Susane Lee of Gilmore Girls creating powerful new series ‘susaneLand!’

Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, had it right when she said: “To create a successful show on network television, the largest possible audience needs to be able to relate to the characters and stories, and that audience is made up of people from all different backgrounds and experiences.” There are many television series and films on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon that could have had more diverse characters. But for some reason, casting directors are falling short on allowing diversity to flourish.

Recent studies have shown that out of the 100 top grossing films of 2014, only 21 of them had women in a leading or co-leading role. And only three of those women were minorities. The good news about these statistics is that creatives and talent are finally standing up against Hollywood’s bias and fighting to allow more diversity for both men and women.

Susane Lee, best known for her roles as Kyon in “Gilmore Girls,” and MTV’s “Jerks With Cameras,” has been working hard on her new original series “susaneLand.” The series has a female Asian-American lead that won’t be defined by her race or stereotypes. We can look forward to seeing a diverse cast because Susane Lee wants nothing less than to “color correct the current landscape of entertainment.” In her blog she’s opened up about how TV was when she was a kid and how acting wasn’t easy because opportunities didn’t quite knock on the door as often as it did for others in the film industry. She said:

“Growing up I didn’t see many people who looked like me on TV or in films. As a kid, my parents hoped my dreams of becoming an actor were just a phase I was going through. They insisted that acting was just a hobby and not a viable career goal…until I saw someone who looked like me onscreen. I was sitting on the floor watching Ally McBeal when suddenly an Asian girl appeared on my TV screen. It was Lucy Liu. I FREAKED OUT. I ran over to my mother who was lying on the couch behind me reading a Korean newspaper. I jumped up and down, pointed at the TV and screamed, “Look!!! Look!!! SHE’S DOING IT!!!” I was beyond ecstatic. Seeing another Asian American female on-screen suddenly made my “dream” feel like a possibility.”

We are so excited that she’s been working hard on this new series, challenging the ‘norm,’ and making a huge difference in the entertainment industry. When she was a kid she was pointing at the TV, celebrating the fact that Ally McBeal finally cast an asian girl, and now she’s proactively changing the world by taking a powerful female lead role in her new series and encouraging others to push for greater diversity in the industry. If that’s not shaping the film industry in a positive way then I don’t know what is!

Susane Lee is beyond excited to share this project with us and to help shape the future of the entertainment industry. If you’re ready to see these changes on the big screen, you can take part in supporting the new series “susaneLand” by checking out the Indiegogo fundraising page and donating to the cause. And if you can’t donate, feel free to share the news on social media, because it can do a lot to promote diversity and improve the landscape of the entertainment industry.