Season two of the US lesbian drama series has begun on Channel Seven, and actress Leisha Hailey says it's much darker than the first season, Katrina Fox reports.

It may have been relegated to a late-night spot, but after nearly two years of waiting and season three about to hit US screens, Australian lesbians finally get the chance to find out what happens in the lives of their favourite lesbian TV characters in The L Word. At the end of season one, Bette and Tina, the perfect couple had split up, queen of the one-night stands Shane had had her heart broken by an older married woman, while tennis player Dana and bisexual journalist Alice indulged in a passionate kiss.

The second season of the show is "definitely a lot different" to the first, according to Hailey, who plays Alice. Speaking to SX from her home in LA, she says: "It's less about the group and more about the individuals and has a tendency to be a lot darker. It's had mixed reactions because lot of people miss the light-hearted aspect of the show but at the same time, people like getting to know the characters on a deeper level - it depends who you talk to."

One person not overly impressed is Martina Navratilova, who loved the first season but went on the record saying she hated season two. "Yeah I heard about that," says Hailey, the show's only out lesbian actress. "Everyone's entitled to their opinion. People are supposed to be entertained by it - it's not meant to be taken too seriously, and when people start doing that, it's no fun watching it. We haven't seen ourselves on TV before - it's the first time and you want it all to happen quickly and perfectly and it just doesn't work like that."

Hailey's no stranger to playing gay on screen. She featured in the lesbian movie All Over Me and had a bit part in Ellen's coming out episode before landing the role of Alice in The L Word. She's not worried about being typecast, nor incurring discrimination from Hollywood. "I've always been me - I've never really been closeted," she says. "I came out to my parents at 18 and they were the only people I've been nervous about telling. Other than that, including when I was at drama school, I've been out and no one's really ever questioned me about it, and I don't feel like I've run into a situation where I've lost something because of it - in fact, I feel like doors have only opened for me. I wouldn't say [discrimination in Hollywood] was a myth, it does exist but I think people aren't caring as much. Will and Grace and Queer as Folk are successful and people are seeing it as actors playing parts and they should be able to play any part."

When The L Word originally hit screens in the US, it was accused of portraying lesbians as too glamorous and straight-looking to pander to a straight male audience, a concept Hailey rejects. "I understand why people thought that at first but I feel like The L Word is breaking the mould on what people perceive a lesbian to look like and I think that's refreshing - that lesbians aren't always portrayed as butch characters in flannel. People don't think lesbians are pretty."

With season two, some of those criticisms have abated. "The general reaction is that people are happy to see themselves portrayed on TV," says Hailey. "There's always criticism that they're not being portrayed correctly or there's not enough butch characters, and blah blah, but I feel like they have to let each season unfold - new characters are introduced that I think will make people happy."

Hailey's character also copped some initial flack as the flaky bisexual stereotype who couldn't make up her mind which side of the fence she was on. But Hailey says this is not the case. "I feel like she's actually the person saying 'I follow my heart not the gender', so it's not the bisexual who can't make up her mind. She's very clear about who she is, and honest and forthcoming about it - it's the people around her who don't understand that."

While being openly gay, Hailey is a tad reticent about talking about her relationships, including a well-publicised affair with kd lang some years ago. "I don't really want to talk about her - I've moved on and it's all behind me now," is all she'll say, adding that the inclusion of high-profile same-sex couples in celebrity magazines is a double-edged sword. "On the one hand I think everyone deserves their privacy and on the other I do think it's cool you see lesbian couples the same as you see straight ones," she says.
So, do Alice and Dana get it on in season two? "I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but we do deal with the fact that we kiss," she says.

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