Pose creators announce the show will end with season 3

FX’s Pose will end after season 3 as co-creator Steven Canals says: ‘We told the story we wanted to tell’

Groundbreaking FX show Pose is coming to an end with season three which will premiere on May 2.  

Co-creator and Executive Producer Steven Canals announced the news via GMA on Friday as he said in a video statement ‘Our new season will be its last,’ calling it a very difficult decision to make. 

The show — which stars Billy Porter — follows the lives of Black and Latino LGBTQ and gender non-conforming residents of NYC in the drag ball scene — the first network show of its kind. 

End of an era: FX’s Pose is to end with season three as co-creator Steven Canals shares in a statement ‘we reached the intended ending of our story,’ while announcing the final season’s premiere on May 2; Dominique Jackson pictured in Pose

Canals continued to share that the third season will have seven episodes, and will come to an end on June 6. ‘This has been an incredible journey and we have told the story we wanted to tell, the way we wanted to tell it,’ he said.

He additionally posted a statement on Twitter, prompting it by saying that he and creator Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) ‘reached the intended ending of [their] story,’ while calling the show a ‘life changing’ experience: ‘THANK YOU is too small a word.’

Sharing a bit about how the show was created initially, Canals said that he was told while completing his MFA in screenwriting, ‘Write the TV show you want to watch.’

‘At the time we weren’t seeing very many Black and Latinx characters — that happened to also be LGBTQ+ — populating screens. And so I wrote the first draft of a pilot the ‘younger me’ deserved,’ he said. 

'Difficult decision': Canals announced the news on Good Morning America as he said 'Our new season will be its last'

‘Difficult decision’: Canals announced the news on Good Morning America as he said ‘Our new season will be its last’ 

Changing the landscape: The show which stars Billy Porter, follows the lives of Black and Latino LGBTQ and gender non-conforming residents of NYC in the drag ball scene - the first network show of its kind

Changing the landscape: The show which stars Billy Porter, follows the lives of Black and Latino LGBTQ and gender non-conforming residents of NYC in the drag ball scene – the first network show of its kind 

He called it a ‘love letter’ to the underground NYC ballroom community, to New York as a whole, and to his queer and trans family. 

‘I, along with my incredible collaborators, never intended on changing the TV landscape. I simply wanted to tell an honest story about family, resilience and love.’

The show’s first season premiered in 2018, and has been nominated for 11 Emmys.  Porter snagged a win for his role as Pray Tell in 2019 making him the first openly-gay man to win the lead actor award.  

That same year Canals told The Hollywood Reporter that when he pitched the show he envisioned it to be anywhere from four to six seasons, adding ‘It could be more or less.’ 

Final season: The NYC based production began filming what would ultimately be its final season on October 12

Final season: The NYC based production began filming what would ultimately be its final season on October 12

Emmy nominated: The show has snagged 11 Emmy nominations in total, Porter taking one home for his role as Pray Tell in 2019; Porter and Canals (middle) pictured with some of the cast 2019

Emmy nominated: The show has snagged 11 Emmy nominations in total, Porter taking one home for his role as Pray Tell in 2019; Porter and Canals (middle) pictured with some of the cast 2019

Overall creators Murphy, Canals and Brad Falchuk (Glee, Scream Queens) had discussed that when they felt they had told the story they ‘intended to tell,’ they would know it was time to end it.  

Murphy called the show a ‘passion project’ and said in a statement: 

‘Pose has been one of the creative highlights of my entire career…To go from the beginning of my career in the late ’90s when it was nearly impossible to get an LGBTQ character on television to Pose— which will go down in history for having the largest LGBTQ cast of all time — is a truly full circle moment for me.’ 

The show had filmed the premiere of the third season last spring but was forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They resumed filming in October and now confirmed a May 2 premiere where they will release the first two episodes at once. 

Full circle: Murphy called the show a 'passion project' and shared he was incredibly proud to have the 'largest LGBTQ cast of all time' after fighting to get representation since the early nineties

Full circle: Murphy called the show a ‘passion project’ and shared he was incredibly proud to have the ‘largest LGBTQ cast of all time’ after fighting to get representation since the early nineties