POSE is the most important show of 2018

A NEW show by Ryan Murphy is causing a stir for its bold move in casting a community who lack opportunity and visibility.

HOLLYWOOD has a long history of casting cisgender actors in transgender roles.

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl), Jeffery Tambour (Transparent) and Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) are just some that spring to mind.

While Laverne Cox has certainly made headway as Sophia Burset on Orange Is The New Black, transgender actors on the whole still lack opportunity and visibility.

Indya Moore strikes a pose as Angel.

That’s all set to change in Ryan Murphy’s latest TV outing Pose, which has made the bold move of casting five transgender actors or colour — MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Hailie Sahar, Angelica Ross alongside Evan Peters, Kate Mara and Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek.

James Van Der Beek stars as Matt Bromley, your classic '80s cocaine-addicted powerbroker.

Set in 1980s New York, Pose juxtaposes the affluent Trump era against the legendary ballroom scene where the dance movement of vogueing began well before Madonna sold it to her adoring masses. It’s about the haves and the have nots — and it’s significantly lighter in tone than many of the other shows that exists in Ryan’s Murphy-verse.

Dominique Jackson is a force to be reckoned with as ballroom diva Elektra.

“What I’ve been trying do [with Pose] is show the [ballroom] community in the way that I see them: Beauty and glamour and lights and music,” said Murphy.

“That’s how we as gay people and trans people have gotten through our pain.”

Pose also deals with the HIV/AIDS epidemic that decimated the gay community, a fearful time Murphy remembers all too clearly.

Kate Mara plays Patty, Stan's wife.

“I would drive myself to the emergency room in college every 10 days, even when I was celibate and get a blood test and I would wait for two weeks and lose 15 pounds and throw up in the middle of the night in fear because I thought I was going to die,” Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I thought that loving someone meant death and I think a large group of young people don’t have that experience. That was my experience, so I was able to, with the HIV/AIDS story, really lean into my pain.”

Mj Rodriguez plays Blanca, who is the reigning queen of the newly formed House of Evangelista.

Murphy says working with the transgender cast of Pose and director Janet Mock has been the highlight of his career so far.

“The thing that struck me in talking to so many [transgender people] was how much they’ve struggled, how under attack they feel, how many of them find it difficult getting healthcare and finding jobs,” Murphy told Variety.

“I just decided I need to do more than just make a show for this community. I want to reach out and help.”

Evan Peters plays Stan Bowes, an ambitious office worker with a secret life.

Murphy has donated 100 per cent of his profits from Pose to transgender LGBTQ community groups.

“These groups do amazing work and need our support,” Murphy said on Twitter. “ … I encourage you to do the same!”

I am donating 100 percent of my profits from my new FX show POSE towards trans and LGBTQ charitable organizations. These groups do amazing work and need our support. Every day for the next 14 days I will highlight a group I'm supporting, and encourage you to do the same!

— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) May 9, 2018

- Pose has already been renewed for a second season. Pose premieres on Foxtel’s showcase September 11 at 8.30pm and will be available on Foxtel On Demand.