Trace Lysette, transgender actress best known for her roles in Transparent and Hustlers has signed on as executive producer in a new documentary series, Trans In Trumpland.
What We Know:
- Trans In Trumpland will be a four-part series following four different people as they fight for transgender equality in the United States during the oppressive Trump administration. The four trans Americans featured in the series are located in states that lack explicit legal protections for the trans community. Those states are Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, and Mississippi.
- A synopsis for the show describes it as a “road trip narrative” which connects remote parts of America. The show works to investigate the impact of anti-trans policies on the lives of the four individuals, coupled with a realistic, somewhat grim, outlook on the realities of many trans people as there are increasing rates of transphobic violence in the country.
- The series was created by New York City-based TransWave Films and directed by trans filmmaker Tony Zosherafatain and produced by Jamie DiNicola. Lysette and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy will both be the executive producers for the show.
- “I’m excited to join this brilliant trans-led team and to showcase the resistance and resiliency of our trans siblings during this trying time,” Lysette said in a statement on Tuesday. “I hope this series can make a difference and that we can look back on this period in the future and be proud of the fact that we always find a way, we always push through against all odds.”
- The show joins the wave of documentaries being released about the LGTBQ community in recent months. Disclosure, the documentary about the history of trans representation in film and television which was produced by actress Laverne Cox, premiered on Netflix in June. Earlier this year, Apple TV Plus’s five-part Visible: Out on Television also received high praise.
- Lysette recently appeared in the Netflix project Disclosure, which underlines the barriers transgender people face in the entertainment industry as well as using the platform to create something that is truly affirming of the transgender experience.
- The documentary also focuses on the Trump administration, whose policies have worked to restrict the rights of those in the LGBTQ community. Most recently, Trump revoked the Transgender Health Protection Act, which set up nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance. According to the docuseries website, once Trump was elected to office, the crew behind Trans in Trumpland began “brainstorming ways to portray transgender stories through the medium of film”.
Production for the series was completed last year with an anticipated release date of sometime in 2020, but a premiere date has yet to be announced.
