Janet Mock makes history as first transgender woman to establish major studio deal
Janet Mock has made history by becoming the first out transgender woman of color to secure a deal with a major content company -- Netflix, Variety first reported Wednesday. The mogul also announced the news on Twitter.
"I'm excited to announce that I am partnering with Netflix to tell stories on a global platform," Mock wrote in a tweet. "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."
The deal is a three-year multimillion dollar commitment, which allows Netflix exclusive rights to her TV series, as well as a first-look options on feature film projects, according to Variety.
Mock told the outlet she hopes the accomplishment "will be a huge signal boost, industrywide, to empower people and equip them to tell their own stories."
Under the terms of the agreement, she will take on the role of executive producer and director on hitmaker Ryan Murphy's upcoming series on the streaming platform, "Hollywood." She will be allowed to continue her work on Murphy's groundbreaking series "Pose," as a writer, producer and director.
"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," Mock told Variety. "And more than embraced. Given not just a seat at the table but a table of my own making."
The media powerhouse is now interviewing creative executives for her unnamed production banner, reports the outlet. Current upcoming projects in development include a drama following a young transgender woman, a sitcom reboot and a show about New Orleans following the abolishment of slavery.
Mock is no stranger to breaking barriers. She made history as the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of television last year, according to her website. Mock is also an activist and bestselling author of two memoirs.
