Queer icon Gillian Anderson has signed a first-look deal with Netflix through her production company Fiddlehead Productions, according to Variety, which runs for two years (so far) and covers Anderson’s work as a TV producer. A first-look deal essentially means that Netflix gets to decide whether or not it wants to be the home of any of Anderson’s new projects before any other companies are given the opportunity to work on them with her.
“Netflix have been an inspiring and supportive home for much of my recent acting work so I am excited to partner with them for the television projects I am currently developing,” Anderson said. “We have a shared passion for progressive, compelling and engaging stories and I’m thrilled to announce our collaboration.”
Anne Mensah, VP of U.K. series at Netflix, added about the deal: “We feel very privileged to be working closely with Gillian on new projects. Her success at Netflix – from ‘Sex Education’ to her singular portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Crown’ – is second to none and we look forward to launching shows with her as an actress and executive producer.”
Anderson is one of the biggest delights around, especially due to her roles in The X-Files and, most recently, Sex Education. We have also seen her doing a lot of period dramas recently, from The Crown to The Great to the upcoming series The First Lady where she will play as First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.
I’m hoping that the opportunity to create new work and have authority over it will give her power to change the dynamics of what women in their 50s are allowed to do in the movie and TV industries. Netflix may be problematic at times, but hopefully, Gillian’s influence will lead to more work that aligns with the politics she believes in as a feminist and activist.
While she has spoken about not returning to The X-Files, I would love to see her and David Duchovny reunite for something different that will excite fans—and if it happens to have a supernatural or fantasy twist to it, all the better.
(via Variety, image: Handout/HFPA via Getty)
