Garcia, the trans non-binary actor who goes by one name, gives a heartfelt performance as Jake, a trans man coming to terms with the changes in his life. Same for his much younger boyfriend, Ben (Charlie Barnett of Russian Doll). He brings a warmth and earnestness that fits the character. Murray Bartlett of the under-appreciated canceled HBO series Looking steps in as Michael Tolliver, the gay heart of the series, now in his 50s and living with HIV. It can feel a bit fanciful at times - there are no tech bros to be found - but a cynical view of the city would only be a betrayal of Maupin's most important character, San Francisco itself. Instead, we continue to see the city's spirit of individuality and tolerance and its beauty through sweeping shots. Outside of references to Uber, cryptocurrency and the purging of the city's revolutionary queer history, the characters don't bemoan that San Francisco has lost its soul.

Yet the series spends little time exploring the changes to San Francisco. Olympia Dukakis, now 87, plays Barbary Lane matriarch Anna Madrigal who attends her 90th birthday party in the first episode. She's bringing plenty of baggage, too, after a failed marriage and a TV dream that devolved into hosting infomercials for a snuggie copycat.

's new Tales of the City series, which premiered June 7, she comes back to her old West Coast home to reconnect with those she left behind - ex-husband Brian (Paul Gross returning to the role) resentful daughter Shawna (Ellen Page) old friends and gracious landlady Anna Madrigal, who gave her that apartment at 28 Barbary Lane. Because no one cares enough to send their very best.'īut after a few years, Mary Ann does leave - not for Ohio, but for New York to pursue a career as a television talk show star.

Trying to shake her out of her funk, hippie neighbor Mona Ramsey tells her, 'Mary Ann … you can't sit around expecting life to be one big Hallmark card. One of the best lines in Armistead Maupin's original Tales of the City book comes when naive San Francisco newcomer Mary Ann Singleton wonders if she should ditch her new life to go home to Cleveland.

28 barbary lane