User:Mgaitan4/sandbox

In 2020 Shakina Nayfak starred on the show Connecting on NBC as the character Ellis. The show portrays a group of friends trying to figure out their lives together while in lockdown from the pandemic. Nayfak played an out transgender character on a family entertainment network and was the first trans woman to star on an American comedy series. Originally Ellis wasn’t planned to be a transgender character until Nayfak agreed to read for Ellis’s character. With Nayfak playing Ellis, according to the article, [https://www.etonline.com/shakina-nayfack-on-the-power-of-connecting-and-breaking-barriers-for-trans-visibility-exclusive “Shakina Nayfack on the Power of 'Connecting' and Breaking Barriers for Trans Visibility (Exclusive)”, it led to many discussions about real scenarios trans people experience. Soon after Nayfack was added to the cast, a trans writer Chloe Keenan was added to the team.

Lambe, S. “Shakina Nayfack on the Power of 'Connecting' and Breaking Barriers for Trans Visibility (Exclusive)”, ET, 15 October 2020, 8 April 2021.