The L Word
Longing
TV Flash files “Longing” as hour 4 of 71 in the TV Flash guide — The L Word (2004–2009) on Showtime, season 1, episode 4, aired 2004-02-01, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E04: listed hour 4 of 71 in the The L Word guide, hour 4 of 14 in season 1. It aired 2004-02-01 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Let's Do It” (S01E03). Next is “Lies, Lies, Lies” (S01E05).

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Bette takes a desperate step to win her battle of wills with the chairman of the gallery board; Jenny struggles with her feelings for Marina; Alice tries to regain her self-respect after a run-in with an ex; Dana finally gets a date with Lara.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Longing sit in the The L Word guide?
S01E04 is listed hour 4 of 71 — hour 4 of 14 in season 1, season 1 episode 4.
When did The L Word S01E04 air?
Longing aired 2004-02-01 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need Generation Q first?
No. The original Showtime run (2004–2009) is the West Hollywood ensemble landmark; the later reboot is extra innings.
In the series
Why this series still plays
West Hollywood as a weekly social universe: Bette and Tina weather, Shane's gravitational pull, Alice mapping the scene. The L Word made lesbian lives appointment television on Showtime — fashionable, messy, soapy, and rare for treating queer women as the whole ensemble, not a guest arc.
The first useful geography is a social calendar, not a coming-out lecture. A circle of queer women in Los Angeles navigate careers, art, and messy romance — West Hollywood as a weekly universe. Ilene Chaiken, Kathy Greenberg, and Michele Abbott's Showtime series (2004–2009) made lesbian lives appointment television: Jennifer Beals's Bette, Laurel Holloman's Tina, Leisha Hailey's Alice mapping the scene, Mia Kirshner, Katherine Moennig's Shane, Pam Grier's Kit. Fashionable, messy, soapy, and rare for treating…
Filed against
- Jennifer Beals as Bette Porter
Jennifer Beals’s Bette Porter made The L Word a West Hollywood appointment — Bette and Tina weather, Shane’s pull, Alice mapping the scene. Showtime treating lesbian lives as the whole ensemble, fashionable and messy and soapy. TV Flash…
- Laurel Holloman as Tina Kennard
Laurel Holloman's Tina Kennard was half of The L Word's climate — Bette and Tina weather, West Hollywood as a weekly social universe, Showtime appointment soap that treated queer women as the whole ensemble. Fashionable, messy, soapy. TV…
- Leisha Hailey as Alice Pieszecki
Leisha Hailey's Alice Pieszecki mapped The L Word's West Hollywood social universe — Showtime appointment soap, fashionable messy ensemble, queer women as the whole cast rather than a guest slot. The chart as a worldview. We file her as…
- Mia Kirshner as Jenny Schecter
Mia Kirshner’s Jenny Schecter walked The L Word’s West Hollywood like a weekly social universe with a new arrival’s appetite — Bette and Tina weather, Shane’s gravitational pull, Alice mapping the scene. Showtime 2000s appointment TV for…
- Katherine Moennig as Shane McCutcheon
Katherine Moennig's Shane McCutcheon was The L Word's gravitational pull — West Hollywood as a weekly social universe, Showtime appointment soap that treated queer women as the whole ensemble. Fashionable, messy, and magnetized. TV Flash…
- Pam Grier as Kit Porter
Pam Grier plays Kit Porter on The L Word, Showtime’s 2000s West Hollywood weekly social universe — Bette and Tina weather, Shane’s gravitational pull, Alice mapping the scene. Fashionable, messy, soapy, and rare for treating queer women…