Jackson Millarker, an 8-year-old transgender child actor, has been cast in an upcoming episode of Modern Family, playing the part of Lily's trans friend Tom from school.
The episode is called "A Stereotypical Day," and is directed by Ryan Case, who shared over Instagram:
In the episode, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) are proud to have raised such an open-minded daughter when Lily announces she'll be having her trans friend over after class, but because of a mixup, they begin to think she actually might be not so progressive after all.
Modern Family has been nominated for 77 Emmys and won 22. Now in its eighth season, it airs Wednesdays at 9 PM EST on ABC.
Other shows that have cast trans talent include Transparent, Orange is the New Black, Nashville, and I Am Jazz. Jeffrey Tambor, who recently won the Emmy for his portrayal of trans woman Maura Pfefferman on Transparent, said during his acceptance speech, "I would not be unhappy if I were the last cisgender male to play a female transgender on television."