Netflix signs major deal with Pose producer Janet Mock
Janet Mock attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty)
Netflix has signed a major development deal with transgender TV producer Janet Mock.
Mock, who has produced, written and directed for acclaimed LGBT-themed FX series Pose, confirmed she had signed up to an exclusive deal to develop new shows for the streaming giant.
Janet Mock is first transgender woman of colour to sign major development deal
She announced: “I’m excited to announce that I am partnering with Netflix to tell stories on a global platform.
“So proud to join the ranks of digital content moguls as the first trans woman to call her own creative shots at a major content company.”
In a video, she explained: “I, of course, will be writing and directing and developing a few hush-hush projects I can’t really talk about.
“One of them is a half-hour drama, and another is a college series, so I’m really excited for that.”
Janet Mock attends the Pose New York Premiere at Hammerstein Ballroom on May 17, 2018 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty)
She added: “This is the first kind of deal of its kind for a trans person, no less a trans woman of colour.
“84 percent of Americans say they don’t know or work with a trans person, so there’s potential now with Netflix’s worldwide audience to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers to trans people, showing people who may not understand us that we can tell our own stories, ”
The deal follows Netflix’s similar arrangement with Pose and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy, who is working on multiple new shows for the platform.
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 new agreement, Mock will join as an executive producer and director for Murphy’s new Netflix show Hollywood, in addition to pursuing her own projects.
She will also continue as a writer, director and producer on Pose, which airs on FX in the US.
Speaking to Variety, Mock said the deal “will be a huge signal boost, industry-wide, to empower people and equip them to tell their own stories.”
Netflix praise ‘groundbreaker and creative force’
Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of original content, said: “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.”
Ryan Murphy told the outlet: “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.”
