MTV’s Daria Is Getting A Spinoff Starring Tracee Ellis Ross

MTV’s planned reimagining of Daria, the darkly funny animated series that ran from 1997 to 2002 on the network, has been reworked and will now instead be a spinoff centering on Daria’s friend Jodie Landon. Titled Jodie, the series will star Tracee Ellis Ross in the title role. She will also serve as an executive producer on the series. Jodie is described as a satire of the post-college workplace and personal adventures of Gen Z, according to Variety. Daria was itself a spinoff, launched due to the popularity of her character on Beavis and Butt-Head.

Per the Variety story, “the new series will center around Daria’s good friend Jodie Landon (Ellis Ross), an African American character from the original series. Viewers will follow her as she comes into her own and enters the workplace in her first post-college job in tech. Other former students from Lawndale High School will also appear.” That stands to reason, since the series — which was rumored to be called Daria and Jodie at one point — is now being eyed as the first in a potential series of spinoffs featuring characters from the world of Daria.

“I am thrilled to bring this project to life with MTV, both as executive producer and by voicing Jodie’s character. Being able to give voice to fresh, feminist and unexplored stories of young women excites me,” Ellis Ross told Variety. ” 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….’Jodie’ will be the first adult animated show in almost 20 years that will star a black woman. It will be a smart, funny workplace comedy full of commentary about everything from gentrification to sex to tech to call-out culture.”

Grace Nkenge Edwards, known for her work on Insecure, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Inside Amy Schumer, created the series for the network. There is no word as to whether Daria will remain a big part of the series, or whether Jessica Cydnee Jackson (who voiced Jodie in the original series) might come back for a cameo. Jackson’s only screen credits all tie to Daria, so it may be that she is no longer interested in TV acting.

“Given the passion for these characters, there was only one person who could build upon the legacy to reimagine Jodie for a whole new generation, and that person is Tracee Ellis Ross,” said MTV president Chris McCarthy. “This marks another exciting step forward for MTV Studios as we build out a wide new slate based on the rich characters from the history in MTV Animation.”