Janet Mock is making history. She has signed a groundbreaking, multiyear and multimillion-dollar deal at Netflix.
She is the first out transgender woman to have a production deal at a major studio. The three-year deal gives Netflix the exclusive rights to her television projects and a first-look option on her film projects.
The news was first announced by Variety and Netflix’s Strong Black Lead also released a video featuring Mock.
Today, @JanetMock makes history as the first Black trans woman to establish an overall deal with a major studio.
“…there’s potential to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers to trans people, and showing people who may not understand us, that we can tell our own stories.” pic.twitter.com/nXhaW0STvo
— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) June 19, 2019
Under the deal, Mock will be an executive producer and director on Hollywood, the new upcoming Netflix series from Ryan Murphy, who also has a deal at the streaming giant. And although she has the Netflix deal now, she’ll still be a writer-director on Murphy’s FX series, Pose.
The report states, “The Netflix deal will enable Mock to create programs that employ and highlight communities that have historically been ignored by Hollywood — including the intersectional space Mock herself occupies, as a woman of color and a highly visible trans person. She is interviewing creative executives for her yet-to-be-named production banner. Projects in development include a college-set drama following a young trans woman, a series about New Orleans after the abolishment of slavery and a reboot of a classic sitcom.”
“As someone who grew up in front of the TV screen, whether that was watching talk shows or family sitcoms or VHS films, I never thought that I would be embraced. And more than embraced. Given not just a seat at the table but a table of my own making,” said Mock.
“As a best-selling author, producer and director, Janet Mock has demonstrated she knows how to bring her vision to thrilling, vivid life. She’s a groundbreaker and creative force who we think will fit right in here at Netflix,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of original content. “
Murphy, who selected Mock for a consulting gig on Pose, took her under his wing, adding her to the writers room for the show and having her direct episodes. A meeting with Murphy last fall served as enthusiasm for the deal. “Upon my first meeting with Janet, I knew she was a star and had the stuff moguls are made of. Being able to watch her grow, first as a writer, then a producer and now an acclaimed director who’s helmed four episodes for my productions, has been a gift. I am honored to be her mentor and friend, am grateful she’ll be joining me to write and direct on ‘Hollywood,’ and am so excited to see what she creates at Netflix. Janet is a cultural force, and the world needs her stories.”
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Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
