Shondaland Brings New Black Barbie Documentary to Netflix

Black Barbie, a documentary that tells the origin story of the first-ever Black Barbie, will debut on Netflix with Shondaland. 

Shondaland, owned by Shonda Rhimes the producer of Bridgerton, is bringing the film to the streaming platform. However, it was originally an independent film written and directed by Lagueria Davis and produced by Aaliyah Williams, focusing on the origins of the Black Barbie.

Though the film will hit homes on Netflix this summer, it has been in the works for years. The documentary has its own X (previously known as Twitter) account with its first tweet dating back to 2019.

Last year, the film won Best Black Lens Feature and Audience Choice Award at the Sidewalk Film Festival. It also received nominations at the SXSW Film Festival, Indie Memphis Film Festival, and Tallgrass Film Festival.

In October, Shondaland received the rights to the film, and soon after it was picked up by Netflix.

The film’s website reads, “Our documentary celebrates the momentous impact three Black women at Mattel had on the evolution of the Barbie brand as we know it. Through these charismatic insiders’ stories, the documentary tells the story of how the first Black Barbie came to be in 1980, examining the importance of representation and how dolls can be crucial to the formation of identity and imagination.”

Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black-Perkins, and Stacey McBride Irby all played pivotal roles in the origin of the Black Barbie. From the trailer, it’s known that Mitchell worked on Mattel’s production line. The creator of Barbie asked her for suggestions, and she stated, “We want a Black Barbie.” 

Mitchell is also Davis’ aunt. The filmmaker’s visit sparked the birth of the film in the same way her aunt’s suggestion sparked the birth of the Black Barbie.

Black-Perkins and Irby are both former Barbie designers, who designed the first Black Barbie in 1980. They have worked for Mattel for decades and are responsible for creations like the Black astronaut Barbie of 1985, as well as the Brandy Barbie in 1990.

Other cast members include Shonda Rhimes, Ashley Blaine, and Gabourey Sidibe.

The Dear White People actress took to Instagram to share her excitement about starring in the film. In the comments, Williams wrote, “The movie would not be as awesome and we would not have found the complete legacy thread without your voice!”

Others also posted on social media, sharing their excitement about the film’s Netflix premiere.

@theweekendwatch Black Barbie Doc coming to Netflix June 19 #netflix #blackbarbie #fyp #documentary #foryou #theweekendwatch #shondaland ♬ original sound – TheWeekendWatch

Viewers can celebrate Juneteenth by tuning in to watch the documentary and immerse themselves in the story of how Black Barbie came to be. Watch the trailer below.