‘Pose’ Season 2 Will Culminate With the Historic Release of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ in 1990
“Vogue.” “Paris Is Burning.” “Pose.” When it comes to the pop culture media that has helped to reveal the world of ball culture, FX’s musical drama will pay tribute to Madge’s world-shaking song.
At the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday, co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed a rough outline of where Season 2 was heading. While the show’s initial outing ended in 1988, he said that the sophomore season would “begin in 1989 and … [go through] sort of the end of March in 1990 when Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ was released.”
“Vogue” was released on March 27, 1990. While the iconic black and white imagery from the video gained the most attention (see below), the lyrics outlined the welcoming, inclusive environment of the balls in that turbulent time:
Look around, everywhere you turn is heartache
It’s everywhere that you go (look around)
You try everything you can to escape
The pain of life that you know (life that you know)
When all else fails and you long to be
Something better than you are today
I know a place where you can get away
It’s called a dance floor, and here’s what it’s for…
Murphy, who says Madonna had been kind enough to give a couple of her tracks to the show in Season 1, doesn’t know if Madge would be on board to actually appear on screen.
“I think the thing about this show is … we haven’t tried to do too many of my typical stunt-casting, and I don’t think we will,” he said. “But I always like to talk to Madonna… I don’t know how she’d feel about playing 1990 Madonna. I would say let’s talk to [producer] Janet Mock about that.”
Read More: ‘Pose’ Review: Ryan Murphy’s Enticing LGBTQ Series Earns Glamour and Glory for the House of FX
He went on to note the impact of the song to the community in the moment because it put the ball scene “on display” for the world.
“Pose” will also continue the story of Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) and Pray Tell’s (Billy Porter) HIV experience. Sandra Bernhard, who played the nurse Judy in Season 1, will reprise her role for that storyline.
“We want to be truthful about it,” he said. “It was a dark, troubling time.”
Season 2 of “Pose” will premiere in 2019.
