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ROCKO’S MODERN LIFE: STATIC CLING is all about learning to let go of the past and embrace change, and one way it celebrates that is through Rachel. Creator Joe Murray told us all about introducing a trans storyline to the new ROCKO special. (thread) 
In STATIC CLING, after Rocko returns from spending 20 years in space, he sets out on a mission to bring his favorite TV show, THE FATHEADS, back for a one-off special. The only thing is, no one’s seen THE FATHEADS’ creator in ages.
After circling the globe, Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt finally track down the mind behind his favorite sitcom: Rachel, formerly known as Ralph, Mr. and Mrs. Bighead’s child in the original series. Rachel left O-Town years ago to do some soul-searching.
The idea for STATIC CLING began with Rocko’s quest to get more FATHEADS. While developing the story with Doug Lawrence and Mark Olsen, Murray said the three “started talking about Rachel as a character and found this natural change that we really wanted to approach.”
STATIC CLING re-introduces Rachel as a trans woman who spends her days off the grid selling FATHEADS popsicles. When Rocko convinces her to return home for a special, she agrees, but her father shuts it down and refuses to accept her as his daughter.
Most significantly, Rachel’s trans identity isn’t exploited as a punchline, unlike the long history of offensive and stereotyped representations of the trans community across film and TV.
When Rachel comes out to Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt, the trio immediately accept their friend as she is and don’t hesitate to use her name and correct pronouns. Her femininity isn’t just respected, it’s celebrated.
Murray worked closely with @GLAAD to make sure he and the writers got Rachel’s story right. “There were many discussions [about] how to handle her journey and her relationship with her father, and that Rocko, Heffer and Filburt treat it as a natural progression in life.”
@glaad Rachel’s arc is also a significant part of STATIC CLING’s narrative. “The special was about change, she went through a huge change, and the way this community has been represented went through a huge change as well. Both were worth celebrating."
@glaad “As a character in the '90s she went through a lot of inner turmoil,” Murray said. “She always wanted the show THE FATHEADS to end so she could go find herself.”
@glaad The title itself, STATIC CLING, refers to the idea of "holding onto something that's stagnant," which Murray says fit naturally with Rachel's story and relationship with her father.
@glaad And for Murray, that idea of letting go of the past stems from what ROCKO has always been about: "Holding a mirror up to ourselves and seeing how we tend to navigate through life."
@glaad While Ed Bighead at first struggles to accept Rachel, he soon realizes that she is and always has been his daughter. He’s the one to remind Rocko — and really all of us — that clinging to the past will only inhibit us from making meaningful connections in the present.
@glaad Rachel’s story is a nice bookend to a series that was pretty progressive for an animated kids show back in the ‘90s. As diehard fans will remember, the original ROCKO had a handful of episodes that loosely alluded to LGBTQ+ identity.
@glaad There was "Closet Clown," the episode famously written as an allegory for coming out as queer; one episode where Peter Wolfe dresses as a feminine cheerleader, and it's embraced by his mother; and another where Rocko and Filburt get married.
@glaad When asked about the queer subtext of those episodes, Murray said he always approached the series as a way to explore many facets of "modern life" and felt he and the writers shouldn't be afraid to tackle issues "some people mind find uncomfortable."
@glaad "It wasn’t that we were trying to break any walls, or shock or be overly conspicuous in some radical storytelling," Murray said of those episodes. "But if it was smart and done well, I always wanted ‘modern life’ to come shining through.”
@glaad Let go of the past and embrace the present, because the present gave us ROCKO’S MODERN LIFE: STATIC CLING. Watch it now on Netflix.
