Pose, a show that premiered on FX in 2018, is a big deal. It brings us to New York City’s ballroom scene. It captures lives of LGBTQ+ people of color during a crazy time. With stars like MJ Rodriguez and Billy Porter, it has some serious talent. Critics rave about its storytelling and visuals. It celebrates queer and trans culture like it is going out of style. Pose has become a must-watch, a cultural moment. You do not wanna miss it.

Meet the characters from Pose

Blanca Rodriguez

Blanca is the heart-and-hustle of the ballroom — fierce, organized, unbearably loving and kind of terrifying when she’s on a mission. She runs her House like it’s both a shelter and a startup, full of rules, care packages, tough love and emergency casseroles (yes, she has a casserole recipe and she WILL use it). She’s grown, healed, stubborn as hell, and somehow always knows who needs a pep talk at 2 a.m.; also she keeps a box of Polaroids and receipts for reasons she’d never fully explain. Sometimes she’s all mother, sometimes she’s a general, and sometimes she’s inexplicably into very obscure pop songs — it’s adorable and slightly confusing.

Elektra

Elektra is glamour turned up to eleven, a little dangerous, and someone who loves a dramatic entrance — you can tell she practices in front of a mirror, probably with a cigarette dangling in a way that’s somehow chic. She’s competitive, sharp-tongued, and has a complicated soft spot under all the rhinestones; don’t trust her at cards but do trust her when she’s being honest, which is rare and therefore earns you major points. She collects velvet gloves and vintage perfume bottles and claims she only drinks tea but then somehow orders champagne. Honestly, she’s the kind of person who would stage an entire mini soap opera around brunch and still pull it off.

Angel

Angel is this absolutely radiant, fragile-but-fierce presence — model-off-duty energy, an intense performer, and very, very carefully brave. She’s the one who walks into a room and changes the light, but she also keeps a tiny notebook of everything that makes her nervous, which is sort of adorable and also heartbreaking. She’s loyal, stylish, ambitious (models! auditions! late-night rehearsals!), and weirdly into old Polaroid cameras for reasons she can’t fully explain. Sometimes she’s bold and unstoppable and sometimes she melts into a giggle puddle at the dumbest tiny kindness — it’s a whole mood.

Lil Papi

Lil Papi is the stoic, proud, sometimes-gruff protector with a soft center he tries very hard to keep under lock and key. He’s practical — runs a business, pays the bills, can fix a leaky sink in five minutes — but has this melodramatic romantic streak that loves grand gestures and mixtapes (I swear he makes mixtapes). He’s loyal to the bone, stubborn, and also secretly listens to romantic boleros when no one is around, so yes, he cries sometimes, quietly, to salsa music. He acts like a fortress and then surprises everyone by actually being a giant cuddle person, which is the best kind of contradiction.

Pray Tell

Pray Tell is the electric soul of every ballroom — witty, incandescent, the kind of host who can read you, roast you, and lift you up in one breath. He’s sharp, stylish, political without being boring, and has a storytelling voice that makes even a grocery list sound like a confession. He collects cocktails and one-liners, probably has a lipstick-stained napkin shrine somewhere, and he’ll cut you with a joke but bring you home chicken soup after. He carries worlds on his shoulders and still somehow leaves room for the party; tragic and brilliant, and honestly, iconic.

Lulu

Lulu is a warm, chatty, slightly chaotic presence — the friend who knows everyone’s birthdays and will bring three types of cookies to a crisis. She’s endlessly supportive, full of gossip and practical advice, and also kind of a dreamer who believes in fairy-tale endings even when reality’s being messy. She can be hilariously contradictory — very careful with money but impulsively buys huge feathered hats on a whim — and she wears her heart on the sleeve of an amazing vintage jacket. She’s the person who’ll organize your funeral and your birthday party in the same breath, with a whimsical playlist to boot.

Ricky

Ricky is electric and restless, the kind of performer who can steal a scene without meaning to, and then overthink it for days later. He’s ambitious, kind of impulsive, forever hustling between auditions, gigs, and heartbreaks, and he has this raw charisma that makes you forget his flaws until they slay you. He’s secretly sentimental (old ticket stubs, questionable charm bracelets) but outwardly performs cool detachment, which is a lie he tells himself sometimes and then laughs about later. He’s equal parts vulnerability and showmanship, and way more of a softie than he’ll ever admit at karaoke.

Lemar

Lemar is steady, quietly magnetic, like your reliable favorite song — there’s depth beneath the calm. He tends to be the grounded one, pragmatic and loyal, a stabilizer in chaos who also has opinions on everything from fashion to fiscal responsibility (yes, fiscal responsibility — thrilling). He’ll say one-sentence truths that hit you like poetry and then make you coffee exactly how you like it; he’s useful and emotional, in a neat but mildly annoying way. Also, he has a shocking collection of novelty socks that he denies but the evidence is obvious.

Damon Richards

Damon is bold and a little scandalous, the kind of guy who lives for the spotlight and then craves an apology for the spotlight when it gets too bright. He’s confident, sometimes reckless, full of bravado and charisma, but he’s also working through a lot beneath the surface and will surprise you with quiet acts of loyalty. He flirts like it’s a sport, collects outrageous jackets, and will absolutely get the whole group into trouble — then fix it with a hug and a grin. He’s dramatic in the best way and strangely tender in the worst-cliché-of-love way, which makes him impossible not to like.

Cubby

Cubby is lovable, slightly goofy, and a hugger — the friend who brings cupcakes and insists on karaoke duets even though he can’t carry a tune. He’s earnest, a little clumsy with feelings, and somehow adorably sincere about everything; he has a ridiculous fear of pigeons and a surprising knowledge of 80s pop trivia. He’s the emotional anchor who offers a shoulder and then pries into your life with kind curiosity, but he’ll also start a dance-off at the tiniest provocation. He’s low-key chaotic but very, very kind, and his optimism is contagious (or eye-roll-inducing, depending on your tolerance).

Candy

Candy is loud, glamorous, and unapologetically herself, with a laugh that fills a room and a wardrobe that needs its own zip code. She’s fierce, a bit of a drama magnet, and incredibly generous if you’re in her circle — she’ll bring sequins and advice in equal measure. She’s got a vintage record obsession and tells the same joke three times because she likes the payoff, and she’s often contradictory: brutally honest but secretly sentimental about greeting cards. Basically, she’s party energy personified with an unexpected soft center that she only shows to the right people.