“Your life matters,” Blanca tells Pray Tell with conviction in the trailer for the third and final season of Pose. This line accurately and succinctly captures the spirit of the groundbreaking FX drama, which centers on New York City’s ball culture of the 1980s. The show, which premiered in 2018, broke barriers by casting a record number of trans actors, as well as hiring multiple queer and POC performers, writers, and directors.
In the first look at season three, which jumps ahead to 1994, Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) is now working as a nurse’s aide, she has a new lover, and is helping Pray Tell (Billy Porter) battle his health challenges. There is a focus on the AIDS crisis, which deeply impacted the community and became the leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44 at the time.
The trailer also dwells on the legacy of House of Evangelista now that a vicious new house looms on the horizon, and the crew has to come to terms with the rapidly changing ballroom scene. Angel (Indya Moore) and Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) are seemingly still together after their engagement in the season-two finale, and the brief shot of a wedding looks promising for their future.
Pose is created by Steven Canals, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Falchuk. In addition to Rodriguez (who needs to win an Emmy already), Moore, and Curiel, Pose stars Emmy winner Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Ryan Jamal Swain, and Hailie Sahar.
The seven-episode final season premieres May 2 on FX.