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Color Quota

children-multi-ethnic-3[Blind Gossip] This TV series is adding cast after a very successful first season. They really wanted to bring in another female child star to offset the current young female star of the show. They were debating among half a dozen girls from 10-15 who would have been great for the strange role… when an order came down from network executives.

They said that the cast is too white and they didn’t like the fact that all the ones we were doing call backs with were white. So we had to toss them and start over. In the end, we settled on a girl of color who can act. The bad news is that she is in her twenties! She is physically small, but I personally think it will be a stretch to try to convince people that she is a tween or young teen. We may have to rewrite the part.

We’re not sure if a girl in her twenties will make a good foil for the tween star of the show, either, but it seems that they have to make this strange quota thing work.

Similar: Cultural Appropriation

TV Show:

[Optional] Should producers have quotas on how many actors of each race are on the show… or should they cast whoever is best for the part, regardless of race?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. aweeks062 says

    Stranger Things
    Lots of “strange” clues
    SNL even did a skit about how they needed to add more “color”

  3. I Am PunkA says

    Stranger Things

    No quotas, but it is smart to make shows reflect the make up of America. America may be about 70% white, but other groups still need to be represented. We are a diverse society, so reflect it.

  7. geekgirl says

    Stranger Things? (clue: strange quota)

    They should cast whomever is best for the role and not try to shoehorn someone in because of colour. The balance should be based on things such as geography and not because you don’t want to offend anyone.

  13. missmissy says

    Stranger Things – yes. There have been casting quotas for decades… they have only privileged white. Time for more people of color on tv getting opportunities.

  15. JennyJustice says

    Stranger Things, hence all the “strange” clues. Millie Bobby Brown is getting too much attention and annoying people in the press as of lately.

  18. jolael says

    Stranger Things
    [Optional] Should producers have quotas on how many actors of each race are on the show… or should they cast whoever is best for the part, regardless of race? – no it shouldn’t matter – whoever is best for the job.

  19. armacca says

    Stranger Things

    Optional: Actors should be cast by whoever has the best ability to perform the material. I honestly don’t care who is on my screen as long as they can act and physically suit the part.

  26. HotTeacher88 says

    Quota? On a night like this, we are asking about quotas? It’s called diversity. The problem is in the actor choice, not the race. They should just go with a younger actor and keep the diversity.

  29. thelasthigh says

    they should make an effort to have racially diverse casts because representation is important. too many roles (usually leads) aren’t open to minorities at all.

  30. GoesInCircles says

    Strange Things

    The best person for any job should be given the job, unfortunately there are too many bigots out there that we still need quotas.

  32. SpareRun says

    Stranger Things. There shouldn’t be a quota, just cast who’s best. The kids on the show clearly look like kids so it will look stupid to have a twenty-something with them

  38. brobdingnagian says

    Not sure about the tv show.

    My deal is I can’t believe they couldn’t find a tween girl of color. Hollywood is full of talented
    young girls of color. How long and hard did they look? Something seems way off.

  39. setare.x says

    TV show: Stranger Things
    Actress who has just been casted is Linnea Berthelsen.
    I think producers should have quotas on how many actors of each race they have in their show and plus there are many poc actor/actresses so they shouldn’t have a problem finding one.

  41. TonySheridan says

    You can’t tell me that there aren’t young teens/tweeners of color that can act out there. Sounds like someone is setting this up to fail.

  44. CevansLeftpec2 says

    Stranger Things. People of color exist in the real world, so why shouldn’t they exist in media? It’s absurd that we’re in 2016 and this is still something considered ‘controversial’ that needs to be argued about. The black boy is damn near the only poc on the show, and I highly doubt that the only capable actors they auditioned just so happened to ALL be white.

  56. CoCoJoe says

    Sorry, but I don’t think that it should be that hard to find a non-white teenage actor. How about an Asian or a South Asian? Is it that show with the young cast and father who is exploiting his position to make an extra buck? I think it might have Einstein in the title.

  57. spunkie brewster says

    Stranger Things
    They should hire the best person for the role, regardless of race. I’m so tired of this race war. Stop making EVERYTHING about race. Nobody asked to be born whatever color they are or aren’t. When I see legitimate racism, sexism, bigotry in general, I speak up. Enough pussyfooting around people of color to not hurt feelings. Stop blaming innocent people for things others have done. Enough with all the hate in the world. Can’t people just start spreading love and kindness…

    • LooLoo says

      It is a sad thing to have to tell all those kids- sorry, you won’t be getting a callback because of the color of your skin.

  58. northernlight says

    Stranger Things.
    Representation & visibility are important, but quotas that lead you down a bad casting path? No.
    I hope they don’t ruin this show … the kids they have are great. No need to throw another girl into the mix.

  59. smileyriot says

    Stranger Things

    Diversity is never a bad thing, but I’m sure they could’ve found someone younger.

  60. luvprue1 says

    Tv Show : Don’t know /Something on Disney

    Optional : I for one think that the world is very diverse, so a TV show that wants to have a bigger audience should reflect that.

  62. afternoondelight says

    Stranger Things
    This is ridiculous. I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and hardly ever saw an African American. I saw a lot of Arab Americans. So it would make sense that a small town or city in Indiana, which is where the story takes place, would be all white people.

    • geekgirl says

      Exactly! I live in a town in Scotland and although there are large communities of different types races in the cities, I could count on one hand the number of minorities that I would see on my walk in the town centre. If you’re basing it on a small town in a state that is predominantly white then make the cast predominantly white!

  64. littleOP says

    TV Show Stranger Things.

    I think there is a fixed bias in some casting decision, because a certain genre in this case SciFi/Fantasy has mostly shown only certain genders ages races or culture. From an executive perspective in any industry, having a choice bias that excludes someone can limit success. Creatively they need to paint with broader strokes, managerially diversity rocks. Personally I don’t think they tried hard enough if they only found someone in their 20s.

    • littleOP says

      Quvenzhané Wallis could be an option. She is 13.
      Sydney Mikayla 13
      Riele Downs 15

      Those are just the ones I could find quickly.

    • prinny says

      Thats what I was thinking. I find it hard to believe that there aren’t any younger, non-white actors out there. They just need to keep looking. If they can’t find, they can’t find….

  66. alexag says

    Show: Stranger Things
    Actress: Linnea Berthelsen

    I feel that race should not play a factor, but it’s sad that there are quotas to ensure inclusion.

  67. Blackorchid85 says

    Stranger Things

    No they shouldn’t have a quota. They should cast whoever is best for the part. But they should definitely make an effort to have a wide range of ethnicities at auditions.

  70. tellmemore says

    Stranger Things.

    It sounds like change merely for the sake of change. Too bad; I liked that show.

    • tellmemore says

      Just to clarify: when I say “change for the sake of change” I’m talking about adding a new cast member. Not what race she is. The best time to think about diversity would have been while they were creating the core group of characters. Audiences like to get to know the characters and not have to keep getting new ones.

  72. dreameroc says

    Racism is basing a decision on race
    I’m sick of the anti white crap
    Although white immigrant from country discriminated based on my religion _real discrimination like says if ur Catholic certain jobs not available

  76. stolidog says

    Stranger Things.
    Of course they should cast diverse actors/actors [calling this a “quota” is a super stretch] to appeal to as broad an audience as they can. TV is lily white and super straight right now.

    • KellyNotRipa says

      really? I see TV being very diverse now. It is not uncommon anymore to have a gay character or people of all ethnicites… and to also have women driven shows that portray women as leaders and strong, smart characters.

      American Horror Story, Modern Family, Grey’s, How to Get Away with Murder, The Walking Dead, Big Bang, This Is Us, Orange is the New Black, etc.

  77. gc02ef says

    This is obv Stranger Things
    I don’t think the quota is good. It should be who is the best actor for the role, but they should make sure they audition all races.

  80. spaceship says

    Don’t know the answer to which TV Show it is, but in answer to the optional question, I think that they should cast whoever is best for the part, regardless of race………there should be no quotas!

  81. sweetshe says

    Stranger Things
    I don’t know–i think affirmative action had its place but it’s not always the right decision for these situation.
    It is very apparent when the following it though.

  82. stephie says

    Stranger things. It sounds like the network executives are aware , and wanted it to be fixed. I don’t think they had a quota. They made a statement of fact. Cast is too white. Callbacks were all of white actresses. Change it. It’s their show. Their preference. I like it. Signed- the Mexican, Asian-white girl.

    • Dot says

      Whoa there. Are you saying she can’t be white since she’s mexican and asian? My husband’s white, I’m asian. Our kids are just considered asian then?

      Only a Sith deals in absolute.

    • aweeks062 says

      Right? What if her Dad is halfMexican half white as is her Mom but half Asian half white? Like there are plenty of ways to be a Mexican, Asian, white girl lol

    • stephie says

      My dad is Mexican , and my mom is half Japanese and half white. ( her mom was full
      Blooded Japanese , and her father was an army man who was German Irish ). So yeah. There’s some white there. Unsure why this is a debate though…

    • trambilo says

      I’ve always struggled with using “white” in ethnicity discussions…b/c it’s not an ethnicity lol I think Caucasian is the ethinic term for people of European and mid-eastern descent. “White” (and “black” for that matter) refers to race, which doesn’t directly use ancestry in its definition. Race is based on exterior features, mainly complexion. As a POC this has always bugged me lol white/black are often used as “shortcut” ethinic descriptors b/c it’s based on what you can see…

    • Loranloran says

      Additionally ,all of you claming all these ‘non-white’ races and also claiming to be white when it comes to the world shaming white people for just existing and calling every white person racist ….with no merit

      .all the sudden you no longer white …. only claiming your ‘other’ ethnicites…. so I wouldn’t be so quick to call yourself white unless you’re ready to defend it.

    • fufufrankie says

      Loranloran – Mexican is not a “race”, it’s a nationality. Mexico is multi-ethnic like the United States and many other countries. Many of the popular celebs in Mexico are white – meaning they are Spanish and other ethnicities from Europe with no Amerindian ancestry. Stephie could easily be white, Asian and Mexican.

    • Parade says

      Mexican isn’t a race, neither is American. She’s Azteca or Incan with Spanish and or some French or African.

    • kspeedian says

      different races to be best friends w one another or going to the same school. Sorry, but even when I was a kid in the 90s schools were nearly completely segregated- and I live 18 miles away from New York City (one of the most segregated cities in the world Tbh). Anyway, my point is that being that it takes place in 1983, they could’ve had the central group of friends be all white if they’d wanted to and blamed it on lack of progress back then (& still not much in some places if were being…