Ilene Chaiken

Ilene Chaiken is an American television writer, producer, and director who is openly lesbian and created The L Word (2004), the first American television drama centered on the lives of lesbian and bisexual women, whose portrayal of a close-knit friend group in Los Angeles had a profound impact on queer women's visibility and community. She served as showrunner for the series' full run and later executive produced its sequel, The L Word: Generation Q (2019). Chaiken also developed the television adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale (2017) and remained an executive producer after handing off day-to-day showrunning, sharing in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series the show won for its first season. She went on to showrun the musical drama Empire (2015) from its premiere until early 2018. Born in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, in 1957, Chaiken is married to LouAnne Brickhouse and has twin daughters with her former partner, English architect Miggi Hood. Decades after its debut, The L Word, for all its critical controversies, remains one of the most significant lesbian-created dramas in American television history.