'Big Mouth' has found a replacement talent after the 'House of Lies' actress steps down as the voice of biracial character Missy on the animated series.
- August 29, 2020
AceShowbiz - Comedienne Ayo Edebiri has replaced Jenny Slate as the voice of biracial character Missy on cult animated show "Big Mouth".
The "Gifted" star stepped down from the role in June (20) amid renewed calls for better representation onscreen for ethnic minorities, explaining her nerdy character, whose mother is white and Jewish and father is black, should be voiced by an actress of colour.
Edebiri was recently added to the writing team for the fifth season of the coming-of-age Netflix series, and now she has also been recruited as the new voice of Missy.
"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," Edebiri tells Variety.
"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."
Edebiri will officially take over the part for the penultimate episode of the upcoming season four, as Slate had already recorded the majority of her sessions earlier this year.
However, co-creator Nick Kroll reveals writers managed to work the recasting into the storyline so the transition "wouldn't be a startling change for viewers of the show."
Edebiri adds, "The transition is a nice farewell to Jenny in that moment, too, in a way... The voice I found is also because of the work Jenny did, too."
A premiere date for the fourth run has yet to be announced.
"Big Mouth", which is loosely based on Kroll and co-writer Andrew Goldberg's childhood, also features the vocal talents of John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, and Jordan Peele.
