ANDREW LIMBONG, HOST:
We try to be judicious about using the term icon because - let's be honest - even if you're great at something, that doesn't mean you're an icon. But when it comes to conservation, I think we can all agree that Jane Goodall achieved icon status. Goodall died Wednesday at the age of 91. Her work studying the behavior of chimpanzees forever changed our understanding of animals and jump-started conservation efforts around the globe.
Part of what made her such an icon was how she sought to inspire future generations to care for the Earth. Someone who helped her on that mission was J.J. Johnson. He's the creator of the Apple TV series "Jane," about a young girl named Jane who goes on quests with her friends to understand and save endangered animals. J.J. Johnson joins us now. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
J J JOHNSON: Thanks for having me.
LIMBONG: So tell us a bit about the show. What was the inspiration to bring Goodall's work and young kids together?
JOHNSON: The initial inspiration was when I had our first kid, our daughter, a number of years ago, and I remember distinctly looking into that little innocent face and just being overwhelmed with joy and then immediately being worried for the planet that she was inheriting. And so, you know, as a content creator, it got me thinking about, well, what can I do? And, you know, the person that brought me comfort as a kid when I was worried about the environment was Dr. Jane Goodall.
So I just hobbled together a pitch and kind of raced into the Jane Goodall Institute and pitched it, and they were incredibly supportive. And then when I pitched to her directly, which was probably the most nerve-wracking pitch in my life, again, she was just - she's someone that totally understands that kids have a big impact in the world and that their voices need to be heard on this issue. And so she was game right from the beginning.
LIMBONG: What was that meeting like?
JOHNSON: Oh, my God, so stressful. I mean, I honestly - I mean, I was shaking because she is so iconic and such a hero of mine. But it was helpful, just before I went in, you know, they reminded me that she's a real person and that, you know, sometimes can use colorful language, and that just made it so much easier because it just reminded me that she, too, is a real person, that is...
LIMBONG: Yeah.
JOHNSON: ...You know, doing her best to save the planet but also wants to be treated as, you know...
LIMBONG: A person.
JOHNSON: ...Someone regular.
LIMBONG: Yeah, a human. Well, how did you work with the Goodall Institute to interpret Jane's method and put it in the voice of a Gen Alpha girl?
JOHNSON: When you are constructing a show, I often think about it as you're trying to talk to your younger self. And so I went back to all of the feelings that I had as a kid, and the main thing that I felt was this, you know, love of animals and the environment, but really feeling powerless to do anything about it 'cause I lived in a small town. And so that really started the construction of our young Jane character who has all of this willpower and is kind of developing her activist voice.
And so in each adventure, she - you know, because she wants to help animals, she imagines herself and her friends on these epic quests where she is helping pull nets out of blue whales' mouths and shrinking themselves down to go into bee colonies to see why they're collapsing. And inevitably, those adventures start to bleed into the real world and start to cause real-world changes.
And whenever she's - you know, hits an impasse in an episode, there'll always be a quote from Dr. Goodall that she'll be reminded of that will kind of help with the solve. So it was a way of taking all of that wisdom that Dr. Jane has given us and putting it into kind of real-world context and trying to show the barriers that, you know, kids and grown-ups alike hit when trying to do something about the environment. So...
LIMBONG: Yeah, actually, I want to get into that because I think one of the things I like about the show is that it's not "Pollyanna." It's not, you know, things are going to be great. It is - the show confronts head-on, you know, the anxiety and hopelessness that can come with, you know, fighting environmental problems. I want to play a clip where the show's hero, young Jane, sort of loses her hope a bit and then turns to her hero - right? - Dr. Jane, Dr. Goodall, for advice. Let's hear some of it.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JANE")
AVA LOUISE MURCHISON: (As Jane Garcia) Do you ever feel hopeless, too?
JANE GOODALL: (As herself) I think everybody who thinks about what we're doing to the planet feels hopeless sometimes. But you know what you can do when you feel hopeless, is to think about all the hopeful things.
AVA: (As Jane Garcia) Like what?
GOODALL: (As herself) Well, more and more people are aware of the problems that we've created, like climate change, loss of biodiversity. And while scientists are coming up with innovative solutions to try and heal some of the harm that we've done, young people like you are thinking about what you can do to make the world better. That gives me hope.
LIMBONG: What do you hope kids hear in that message from Dr. Jane?
JOHNSON: I mean, I hope that they really hear that they're not alone. You know, there's a quote that we feature in one of the episodes where Jane recalls that every individual matters, every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference. So I hope when you hear that, you know that you're not alone, there are people in this cause and that also kids hear that they have power and agency and a voice and to not be afraid to use it.
LIMBONG: I can hear in your voice how much you believe in this mission and how much this matters to you. And I imagine, you know, now must be a difficult time considering how closely you worked with Jane Goodall for the series. But I'm curious, what does carrying on her legacy look like to you now?
JOHNSON: That's a great question. You know, it threw me, certainly, on Wednesday, I think. She's just one of those personalities that I always thought would be around. Like, I think I actually pictured her outliving me. And so, you know, losing that voice, I kind of went back to a little bit of feeling less hope.
I mean, that clip you played - that was from our finale episode. And that was after, you know, 20 episodes of research into the environment and what was going on with animals, and I lost my hope. And so I wrote that episode and kind of left - built up to Jane Goodall, and then sent her the script and said, you know, can you please fill in this part? And those were the words that she added to it, and it gave me hope.
It reminded me that there are a lot of people doing a lot of good and that even when you're discouraged, you've got to push through it and keep doing the good work. And so I'm just committed to continuing to work with the Jane Goodall Institute and trying to continue to create content for kids that will hopefully inspire them to take some actions.
LIMBONG: That's writer and television creator J.J. Johnson. J.J., thank you so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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