Ayo Edebiri has been cast as the voice of Missy in Big Mouth after Jenny Slate vacated the role to allow a black actor to voice the character. Netflix's adult animated comedy, co-created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett, is a wacky and foul-mouthed look at what it's like to go through puberty for a number of teenagers in the suburbs of New York City. It is very loosely based on Kroll and Goldberg's experiences growing up and features a wide array of voice talent, including Kroll, John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Jessi Klein, and Jason Mantzoukas.
Jenny Slate provided the voice of Missy, and bi-racial character on the show, for the first three seasons. However, earlier this year she stepped away from the role, saying that she realizes a black character, even on an animated show, should be portrayed by a black actor. Slate's decision came amid a reckoning for the TV and movie industries, during which a number of old episodes of TV shows were removed from streaming services due to having blackface. Around the same time, Kristen Bell quit her role on Central Park, where she was also voicing a bi-racial character.
Today, Edebiri, a comic, writer and actor, took to Twitter to confirm that she'd be taking over the role of Missy. She also gave an interview to Variety discussing how she got the role. She says that she auditioned multiple times, despite actually previously having been hired as a writer for season 4 of the show. Edebiri added that given how awkward she was as a young girl, she's perfect for the role. You can read her comments below and see her tweet below that:
I was definitely a very uncomfortable child, so I think the show speaks to that and a lot of those feelings, which still resonate with me as an adult. I’m back home in my childhood bedroom right now and on my bookshelf in between A Series of Unfortunate Events is Bill Clinton’s autobiography and Nelson Mandela’s autobiography and a translation of The Iliad in Latin. I was a true dork. So I don’t think I have to go too far to connect with Missy.
Goldberg also commented on the casting decision, revealing that Slate will continue to voice Missy until the penultimate episode of Big Mouth season 4. He reveals that Slate had already recorded all of her lines for season 4 by the time she decided to step aside, and the showrunners wanted to find a way to replace her, without it seeming abrupt. In the end, Goldberg says, they found a way to do it that would work with the story, saying it's "a really organic and cool place" to change the voice. Kroll adds that her change of voice ties into a point in the penultimate episode where Missy hangs out with her cousins and takes "a look at her Black identity."
Both the casting of Edebiri, as well as the way in which she will take over from Slate, make it seem like the Big Mouth showrunners have dealt with the handover with tact and sensitivity. It sounds like they have made an effort to both say goodbye to Slate in the role, and provide a way for Edebiri to become Missy without making it difficult or awkward for either party. It's a rare moment where a show has been able to acknowledge its mistakes and move on from them without causing too much fuss.
Source: Ayo Edebiri/ Variety