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Moody, angsty teens of all colors likely saw themselves in Daria and identified with her deadpan humor and teenage concerns. Black kids who loved the show might have felt a particular kinship to Daria’s Black friend Jodie Landon.
Jodie was always a secondary character, someone for Daria to play off of. But that’s changing.
According to Shadow and Act, Jodie is getting her own eponymous spinoff. The show is one of many spinoffs currently in development at MTV studios.
Originally, the new show was going to focus on both Daria and Jodie. But was reworked to focus entirely on Jodie.
Tracee Ellis Ross will lend her voice to the character and also executive produces the show.
Grace Nkenge Edwards (“Insecure”) will write the series which will, according to The Hollywood Reporter, follow Jodie as she comes into her own and enters the workplace in her first post-college job in tech. Other former students from Daria‘s Lawndale High will also appear. Jodie will satirize workplace culture, Gen Z struggles, themes of empowerment across gender and racial lines and explorations of privilege.”
Tracee Ellis Ross said, “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.”
We’ll certainly be on the lookout for this new show.
