MTV has enlisted “Black-ish” star Tracee Ellis Ross to voice the lead in its upcoming “Daria” spinoff series, “Jodie,” the network said Thursday.
The first in a planned series of spinoffs based on the iconic ’90s animated series, “Jodie” will center on Daria’s good friend Jodie Landon, a fan-favorite African American character from the original series credited with helping to shape a generation of women. The new series will follow the character “as she comes into her own and enters the workplace in her first post-college job in tech.”
“Insecure” alum Grace Nkenge Edwards is the creator and head writer on the series, with Ross serving as executive producer. MTV’s Trevor Rose, Morgana Rosenberg and Amy Doyle will also executive produce.
“I am thrilled to bring this project to life with MTV, both as executive producer and by voicing Jodie’s character,” Ross said in a statement. “Being able to give voice to fresh, feminist and unexplored stories of young women excites me. ‘Jodie,’ will spin-off from the cult classic ‘Daria,’ and with the brilliant, sweet and sarcastic black girl magic that is Jodie Landon, we will feature a diverse cast, comprised mainly of unapologetically smart and ambitious young female characters who are vulnerable and flawed and interesting and funny. As a very cool bonus, ‘Jodie’ will be the first adult animated show in almost 20 years that will star a black woman. It will be a smart, funny workplace comedy full of commentary about everything from gentrification to sex to tech to call-out culture.”
“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,” said Chris McCarthy, president of MTV. “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.”