El Deafo - the animated series about a deaf girl on Apple TV +

16 September 2022

The Deafo is a fascinating and touching animated series divided into three parts aimed at children and families. Based on bestseller no. 1 of New York Times and Cece Bell's Newbery Medal-winning graphic memoir, all episodes of El Deafo airs from Friday, January 7, 2022 on Apple TV +.

The first trailer for the series, starring vocal talents from newcomer Lexi Finigan, Pamela Adlon ( Better Things , Bob's Burgers ), Jane Lynch ( Glee , Harriet the Spy ) and Chuck Nice ( Star talk ), is available and features an original song by independent artist Waxahatchee, titled “Tomorrow”. The song is available for streaming and is included in the soundtrack of the series

The Deafo tells the story of insightful young Cece (voiced by Finigan) as she loses her hearing and finds her inner superhero. Going to school and making new friends can be difficult. Do you have to do both while wearing a bulky hearing aid on your chest? It takes superpowers! With a little help from her superhero alter ego El Deafo, Cece learns to embrace what makes her extraordinary.

The Apple Original series is produced and written by Will McRobb ( The Adventures of Pete & Pete , Harriet the Spy ). Author Cece Bell is executive producer and chronicles the series. The Deafo is co-produced by Claire Finn for Lighthouse Studios and directed by Gilly Fogg ( Bob the Builder ), with Mike Andrews as composer and with original music by Katie Crutchfield of the Waxahatchee.

The Deafo joins an award-winning series of original films and animated series for children and families, including Wolfboy and the Everything Factory by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HITRECORD and Bento Box Ent .; Oscar-nominated animated film wolfwalkers ; new series of Peanuts and WildBrain including The snoopy show ; Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth , the Daytime Emmy winning television event based on the best-selling book of the NYT and TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers; and the next series Harriet the Spy by The Jim Henson Company.

To date, Apple has signed general agreements with some of today's most trusted franchises in children's and family programming, including Sesame Workshop and WildBrain (Peanuts); in addition to a multi-year partnership with Skydance Animation to provide innovative, superior quality animated films and the first cinema-quality animated television series to children and families.

The book

El Deafo is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is an extensive autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with his deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic rabbits. Cece Bell, in an interview with Horn Book Magazine, states “What are rabbits famous for? Big ears; excellent hearing ”, making his choice of characters and their deafness ironic.

History

The book describes the childhood of Cece Bell, who required the assistance of a Phonic Ear hearing aid as she grew up to be the person she became.

Although the hearing aid allows her to hear the world around her, it also distances her from some children her own age because she is seen as “different”. This causes Cece to both frustration and depression, as she is desperate for a true friend, but she often feels that she has to accept poor treatment from others who are afraid of losing the few friends she has. She addresses these feelings by treating her hearing aid like a superpower, as she gives her the ability to hear everything. For example, she hears private tutors' conversations, as her teachers wear a tiny microphone that transmits sound to Cece's hearing aid; and not all teachers remember to turn it off when they leave the classroom. She adopts the secret nickname "El Deafo".

Over time, Cece becomes more assertive and opens up to the people around her, especially when she meets a new friend who doesn't seem to care about wearing a hearing aid. She also feels comfortable dealing with people who treat her differently due to her deafness, finding that many of them are largely unaware that their actions cause her emotional harm. Eventually Cece opens up to her new friend and reveals her secret character as "El Deafo", much to the delight of her friend, whom she agrees to serve as her sidekick. As she grows, she realizes that she no longer has to hide her "superpower" from others.