angeles to begin her "adult life" with her boyfriend - soon to be fiancé – Tim Haspel (ERIC MABIUS), a women’s swim coach at a large state university.

They reside in West Hollywood, next door to Bette Porter (JENNIFER BEALS), a museum director, and her partner Tina Kennard (LAUREL HOLLOMAN). Bette and Tina have been a couple for seven years and are trying to find the perfect sperm donor to help them to start a family as they struggle with their relationship and the roles they've chosen or found themselves in and what it all means to their future.

Bette and Tina's close network of friends includes Shane McCutcheon (KATHERINE MOENNIG), a hairdresser and the resident heartthrob; Dana Fairbanks (ERIN DANIELS), a professional tennis player not yet out of the closet; bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki (LEISHA HAILEY); and Bette's half-sister Kit Porter (PAM GRIER), who is a musician and a recovering alcoholic.