Yesterday news broke that Ryan Murphy’s pilot for Pose, a possible new FX series, had the “largest transgender cast” ever for a scripted series – five transgender women of color cast to play five series regular roles. This casting news represents a watershed moment in authentic trans representation in Hollywood, and was greeted by an immediate wave of excitement on social media. According to The Hollywood Reporter, casting director Alexa Fogel spent six months casting these trans actors to play trans roles:

MJ Rodriguez (who will play Blanca) is a theater and film actress who has appeared on Nurse Jackie, The Carrie Diaries and Luke Cage, and was recently featured with Indya Moore (who will play Angel) in Saturday Church at the Tribeca Film Festival. Dominique Jackson (who will play Elektra) is a fashion model and icon in the current New York ball scene. Hailie Sahar (who will play Lulu) has been seen on Mr. Robot and Transparent. And Angelica Ross (who will play Candy) was recently on Transparent as well as several episodes of Claws.

Importantly, the announcement also brought the news that there is a team of trans and queer creators behind the camera helping to craft the stories these five trans actors will tell on screen. Co-executive producer Silas Howard is a transgender man and an accomplished writer, director, and producer. Our Lady J, a trans woman and a writer on Amazon’s Transparent, is also a producer and in the writer’s room, alongside NY Times best-selling author and trans advocate Janet Mock. Leiomy Maldando, a trans woman and a legend in the New York ballroom scene, is the choreographer for the show along with Danielle Polanco.

Also per The Hollywood Reporter:

The writers have also brought on ball culture consultants Michael Roberson and Twiggy Pucci Garçon to assist in populating the potential series with people from within the New York ball community, as well as to help develop authentic ball world stories. Hector Xtravaganza, Skylar King and Sol Williams – participants in the ball culture world of the 1980s – will also serve as consultants on Pose.

Pose is a project that, from the very beginning, is bringing the right people to the table to help craft authentic stories about transgender people – and we are very hopeful that FX will see the value of telling these stories and pick up the series.

“Hollywood has a long history of misrepresenting LGBTQ people of color, especially transgender women, and Pose is primed to change that by showing audiences and the industry that trans stories are powerful, relatable, and entertaining. With Ryan Murphy’s smart decision to cast talented trans actors like Angelica Ross in front of the camera, and gifted trans storytellers like Silas Howard and Janet Mock behind the camera and in the writer’s room, the show is poised to bring trans inclusion and understanding to the next level,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

All of these incredible transgender actors and creators will be joined on screen by Billy Porter, Evan Peters, Tatiana Maslany, James Van Der Beek, and Kate Mara, among others.