A popular U.S. television show is breaking ground by featuring the first openly transgender child as a cast member.
On Wednesday’s episode of Modern Family, 8-year-old Jackson Millarker will play a transgender character who is a friend of Lily, played by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.
Openly transgender people have acted on TV before, notably in Orange Is The New Black and Nashville, but Modern Family will be the first to include an acting role for a transgender child.
The mockumentary-style situation comedy's plot revolves around three family types, nuclear, stepfamilies and same-sex families.
The episode, called "A Stereotypical Day," centers on Lily wanting to bring her friend Tom over for a play date. At first, Lily’s parents are proud of their daughter’s open-mindedness, but things reportedly become more complicated as the show progresses.
The Modern Family episode airs as many celebrities call for more roles for transgender people.
At this year’s Emmy’s, actor Jeffrey Tambor, who plays a transgender woman on the show Transparent, called for more roles for trans people in television and movies.
