Netflix's animated series Big Mouth acknowledges the problem with Missy's voice actor in season 4, setting up the role being recast in season 5. First debuting in 2017, the adult animated series Big Mouth follows a cast of characters navigating the embarrassing experience of puberty. Since the show's inception, Jenny Slate has voiced the bi-racial character Missy Foreman-Greenwald; however, Slate voluntarily left the show, voicing her belief that the role should be voiced by a Black actor, not her.
In June 2020, Slate announced she was leaving Big Mouth because she felt that it was inappropriate for her to continue portraying Missy. Slate explained in an Instagram post that she originally took the job with the rational that it was okay because Missy's mother was white and Jewish like her; however, Slate came to the conclusion that her "original reasoning was flawed" and that by providing Missy's voice, Slate was "engaging in an act of erasure of Black people."
Big Mouth season 4 features Slate in the role of Missy because her departure from the series occurred after all of her lines had been recorded; however, there is an episode in the season that confronts with the very issue of Missy's racial identity — and the problems that arise from her being voiced by a white actress. Big Mouth, season 4, episode 2, "The Hugest Period Ever" has Missy deal directly with her Black heritage — and the fact that her parents (and by extension, Big Mouth) have largely been ignoring that part of Missy's identity.
In "The Hugest Period Ever," Missy travels to visit her Dad's side of the family and gets a makeover from her cousins, including some lessons about her culture and the unique needs of Black haircare. During one such conversation, Missy comments that she can't say the "n-word" — an acknowledgement of the white actor voicing her. Missy's journey continues in the episode 5, "A Very Special 9/11 Episode," which has the young character learning about "code-switching" from DeVon, a young Black classmate. The episode features a second fourth-wall breaking joke about Missy struggling with her identity because she's "voiced by a white actress who's 37 years old."
In its fourth season, Big Mouth is confronting the issues of race erasure in its casting — something both The Simpsons and BoJack Horseman have been criticized for. While BoJack Horseman ended without addressing or rectifying the issue of Netflix-favorite actor Alison Brie, who is white, having voiced the Vietnamese-American character Diane Nyugen (although the actress did go on the record saying she regretted playing the part), The Simpsons announced in June 2020 that it will no longer hire white actors to voice non-white characters, just days after Slate's announcement. Big Mouth made the decision to recast the role, with Black actress Ayo Edebiri taking over for the last two episodes of season 4. Whether or not Missy's character arc was intended to setup a change in the character's voice for season 5 — easy enough to do since voice change is an aspect of puberty — it does raise issues that likely influenced Slate's decision to resign from the role.
By the end of Big Mouth season 4, Missy has largely come to terms with her complicated identity, and is actively working at the school to raise issues about racial inequities in society. She describes eight grade as her "journey of self-discovery" — setting up further stories about her learning who she is in season 5.