#royalwomeninspire

Janet Mock’s latest strut has opened doors for generations to come for the LGBTQ community. The 36-year-old has signed a three-year deal with Netflix, making her the first black, openly transgender woman to score a deal  with a major studio.

Under the agreement,  Mock will produce  exclusive new series for the streaming network and according to Variety, she would have exclusive rights to her television series and a first-look at her feature projects. The deal would also allow Mock to employ individuals largely overlooked by Hollywood– which she says are people of color and the trans community.

“As someone who grew up in front of the TV screen, whether that was watching talk shows or family sitcoms or VHS films,” she tells Variety.  “I never thought that I would be embraced. And more than embraced. Given not just a seat at the table but a table of my own making.”

In a video for Netflix’s Strong Black Lead, she goes on to explain her aspiration to use her new platform to introduce people to the transgender community and tell their stories to people who may not know them.

Today, @JanetMock makes history as the first Black trans woman to establish an overall deal with a major studio.

“…there’s potential to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers to trans people, and showing people who may not understand us, that we can tell our own stories.” pic.twitter.com/nXhaW0STvo

— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) June 19, 2019

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Mock is the writer, director and producer of FX’s “Pose,” an LGBTQ drama set in New York.