Though diminutive actor Leslie Jordan may be best known for his Emmy-winning recurring role as Beverly Leslie on Will and Grace, he's probably better loved by the obsessed fans of Del Shores' 2001 cult classic flick, Sordid Lives. Happily for anyone who's ever been charmed by Jordan's portrayal of Brother Boy, institutionalized by his family in Texas for being a gay man with a proclivity for dressing in drag and lip syncing to Tammy Faye songs, he's very much present in the new Logo television series based on the film.

Premiering July 23, Sordid Lives: The Series flashes back to a few years before the film's events took place. Tammy Wynette has just died, and Brother Boy is reeling. Meanwhile, Brother Boy's nephew, Ty (Jason Dottley), is struggling with his own homosexuality; matriarch Peggy (Rue McClannahan, upping her gay cred even more) has just bailed out lesbian singer Bitsy Mae (Olivia Newton-John, doing the same); and Noleta (here played by Caroline Rhea, replacing Delta Burke) can't bear the thought of her husband taking his wooden legs off for sex.

With most of the film's cast intact, save for Burke and original Ty Kirk Geiger, the first two episodes of Sordid Lives: The Series come close to achieving the giddy heights of the original, without its dull patches. But, like the film, the best parts of the show focus on Brother Boy. Flouncing his way through therapy to cure his homosexuality (and Jordan says that word better than anyone else alive, making it sound covered in ribbons and lace), seeing the ghost of Tammy Wynette in a vision, or threatening to kill himself now that Tammy has passed, Jordan owns both the role and the entire show. While longtime fans may be slightly annoyed that so much of the film’s plot is rehashed, the acerbic performances keep it all fresh, particularly Beth Grant as the pill-popping, chain-smoking, cement-haired Sissy. With a whip-smart script and solid performances, Sordid Lives promises to freshen up the sometimes heavy-handed programming already on Logo; after all, where else could one see Caroline Rhea pleasuring herself with a vibrator?