Big Mouth: Missy Actress Ayo Edebiri Talks About How the Show Approaches Identity

Missy from Big Mouth is now played by comedian Ayo Edebiri and she talked to the Los Angeles Times about how the show is approaching identity in Season 4. The character was one of the animation staples that have changed voice actors as a result of the summer’s protests about racial justice. That moment caused Netflix to re-think its strategies and policies. As a result, the consistently funny Edebiri steps into the role after Jenny Slate endeared audiences to the young girl. But Season 4 holds a lot more than just the hormonal hijinks that the series has become known for. They want to explore some other realities of growing up as well. Missy is a face of color and it hasn’t exactly been center stage for the show. Every episode won’t be a tight-focused look at here blackness, but it will make its way into situations for her.

The comedian told the paper, “They discuss identity a lot on that show in a lot of different ways so I think it makes sense. It’s a show where things are discussed, so why not give this the same airtime and have it treated right? But also it was like, ‘How do you discuss this when Jenny is white? What do you do about it?’”

“There are characters who are characters of color, but they were voiced by white people, so they didn’t have those conversations when maybe they could have if the actors were Black,” Edebiri said. “Or maybe they wouldn’t have. Maybe the stories wouldn’t have to be about race and could just be about character. That’s what I think is exciting about this. Like, I’m Black. And sometimes I talk about it, sometimes I don’t. That’s the reality of race — sometimes you talk about it, sometimes you don’t.”

She also talked about what it was like after she heard the news. The comedian actually decided to send in her tape and just see what happened. A lot of people were looking out for those opportunities. Needless to say, we’ve got a long way to go. “After the announcement was made, the search [for a new voice actor] started happening,” said Edebiri. “And a few days after I got an email that was like, ‘Do you want to send a tape for this?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, I think I will.’”

Are you looking forward to Season 4 of the Netflix hit? Let us know down in the comments!