Award-winning producer and screenwriter Chris Nee (who also happens to be a lesbian mom) has signed a multi-year deal with Netflix to write and produce new series for preschoolers and all ages. Her Disney Junior show Doc McStuffins made headlines last year when it became the first show on the network to feature a two-mom family. Might Nee be bringing more queer families to our screens?
The Peabody, Emmy, and Humanitas Prize-winning Nee will write and produce new animated and live action series exclusively for Netflix, for both preschoolers and audiences of all ages, under the terms of the deal announced last week. In addition, Netflix will have a first-look option on feature film projects from Nee and her production company, Laughing Wild. Nee said in a statement that she is pleased Netflix isn’t defining her by her past efforts, “but by who they think I can be in the future.” Nee is best known for her children’s television work, including Doc McStuffins and Vampirina, but was also also a producer on the first season of the documentary reality series Deadliest Catch and the supervising producer of The Real Roseanne Show. Doc McStuffins has won widespread acclaim for its portrayal of a young Black girl and her physician mother, also Black.
My mission is to create work that reflects the world we live in and lend a voice to the storytellers who haven’t always had access.
Nee said of her new deal, “Just as important is my ability to define the culture of my company and double-down on finding and nurturing new and diverse voices. My mission is to create work that reflects the world we live in and lend a voice to the storytellers who haven’t always had access.”
And Melissa Cobb, vice president of kids and family for Netflix, said, “Chris is an absolute master at crafting characters that kids want to spend time with and telling stories that are representative of all different types of families and communities.”
That sounds promising for the inclusivity—across multiple aspects of identity—of her work for Netflix.