Netflix has signed a development deal with “Pose” writer-producer-director Janet Mock. In its announcement, the streamer notes that Mock is the first black transgender woman to sign an overall deal with a major studio.
Before joining “Pose” — an FX series about New York’s LGBTQ ballroom scene in the 1980s and ’90s — Mock began her career as an editor and journalist, then wrote the bestselling memoir “Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More.”
According to Variety, this is a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal. Mock will continue to write and direct for “Pose,” while also serving as an executive producer and director on “Hollywood,” an upcoming Netflix series from “Pose” co-creator Ryan Murphy. (Murphy signed a deal with Netflix last year that was reportedly worth $300 million.)
Netflix will also get exclusive rights on any TV shows that Mock develops, and first-look rights on any feature film projects.
There’s a relatively short list of streaming shows from trans creators, including “Transparent” from Jill Soloway — who identifies as gender non-binary — and “Sense8” from Lilly and Lana Wachowski. (In addition, Laverne Cox of Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” has been a trailblazer for transgender actors and actresses, and she was the first to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy.)
It sounds like Mock will be adding a number of titles to that list.
“This deal is so bonkers,” she said in the announcement, adding, “You know, 84% percent of Americans say that they don’t know and/or work with a trans person. And so, there’s potential now with Netflix’s worldwide audience to introduce millions, hundreds of millions of people to trans people and showing people who may not understand us that we can tell our own story.”
Source : Netflix signs landmark deal with writer-director Janet Mock
