Shane may be the resident heartthrob of The L Word, but no character more embodies Showtimes Los Angeles-set lesbian melodrama than Bette Porter. Accomplished, stubborn, magnetic, and self-destructive, Bette instantly became the archetypical 21st century power dyke. She fills out a Jil Sander power suit as confidently as she tops her pregnant wife; casually drops names of the myriad women artists in her private collection; and now added to her resume for the shows next iteration, The L Word: Generation Q runs a savvy mayoral campaign. (She is also, unofficially, the obvious avatar for the shows creator Ilene Chaiken.)

Of course, there would be no Bette Porter without Jennifer Beals. A luminous and deeply intelligent actor, Beals naturalism, humor, and deeply felt performance grounded the original series, spearheading its ascension beyond mere sexy soap opera, and cementing its place as the most influential piece of lesbian culture of the 21st century.

The role has defined the last decade of Beals career much in the way her breakout role in 1983s Flashdance shaped her early work. In between, she had notable roles in independent films such as Alexandre Rockwells In the Soup, Nanni Morettis Caro Diario, Rockwells segment of Four Rooms, Carl Franklins Devil in a Blue Dress, and Whit Stillmans The Last Days of Disco. Like countless actresses before her, she never reached the movie star heights that Flashdance could have incited.

Nevertheless, she stuck it out. Her incredible longevity in Hollywood speaks not just to a deep and abiding love of the craft, but a tenacity and iron will not unlike her character Bettes.

Jennifer Beals

Showtime

Its kind of crazy, Beals told IndieWire in a recent phone interview. I was thinking about it the other day, and its like I just wouldnt stop. You cant make me stop. Im just going to keep going.

To what does she attribute such longevity?

Persistence. Really persistent. I guess I am blindly stubborn sometimes, she said. Its like a Marine, where you just put one foot in front of the other to get up the mountain. Or a monkand its only recently that Ive started to look up the mountain top and go, Hey, let me maybe predetermine where I would like to go.'

The realization led her to spearhead the return of The L Word, shepherding The L Word: Generation Q to the air. As an executive producer on the new series, (along with fellow returning cast members Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moennig), Beals suggested plot points, brought on new showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan, reviewed cuts, and advised on casting the new generation. Rounding out the trifecta of the shows most popular characters, Hailey and Moennig also reprise their roles as Alice and Shane, respectively.

Honestly, it was such a surreal moment being back on the set with Kate [Moennig] and Leisha [Hailey], Beals said. We all shared an office and checked in with each other all the time. [It] was so much fun getting to work with them as executive producers. I always knew they were amazing actors, but theyre also brilliant human beings and they have a brilliant sense of story and music. It was very, very exciting to be working with them in that new capacity.

The reunion was just as fun for the actresses as it is sure to be for the viewers.

Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moennig

MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Whenever we had scenes together, which was every episode, wed go to Kates house and rehearse and then wed all have dinner together. So its like family dinner every Sunday night.

Returning the role she left behind over 10 years ago was also a surreal experience. But there was one thing that helped Beals lock right back into character as Bette. (Its a feeling many fans have probably experienced themselves.)

Re-exploring the character in those early wardrobe fittings, we were trying to think how much does the style change in 10 years? And nothing was working, nothing was working, Beals recalled. And I said Can I just have a power suit and my cufflinks? I just really need to go back to that. And as soon as I literally put the cufflink in the hole, I just went Ah, yes, yes. Okay. I completely remember this. This is waking up my DNA and this makes sense now.'

Ten years may have passed, but the real question is has Bette, who nearly torpedoed her marriage with an affair with a carpenter, learned from her past mistakes?

Oh, no, apparently not, Beals laughed. I just thought to myself Okay, here we go again.'

The first episode of The L Word: Generation Q premieres on Showtime on Sunday, December 8.

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The L Word: Nobody Rocks a Power Suit and Cufflinks Like Jennifer Beals - IndieWire