Why Did 'The L Word: Generation Q' Kill Off Kit Porter?

The L Word: Generation Q reboot is in full swing, and while viewers can't quite decide how they feel about the show, most of us can agree that we were truly shocked to see Jennifer Beals's Bette Porter had left the art world in favor of pursuing politics.

While the first few episodes strung audiences along as we wondered whether Bette's career move had anything to do with her co-parenting ex, Tina Kennard, the mayoral candidate finally opened up about her reasons for running to her newest hire, Dani, who has plenty of drama in her own right as she's preparing to marry Sophie.

In Episode 4, while covering the tracks of her ongoing affair with Felicity, Bette reveals to Dani the real reason she's joined the race: to honor her sister, the legendary Kit Porter.

But how did Kit Porter die and why is the inimitable Pam Grier not reprising her role on the show? Keep reading to find out.

As Dani is trying to help Bette get back her phone because she clumsily took her married lover Felicity's cell after their evening together, the aspiring mayor explains the reason she can't leave the affair is that Felicity was with her through dark times, as she mourned the passing of her sister.

"I'm running to change the broken system that failed her," Bette proclaims, hammering home the point that "you don't just turn your back on someone" once they've been by your side through hardship. 

Fans of the original series will recall that Kit had always struggled with addiction and sobriety. In fact, the 2004 pilot introduces Kit as she's on her way to her "first paying gig" in over a year, only to be pulled over by a cop for drunk driving with a revoked license, and dropped off at Bette and Tina's house party (where Jenny will meet Marina and nothing will ever be the same).

Over the course of her storyline, which continues all the way through to the series finale, Bette's straight sister Kit becomes one of the most memorable characters of the entire L Word franchise. 

Kit dated drag-king-turned-trans-man Ivan in Season 1, then virtuously turns down manny Angus's marriage proposal because the most important people in her life are not legally allowed to get married.

And while we've seen her relapse a couple of times throughout the original series, nothing could have prepared us for Bette's sobering announcement that Kit Porter died of a heroine overdose.

"I really hated what they did with Kit Porter's story, like going through all of that to die [the way] she did????" one angry fan wrote on Twitter. "That's f---ing stupid and unfair, that's not Kit."

Jackie Brown's Best Actress nominee Pam Grier brought a lot of name recognition to the early days of The L Word, having already established herself as a '70s icon in show business with roles in over 50 movies and nearly as many TV shows, including projects like Foxy Brown, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Cosby Show, Snoop Dogg music videos and Showtime's Linc.

But since her days playing Kit Porter on The L Word, the actress has moved on to take on roles in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, This Is Us, and most time-consumingly, ABC's Bless This Mess. 

On the show, Kit stars as Constance, the local sheriff who also owns a hardware store and is a theater director.

And her commitment on Bless This Mess is such that Pam began playing down any involvement in Generation Q as soon as the reboot was announced nearly a year ago. "There's been no L Word because I'm here [with Bless This Mess," the actress said at a conference, per Deadline. 

We're sad to see the series go on without her, as both Pam and Kit brought so much to the six seasons of the original drama. 

New episodes of the L Word: Generation Q air Sundays at 10 p.m. on Showtime.