Award-winning children’s series creator Chris Nee is leaving Disney to enter into an overall deal with Netflix, the streaming giant announced on Thursday.
It will be a multi-year deal with the Peabody, Emmy, and Humanitas Prize-winning children’s TV screenwriter and producer.
Nee has created hits such as “Doc McStuffins” and the Emmy-nominated “Vampirina” for Disney Junior.
Under her new deal at Netflix, Nee will write and produce animated and live action series for preschool and all audiences exclusively for Netflix. Additionally, Netflix will have a first-look option on any feature film projects that Nee and her production company, Laughing Wild, develop.
“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,” said Melissa Cobb, Netflix’s vice president of kids and family content, in a statement. “She is among the very best and most prolific artists working in kids content today and we are so honored that Chris has chosen to make Netflix her creative home.”
“Doc McStuffins,” which won a Peabody Award, NAACP Awards and multiple Daytime Emmy nominations, was the first preschool show to feature an animated black female as the lead character as well as a family led by LGBTQ parents.
“The beauty of Netflix is that they don’t define me by what I’ve done in the past, but by who they think I can be in the future,” Nee said in a statement. “I love that they don’t believe in boxes but rather encourage creators to dream big and swing for the fences creatively. 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. I can’t wait to get started.”
Nee began her career as an associate producer at Sesame Street International, where she spent time in countries like Mexico, Finland, Israel and Jordan working on local productions for the award-winning show. She has spent over 20 years championing stories with diverse points of view that have paved the way for underrepresented voices to be heard.
Nee is represented by UTA and Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo.