Dorothea Gillim (born July 18, 1964) is an American television producer. She is the creator of the animated series '' WordGirl'' and '' Hey Monie!'' and co-creator of '' Molly of Denali''. Under GBH, Gillim has produced multiple animated series including ''Curious George'', ''

Pinkalicious & Peterrific ''Pinkalicious & Peterrific'' is an educational animated children's television series on PBS Kids, based upon the '' Pinkalicious'' book series by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. The series is produced by Sixteen South in association with WGBH Kids ...

'', and '' Time Warp Trio''. In 2006, Gillim created ''WordGirl'' to respond to "the idea that children’s television wasn’t intelligent enough," feeling that most shows "underestimated their sense of humor and their intellect." In 2022, ''Collider'' praised the show for its "non-white, little girl superhero" protagonist, claiming it started a female superhero trend and the generation who grew up watching ''WordGirl'' later demanded new and diverse Marvel heroes such as Captain Marvel. Gillim's co-created animation series ''Molly of Denali'' has been celebrated as "the nation’s first widely distributed children’s program featuring an

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

as the lead character."

Career

After graduating from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, Gillim was a fifth grade teacher in Philadelphia for three years before leaving to attend graduate school. She took interest in television writing following a media education course at

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

. Her 2003 adult animation series ''Hey Monie!'' was praised for its improvised comedic dialogue and for featuring

Angela V. Shelton Angela V. Shelton (born March 4, 1970) is an American actress and comedian. Her television credits include ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', ''Grounded for Life'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. Shelton was a contestant on the NBC reality s ...

as Monie, the show's Black female protagonist. In 2019, '' Tuca & Bertie'' creator Lisa Hanawalt mentioned Gillim's show ''Hey Monie!'' while compiling a list of adult animated shows created by women. In 2022, regarding her co-creation of ''Molly of Denali'', Gillim described the show as "long overdue" and stated, "We knew that this story was not ours to tell, and so our intention was to partner with Alaska Natives in the development of the characters in the world." NPR commended the show for debunking stereotypes, addressing discrimination, and presenting an educational representation of Alaskan Native culture.

References

External links

* American television producers American women in television Television producers from Massachusetts 1964 births American animated film producers American animated film directors Curious George WordGirl Emmy Award winners Peabody Award winners Swarthmore College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Living people People from Cambridge, Massachusetts {{US-tv-producer-stub

Career

See also

References

External links