In January 2020, during the show's debut season, Benson became the first Black lead character, and only the second-known animated kids character (behind Canadian series '6teen'), to identify themselves as gay in dialogue. What they didn't know was that their pitch for Benson, the DreamWork's series' dorky but endearing cool kid who befriends 13-year-old lead, Kipo Oak, would make history. you would be like villains or like someone who's comic relief.' Sechrist told Insider that the two saw 'there weren't these iconic Superman or Spider-Man archetypes very often as a gay person in media.
When creator Rad Sechrist and showrunner Bill Wolkoff pitched 'Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts,' both knew they wanted their story, that follows a girl in search for her father in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, to feature a relatable gay character.
