By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --The creator of Disney Channel's "The Owl House" is lauding the company for featuring a LGBTQ teenager on the animated series.
"Representation matters!" tweeted Dana Terrace, also an executive producer for the series. "Always fight to make what YOU want to see!"
The 14-year-old character, Luz Noceda, reportedly is the first bisexual character on a Disney TV series. A gay lead character was depicted in the Disney+ streaming service's animated short "Out," which debuted last May.
"The Owl House," which premiered in January and returned in July after a few months' break, has been renewed for a second season.
"We're excited about the LGBTQ-inclusive storytelling," the media watchdog organization GLAAD said in a tweet, adding that the series portrays an "inclusive, fair, accurate, and age-appropriate world through the representation of its characters."
Terrace, who posted earlier this month that she is bisexual and always wanted to "write a bi character," described herself as being candid with Disney about her desire to include "queer kids in the main cast."
But when the series got the OK for production, she tweeted, "I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship" on the channel.
Her insistence paid off and she is now "very supported" by current Disney management, Terrace said.
Disney Channel, part of a Walt Disney Co. subsidiary, didn't respond Monday to a request for comment.
Luz, a Dominican American girl, aspires to be a witch despite a lack of magical abilities. She is voiced by Sarah-Nicole Robles, with others in the cast including Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch and Eden Riegel.
Mae Whitman plays Amity, a recurring character who has befriended Luz.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More