On Sunday, fans could tune into FX to catch the final season premiere of Ryan Murphy’s (American Horror Story, Glee) ballroom period drama Pose, an episode that first debuted at a special red carpet event and screening in New York City on Thursday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “the screening marked the first major in-person red carpet event to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown began last year.” Blazing the trail back to the red carpet seemed fitting way to celebrate Pose’s final season, as the series itself is often celebrated as a “groundbreaking period drama that opened so many doors for trans actors, creative talent and crew” (Variety).
While Thursday’s event and screening, at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, signaled a hope that “that live events are finally on the rebound,” many safety protocols were in place to ensure the safety of the cast, crew and guests in attendance, via Variety. According to Variety, the two-hundred-foot blue and sparkling carpet “included clear plastic barriers between photographers” and implemented social distancing measures between the guests and the press. The Hollywood Reporter elaborated on the “fun photo-ops for cast members” along their route of the carpet, these ranged from “a disco ball-filled display to an expansive trophy wall.”
Pose stars and guest stars Billy Porter (American Horror Story, Equal), Mj Rodriguez (Adam), Dominique Jackson (American Gods, Chick Fight), Indya Moore (Queen & Slim), Hailie Sahar (Good Trouble, Eastsiders), Dyllón Burnside (Central Park, Peter Pan Live!), Angel Bismark Curiel (Monsters and Men, Critical Thinking), Jeremy Pope (Hollywood, One Night in Miami…), Sandra Bernhard (The King of Comedy, Hercules), Jason Rodriguez (The Deuce), Angelica Ross (American Horror Story, Her Story), Jeremy McClain (Someone, Somewhere) and Noma Dumezweni (Mary Poppins Returns, The Undoing) were all in attendance at the Pose red carpet event and screening. Additional guests included Murphy, Brad Falchuk (Glee, American Horror Story), Steven Canals (Saving Jane) and Janet Mock (Hollywood). According to IndieWire, Mock delivered some choice words about the entertainment industry in “a blistering speech” prior to the Pose screening, highlighting how a desire to return to Hollywood’s former status quo is not necessarily shared by all in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the brief dissenting sojourn during the festivities at Thursday’s screening, the Pose cast remained in an overall celebratory mood about the event and about the final season of their acclaimed FX series. “This final season was the end of this three-arc narrative that we’ve been telling,” Murphy remarked on the decision to bring Pose to a deliberate end with season three, via Variety. Season three was revealed to be the series’ last in March, with FX dropping a first trailer in April.
Sunday brought the premiere of Pose’s brief – seven episode – final season, one that the cast and crew weathered through COVID-19’s innumerable production obstacles to bring to fans. While Thursday’s NYC red carpet event marked the first of many for upcoming film and television projects, for the Pose team it served as a final bow.