Zooey's New Show Breaks Important Ground

Sophia Rossi and New Girl Zooey Deschanel are executive producing a new show in development for Fox, and it's just about the most Zooey Deschanel thing you can think of. Called Queen of Everything , it's an animated comedy about an evil fairytale queen in the modern day workplace, written by American Dad writer Ali Waller. It sounds just like the sort of think you'd expect from the wide-eyed queen of twee who looks like tiny birds dress her in the morning, right?

Well, hold the eyeroll. Yes, Zooey Deschanel may annoy you on a personal level, and yes, she may look like an eternally surprised magical princess, but she's using her showbusiness magic powers for good, and here's how:

Conquering the World of Adult Animation

We've said it before, but there are very few women represented in the world of adult animated comedies. If Queen of Everything makes it to schedule, there will be a very obvious female contender against the American Dad's and Family Guys' of Fox's animated comedy block. And hell, even if the show ends up terrible, there's no way it can be blamed on its femininity, since there's no way it can be worse than The Cleaveland Show. Which reminds us...

She's an Advocate for Feminist Femininity

Zooey Deschanel's aesthetic can be a little overwhelming, but she's not afraid to advocate for herself when she's being belittled for being girly — she even did it on New Girl. Women are often told that anything associated with femininity is silly or weak, but Deschanel has often told interviewers that how she chooses to identify with her gender has nothing to do with her strength as a person.

And that's clearly what she's doing here. Fairytales are the pinnacle of girlish fantasies, and there's no doubt that her show will be ridiculed, especially in comparison to the current dudebro fest of Fox's current animated block. But just because the show takes place in a magical wonderland doesn't mean it's silly; it's also a show that follows the trials and tribulations of a female boss in the workplace.

She's Helping Get More Women in Hollywood

This isn't Deschanel's first project to get put in development. Since becoming a producer with Rossi, she's sold one show to Fox and one show to NBC. The NBC show, Lies I Tell My Daughter, is written by and will star a woman. And her production company's venture into film produced Sister-in-Law , a movie that's written by a woman and stars two women (talking to each other, hopefully about something other than a man).

So sure, maybe the fairytale-esque Deschanel is not your style, and that's okay. But she's no damsel in distress — she's kicking ass and getting things done for women in Hollywood.