Austin performer brings Netflix shows to deaf families
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JoAnn Benfield signs "Carlos," a character in the "The Magic School Bus Rides Again." Photo: Courtesy of JoAnn Benfield
Austin performer JoAnn Benfield is helping bring Netflix's most-beloved children's shows and movies to deaf families in American Sign Language.
Why it matters: Many deaf children use ASL as their primary language, meaning captions alone don't always make programming fully accessible.
Driving the news: Netflix and accessibility company SignUp on Monday launched 200 hours of children's programming in ASL across 73 titles.
- The collection includes "The Magic School Bus Rides Again," "Cocomelon," "Pokémon Horizons" and dozens of other shows and movies.
- Viewers can watch deaf performers overlaid alongside the original programming.
What they're saying: As a former teacher and assistant superintendent, Benfield says the project is about much more than entertainment.
- She has seen firsthand how language deprivation affects deaf children.
- "Having that access opens up more possibilities for them to fully participate," Benfield tells Axios.
By the numbers: SignUp launched via a Chrome extension with three interpreted titles in 2021 and has since translated more than 350 hours across ASL and British and Irish Sign Language.
- SignUp has 25,000 monthly active users, per the company.
- "When I started SignUp, I believed the Deaf community deserved access to entertainment in their language at the same scale everyone else takes for granted," Mariella Satow, founder of SignUp Media.
How it works: Benfield has years of experience in storytelling and has interpreted for artists including Metallica, Kelly Clarkson and Tove Lo, as well as at major events including Austin City Limits Music Festival, South by Southwest and the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
- Still, preparing for each episode of "The Magic School Bus" takes several hours, Benfield says.
- "It's got the terminology that we don't typically use every day because it's heavily science-based information," Benfield says.
- "It's not just watching it and getting comfortable with the content. I actually have to research."
Zoom in: Benfield has a long history with "The Magic School Bus."
- She interpreted the original series and movies for SignUp and even dressed as Ms. Frizzle for Halloween while working as a teacher.
- For the new project, she performed every character across two seasons of "The Magic School Bus Rides Again."
- "I am Professor Frizzle, Fiona Frizzle, Ralphie, Arnold, Wanda, Janet — I am all of them."
What's next: Netflix content in ASL is is now available to stream using SignUp's Google Chrome extension.