Madrigal, who refers to the tenants as her children and anchors the chosen family at the story’s heart, is transgender. Showtime would pick it up eventually for two more miniseries, More Tales of the City (1998) and Further Tales of the City (2001), before Netflix's recent reboot. By the end of the first book, Maupin reveals that Mrs. Although the show was tame by today's standards, right-wing activists were incensed by its portrayal of LGBTQ lives, and even threatened to cut PBS's public funding over Tales of the City. Despite high ratings and critical acclaim, PBS ultimately decided not to renew the series, amid an intense conservative backlash. She is one of the most visible trans actors working today, having appeared in shows like Nashville, Blindspot, and Better Things. Richards, the Emmy-nominated writer-star of Her Story, also co-produced the docuseries More Than T.

PBS aired a landmark 1993 adaptation, starring Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis. TALES OF THE CITY To say Jen Richards was nervous to play a young Anna Madrigal is an understatement.

Maupin has termed the group a 'logical family.' This isn't the first time they've been adapted onscreen. The original 1993 series depicts Anna already living on Barbary Lane, while Maupin’s final book, 2014’s The Days of Anna Madrigal, follows her teen years as Andy Ramsey in Winnemucca, Nevada. Among the other main characters are Mary Ann (Laura Linney), Brian Hawkins (Paul Gross), and Michael Tolliver (Marcus D’Amico, Paul Hopkins, Murray Bartlett). Nino Munoz / NETFLIX The plot centers on a close group of friends living in San Francisco.Īnna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), a weed-loving transgender woman, serves as something of a matriarch for her tenants at 28 Barbary Lane. Mary Ann (Laura Linney) and Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis) both starred in the original PBS show, and return in Netflix’s new limited series.

Mrs madrigal tales of the city