Tracee Ellis Ross To Executive Produce & Star In 'Daria' Spinoff

Source: Pap Nation / Splash News

Tracee Ellis Ross Will Star In & Executive Produce ‘Daria’ Spinoff ‘Jodie’

Tracee Ellis Ross is taking the lead on a new series stemming from a celebrated MTV show.

According to Deadline, the Black-ish star will executive produce and star in the adult animated comedy Jodie. It’s the first in a series of spinoffs from the MTV franchise Daria. Ross will voice the character of Jodie.

Daria ran from 1997 to 2002 for five season and was a spin-off in its own right from another MTV hit Beavis and Butthead. Daria Morgendorffer was a character who shelled out dry wisdom beyond her high school years, and she was praised for her feminist take on issues such as race, class and gender.

Jodie is created and written by Grace Nkenge Edwards who earned her stripes on shows like Insecure and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It will center around Daria’s good friend Jodie Landon, a Black character from the original series who’s credited with helping shape the minds of a generation of women. In her new show, Jodie will enter the tech world as her first job out of college. Other former students of Lawndale High will also make cameos on the show.

Jodie plans on satirizing generation Z struggles, workplace culture and of course the trials and tribulations of social media. Such themes like gender and racial empowerment will be the name of the game mixed in with a sharp sense of humor. It will be the first adult animated sitcom to center around a Black female lead in almost two decades.

“I am thrilled to bring this project to life with MTV, both as executive producer and by voicing Jodie’s character,” said Ross. “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.”

We’ll continue to keep you posted when a release date and trailer is on its way.