'Daria' Spinoff: Tracee Ellis Ross to Star in MTV's 'Jodie'
A historic opportunity came Tracee Ellis Ross's way, and she made sure to grab it.
The "Black-ish" star is set to lend her voice to MTV's "Daria" spinoff series "Jodie," Variety reports. The show is set to be the first animated series starring a black woman in nearly 20 years, according to Ellis Ross. She will voice the titular character and also serve as an executive produce.
Jodie Landon (Ellis Ross) is familiar to fans of "Daria," which ran on MTV from 1997 to 2002. She was one of the snarky teen's close friends as well as one of the few African American students at Lawndale High School. The series showed Jodie's experience of being the "token" black kid in a majority-white town and the pressure she felt to fulfill a certain image.
In "Jodie," there will be more cultural commentary. Ellis Ross said in a statement (via Variety) that she is excited to "give voice to fresh, feminist and unexplored stories of young women." We'll get to follow Jodie as she enters the work force post-college and gets her start in tech.
"It will be a smart, funny workplace comedy full of commentary about everything from gentrification to sex to tech to call-out culture," Ellis Ross said.
"Jodie" will also include appearances from other Lawndale alumni. And we'll likely be seeing more of them in the future -- the show will reportedly be part of a series of "Daria" spinoffs. Incidentally, "Daria," too, is a spinoff, stemming from "Beavis and Butthead."
Grace Nkenge Edwards is the creator of "Jodie." Ellis Ross, Trevor Rose, Morgana Rosenberg, and Amy Doyle are executive producers.
[via: Variety]