Tracee Ellis Ross To Star In And Executive Produce ‘Daria’ Spinoff ‘Jodie’
There’s exciting news for fans of MTV’s Daria.
On Thursday, June 13, MTV Studios made the announcement that the network is continuing its ’90s show Daria’s legacy with a new spinoff titled Jodie.
The show will follow Daria Morgendorffer’s close compadre Jodie Landon, a black, woman Gen Z-er while she explores the post-college life and snags her first job.
Tracee Ellis Ross will portray Jodie and also executive produce the show.
“I am thrilled to bring this project to life with Grace Nkenge Edwards and MTV Studios, both as executive producer and by voicing Jodie’s character,” Ross, 46, wrote on Instagram on Thursday, after sharing a screenshot of an article written about the news.
“Being able to give voice to fresh, feminist and unexplored stories about women of color excites me. Jodie will spin-off from the cult classic Daria with the brilliant, sweet and sarcastic black girl magic that is Jodie Landon.”
“To have the sidekick character move to the forefront is a real metaphor for what is happening in our culture. There hasn’t been an adult animated show centered on an African American female character for more than a decade (BET’s short-lived series, Hey Monie!),” Ross continued.
“Allowing in those voices that have been pushed to the fringes, that have lived full and extraordinary lives on the edges of what culture has deemed as popular—it feels exciting and apropos.”
In almost two decades, Jodie will be the first series to feature a black woman lead in an adult animated show. The series promises to dive into the themes of racial empowerment, gender, and privilege while using humor.
“Given the passion for these characters, there was only one person who could build upon the legacy to reimagine Jodie for a whole new generation, and that person is Tracee Ellis Ross,” Chris McCarthy, president of MTV, said in a statement. “This marks another exciting step forward for MTV Studios as we build out a wide new slate based on the rich characters from the history in MTV Animation.”
MTV’s Trevor Rose, Morgana Rosenberg, and Amy Doyle will executive produce the series alongside Tracee Ellis Ross, and Insecure writer and co-producer Grace Nkenge Edwards is the creator and head writer on Jodie.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter.
