Tracee Ellis Ross Sets Sights on Animation with New FOX Entertainment Deal

Golden Globe winner Tracee Ellis Ross is doubling down on her commitment to adult animation. Through her production company, Joy Mill Entertainment, Ross has signed a multiyear development deal with FOX Entertainment Studios to create and executive produce a variety of projects, with a significant emphasis on animated content.

This move marks a major new chapter for Ross’s animation ambitions, particularly following the long and complicated journey of her Daria spinoff, Jodie.

For years, Ross was the driving force behind Jodie, an animated project centered on Jodie Landon, the iconic, overachieving friend of Daria Morgendorffer from the classic MTV series. Ross was set to both executive produce and voice the titular character in a story that followed Jodie entering the tech world after college. Originally announced as a series for Comedy Central in 2020, it was later retooled into a feature-length film for MTV Entertainment Studios. In early 2024, it was confirmed that Jodie would not move forward at MTV Entertainment, though the studio expressed support for Ross to shop the completed work elsewhere.

The new deal with FOX gives Ross a powerful platform to realize her vision for “culture-bending stories centered around identity and joy”. FOX is the ancestral home of adult animation, and Ross’s involvement suggests her new projects could eventually anchor the network’s famous “Animation Domination” block alongside staples like The Simpsons and Family Guy.

While it remains unclear if the Jodie film could find a new life under the FOX banner, Ross’s partnership with FOX Entertainment Studios ensures that her “culturally undeniable” creative instincts will have a clear path to the small screen.