This week, Cobie Smulders told Maxim she’d love to have a lesbian relationship on How I Met Your Mother. I fondly remembered when she played a lesbian artist on The L Word that Bette took a liking to, and then thought of how she’d moved on from the bit part to playing Robin on the hit show How I Met Your Mother. She’s done well for herself, as have so many others that have been on the show, from major roles to bit parts.
So it just seemed to beg the question: Which L Word actress has made the best moves since the show?
Mia Jones: There is no question about it: Holland Taylor has had the best career after The L Word. I have no clue how Two and A Half Men is still on the air and actually doing well, but it is. Actually, my mom really likes the show, she thinks it’s hilarious, so apparently I’m just missing that part of my brain. In any case, when it has shown up on my screen and I haven’t been close to a remote to change the channel, Holland’s overbearing mother character (much like Peggy Peabody) is very obviously the best character on the show. Dorothy Snarker: Jane Lynch now, Jane Lynch forever. While those in the know knew she was something special from her previous work in everything from Christopher Guest movies to the 40-Year-Old Virgin and, of course, The L Word, the rest of the universe didn’t fully catch on until she landed a tiny little show called Glee. Since then not only has she won an Emmy, she effectively over the world as the deliciously mean Sue Sylvester. She makes us laugh, she makes us cower, she makes us want to dress up as her for Halloween. Heck, she even managed to steal a few scenes from Meryl Streep herself in Julie & Julia. Couple those on-screen successes with her off-screen happiness thanks to her marriage earlier this year to Lara Embry and Jane’s post-L Word life has been the polar opposite of plain.
Jamie Murnane: As Eric Mabius is not an “actress,” I’m going with Melanie Lynskey. Since she rode off TLW into the sunset on her Vespa, she’s appeared in the Oscar-nominated Up in the Air as George Clooney’s character’s sister and has had a recurring role on Two and a Half Men. Lynskey also popped up in the Matt Damon flick, The Informant! and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Clearly, she’s good at staying on the radar. And with four films currently in production, she’s sure to get more attention.
I swear, the fact that she played the shock-happy Hilary in But I’m a Cheerleader and starred alongside Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures did not sway my decision – much.
Grace Chu: I know the instructions in the huddle topic told us to identify an “actress,” but I’m going to be gender neutral and tip my hat to Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg played the role of musician and producer Slim Daddy, who helped a sober Kit relaunch her career as a singer, in Season 1. After Slim Daddy hit on virtually everyone in the cast and came up short for obvious reasons, he incorrectly assumed that Kit also played on our team and cast a crew of backup dancers to creep and crawl over her at the music video shoot, with hilarious results. A few months after his stint on The L Word, Snoop went on to release “Drop It Like It’s Hot” featuring Pharrell of The Neptunes. It was his first single to hit #1 on the Billboard Charts. Most recently he was featured on Katy Perry’s ubiquitous single “California Gurls,” and he also professed a deep fondness for Sookie on True Blood in his song “Oh Sookie.” With lyrics like, “Bill ain’t for real / He ain’t true blood / Snoop is a G / I smoke true bud,” how can the faery princess of Bon Temps possibly resist his charms?
Lindsey Byrnes: Leisha Hailey! Sure, she has made appearances on TV shows like CSI, American Dad and Drop Dead Diva, but that’s not what I am talking about. Don’t get me wrong, she is an incredible actress, but I’m mostly impressed with her music. I have loved Leisha’s musicianship since I first heard her band, The Murmurs, in the late ’90s. In fact, if you haven’t heard The Murmurs, do yourself a favor and buy their last record Blender! It wasn’t until the second season of The L Word that I realized Alice was Leisha and Leisha “was in that one band.” In other words it clicked, which of course made me love the L Word even more. And in case you didn’t know, Leisha formed a new band with Camilla Grey in 2007 called Uh Huh Her. They have been writing and recording a second record, which will be released in 2011. I’ve heard a lot of the tracks and that is why I feel qualified to say that Leisha’s decision to concentrate on her music is a brilliant career move. The music is beautiful, catchy and addictive. I’m not sure if it is possible for anyone to be as excited about this release as I am but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you just might be – and if you aren’t you should be.
The Linster: Jessica Capshaw went from a lesbian grad student who got to seduce Dr. Bette Porter to a pediatric surgeon who gets to do the nasty with Dr. Callie Torres in the supply closet – and then go home with her. And she found time in the midst of that to do an Allure photo shoot that gave us this. I don’t know who Jessica’s agent is, but I feel like sending her a thank-you note.
Lesley Goldberg: Two words: power suit. Who doesn’t love Jennifer Beals and her post-L Word roles where she’s been lucky enough to be clad in power suits. She had a handful of episodes as Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau on Fox’s Lie To Me, where she played lead Tim Roth’s ex-wife, but let’s not talk about her love interest. Let’s focus instead that she was woman in power on primetime. Beals also has detoured to the big-screen in The Book of Eli but what has me most excited is the date millions of L Word fans have with her at 9 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2011, when she stars as Teresa Colvin, the city’s first female police superintendent in The Chicago Code (the drama previously known as Ride-Along). With an air date the day after the Super Bowl, look for a lot of Bette Porter power suits to pop up during The Big Game.
But my favorite post-L Word role for JB? Photographer and book editor for The L Word Book, a first-person behind-the-scenes look at the landmark Showtime series.
Trish Bendix: Alison Goldfrapp performed on an episode of The L Word and has since come out as being in a lesbian relationship. Kelly McGillis also came out after appearing as Col. Gillian Davis. I like both of those moves a lot! Your turn: Who has made the best career moves since The L Word?
