'Pose' Season 3: Everything We Know

The trailer for the final season is here, and we're counting down the days until the May 2 premiere.

Cast of Pose
(Image credit: FX)

Finished season two of Pose in a hot second and want more? Luckily for us, the trailer for the final season is here! The Golden Globe-nominated drama from FX about New York's ballroom scene in the '80s and '90s is next-level good. It's refreshing to see the LGBTQ+ community represented on television and sharing a piece of history with audiences that may never have been aware of it. And just in case you didn't already love this show enough, it's worth noting that Pose features the largest cast of LGBTQ+ characters in a scripted series ever. The hit show has jump-started the careers of transgender actors including MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross. And I could never forget to mention a fashion icon I admire so deeply: Mr. Billy Porter.

When will Pose season 3 come out?

The countdown has begun. On Tuesday, FX released the trailer for the final season, and it looks like it's going to be a doozy. While we now have a confirmed release date, just last year the production of season 3 was up in the air due to the pandemic.

"When production paused, I wasn't shocked—I knew it would happen—but it was a bittersweet moment for me," said Moore to Variety. "On the one hand, if anyone had gotten sick, it surely would have spread fast. On the other hand, most folks working on a production are living paycheck to paycheck. So I was worried about how they are going to survive."

Cast of Pose

(Image credit: FX)

What's the plot of Pose season 3?

According to an FX release, the story will take place amid the AIDS crisis in 1994, a few years after the events of season 2. “In the final season of ‘Pose,’ time flashes forward to 1994. Blanca struggles to balance being a mother, a present partner to her new love, and a nurse’s aide. Meanwhile, as AIDS becomes the leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44, Pray Tell contends with unexpected health burdens. Pose features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles,” per FX.

In the trailer, Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) and Pray Tell (Billy Porter) deal with the tragic loss and devastation from the AIDS crisis while pledging to overcome their circumstances. In a bid to convince her friends to return to the ballroom scene, she says in a powerful speech, "We’ll do it together, as a family. I’m done running from myself, my destiny. I’m not running no more. Who’s with me?”

The show may look a little different due to filming with coronavirus protocols in mind. In an interview with Variety, co-creator Steven Canals told the magazine that the restrictions may force them to reimagine scenes.

"Things like kissing—we will likely forgo those moments. The place on our show where the biggest impact will be felt will be the ball scenes: Those scenes have 125 to 150 background actors," he told Variety. "That's tricky because that's such an important and critical part of our show and the narrative. We're just, only now, having conversations of 'Is there a world where we forgo these things?'"

Cast of Pose

(Image credit: FX)

Pose producer Janet Mock told Entertainment Weekly last August: "I believe there will be a new House of Evangelista. I think that that's something that we could boldly say that Blanca will likely have new children in season three," Mock told EW. "It makes sense—her children are grown. They'll come and go. Family dinner may be bigger. I don't know if Angel and Papi will have kids of their own. I don't know what their home lives are going to look like. But I think that they're also be [sic] very tethered to one another even though they go out and brand out and there may be new houses and all that good stuff."

Interesting! At least we have a confirmed release date to hold on to this until we hear any more news. Stay tuned, my loyal Pose fans.

Marie Claire

(Image credit: Marie Claire)
Bianca Rodriguez
Audience Development Manager

Bianca Rodriguez is the Audience Development Manager at Future, covering fashion, beauty, and more for Marie Claire, Who What Wear US and Who What Wear UK. In addition to spearheading SEO content across brands—whether writing about wardrobe must-haves or strategizing how to make eye-catching content—she is also an avid reader with a deep love and knowledge for books of all genres. More often than not, you can find her lounging with a good book on the weekend.