The Obamas Producing New Netflix Animated Series ‘Ada Twist, Scientist”

Contributed By Scott Lipscomb

What do the Obamas and Netflix have to do with each other? President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are producing a Netflix series for kids called “Ada Twist.”

Their latest project is aimed to help build a love and curiosity for science in preschoolers. “Ada Twist, Scientist” follows an 8 year old black girl on her daily missions to learn more about the world. The shows main character is an 8 year old black girl, based on the books by Andrea Beaty and illustrator David Roberts.


Their production company, Higher Ground Productions, has already produced “a variety of acclaimed TV and film projects through their deal with Netflix, including the Academy Award-winning documentary American Factory, producing projects like Kevin Hart’s Fatherhood, and jumping into children’s programming with the cooking show Waffles + Mochi” reported Essence.

As the announcement of the series states, “solving the mystery is only the beginning, because science isn’t just about learning how and why and what… it’s about putting that knowledge into action to make the world a better place.”

In a statement by Essence they emphasize the great lessons and bigger picture the show promotes.

“The show also celebrates important things, including STEM education, scientific discovery, how to work together and the power of friendship. To further inspire kids, each 26-minute episode will end with a live-action aspect that will feature an actual scientist. They will speak to the themes explored in the episodes and the ways in which their work connects to it. From having a little Black girl lead these stories and presenting diverse real-life researchers, Ada Twist, Scientist is aiming to change the way people see scientists and what they associate with such a person.”

The Obamas personally reached out to Chris Nee, creator of popular kids show Doc McStuffins, to help produce the project. Doc McStuffins’ main character is also a young black girl. The showrunner is Kerri Grant and executive producers include the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions and Mark Burton of Wonder Worldwide.

We are excited to see more representation and diversity in the shows for our kids.