“I May Destroy You” premiered last year on HBO to rapturous praise. The series is created by Michaela Coel, who also serves as executive producer, writer, co-director, and star. Her singular voice and creative vision have helped the limited series stand out in a crowded year. Scroll down to watch our seven in-depth video interviews with top Emmy contenders from the series.
Coel used an experience from her own life as a jumping off point for the story. Here she plays Arabella, a millennial social media star turned best-selling author. During a late night writing session, Arabella is raped when she takes a break to have a few drinks with friends. After waking up in a daze, memories of the violent experience come back to her in fuzzy fragments. With the help of her friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), she endeavors to work through her trauma and rebuild her life.
Coel used an experience from her own life as a jumping off point for the story. Here she plays Arabella, a millennial social media star turned best-selling author. During a late night writing session, Arabella is raped when she takes a break to have a few drinks with friends. After waking up in a daze, memories of the violent experience come back to her in fuzzy fragments. With the help of her friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), she endeavors to work through her trauma and rebuild her life.
- 7/11/2021
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
“There is a social comment on virtually every aspect of modern life,” says Simon Meyers of “I May Destroy You.” The producer was compelled to help bring the HBO limited series to life thanks to the unique perspective writer and star Michaela Coel brought to her scripts. “It just had heart and truth,” he explains. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
“As soon as I read it I thought… I’ve been waiting to read this voice for years,” reveals Meyers. He was struck by Coel’s ability to dive into serious topics without getting dragged into pure misery. “It’s that true, and that entertaining, and funny at the same time,” he describes.
See Paapa Essiedu interview: ‘I May Destroy You’
This doesn’t mean that the process was simple. “The scripts were never finished,” jokes Meyers, noting that the writing process continued throughout the shoot. It was a...
“As soon as I read it I thought… I’ve been waiting to read this voice for years,” reveals Meyers. He was struck by Coel’s ability to dive into serious topics without getting dragged into pure misery. “It’s that true, and that entertaining, and funny at the same time,” he describes.
See Paapa Essiedu interview: ‘I May Destroy You’
This doesn’t mean that the process was simple. “The scripts were never finished,” jokes Meyers, noting that the writing process continued throughout the shoot. It was a...
- 6/13/2021
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Michaela Coel’s searing British drama I May Destroy You has just won an armful of BAFTAs, including best writer for Coel herself. So what better time to peer between the pages of her script for the BBC and HBO sexual assault survivor series?
Welcome to Deadline’s It Starts On the Page, a series that highlights the scripts that will serve as the creative backbones of the now-underway TV awards season. These scripts are all being submitted for Emmy Awards consideration this year and have been selected for our series using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms, and a mix of established and lesser-known shows.
Coel is the singular voice behind I May Destroy You, and her script for Episode 8, “Line Spectrum Border,” opens with a devastating monologue from her character Arabella Essiedu. She talks to her rape support group about...
Welcome to Deadline’s It Starts On the Page, a series that highlights the scripts that will serve as the creative backbones of the now-underway TV awards season. These scripts are all being submitted for Emmy Awards consideration this year and have been selected for our series using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms, and a mix of established and lesser-known shows.
Coel is the singular voice behind I May Destroy You, and her script for Episode 8, “Line Spectrum Border,” opens with a devastating monologue from her character Arabella Essiedu. She talks to her rape support group about...
- 6/9/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC Drama has revealed eight new commissions from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England and announced four new commissioning roles.
From Northern Ireland, six-part BBC One series “Blue Lights” is a police drama created by the writers of “The Salisbury Poisonings,” Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn. It follows probationary police officers working in contemporary Belfast, who have to come to terms with a constant threat. The series is executive produced by Tommy Bulfin for the BBC, Stephen Wright for Two Cities Television and Louise Gallagher for Gallagher Films, and by Lawn and Patterson.
Another BBC One six-parter, “Better,” is from from the writers of “Humans,” Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley, and “Chernobyl” producer Sister. Set in Leeds in Northern England, the series follows a corrupt police detective who undergoes a painful moral awakening and decides to put right 20 years of wrongdoing, but satisfying her newfound conscience won’t be straightforward.
From Northern Ireland, six-part BBC One series “Blue Lights” is a police drama created by the writers of “The Salisbury Poisonings,” Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn. It follows probationary police officers working in contemporary Belfast, who have to come to terms with a constant threat. The series is executive produced by Tommy Bulfin for the BBC, Stephen Wright for Two Cities Television and Louise Gallagher for Gallagher Films, and by Lawn and Patterson.
Another BBC One six-parter, “Better,” is from from the writers of “Humans,” Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley, and “Chernobyl” producer Sister. Set in Leeds in Northern England, the series follows a corrupt police detective who undergoes a painful moral awakening and decides to put right 20 years of wrongdoing, but satisfying her newfound conscience won’t be straightforward.
- 3/30/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
I May Destroy You, the sexual consent drama from rising British star Michaela Coel, is set to debut on HBO on Sunday June 7 at 10:30pm.
This comes as the series, which is made up of 12 half-hour episodes, launches on the BBC in the UK on June 8.
The series, which was previously known as January 22nd, explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, in the new landscape of dating and relationships, we make the distinction between liberation and exploitation. It was created by Chewing Gum creator and Black Earth Rising star Coel.
It also stars Weruche Opia (Inside No9), Paapa Essiedu (Kiri) Aml Ameen (Yardie), Adam James (Belgravia), Sarah Niles (Catastrophe) and Ann Akin (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams), Harriet Webb (Plebs), Ellie James (Giri/Haji), Franc Ashman (Peep Show), Karan Gill (Flesh & Blood), Natalie Walter (Horrible Histories) and newcomer Samson Ajewole.
Coel plays Arabella Essiedu,...
This comes as the series, which is made up of 12 half-hour episodes, launches on the BBC in the UK on June 8.
The series, which was previously known as January 22nd, explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, in the new landscape of dating and relationships, we make the distinction between liberation and exploitation. It was created by Chewing Gum creator and Black Earth Rising star Coel.
It also stars Weruche Opia (Inside No9), Paapa Essiedu (Kiri) Aml Ameen (Yardie), Adam James (Belgravia), Sarah Niles (Catastrophe) and Ann Akin (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams), Harriet Webb (Plebs), Ellie James (Giri/Haji), Franc Ashman (Peep Show), Karan Gill (Flesh & Blood), Natalie Walter (Horrible Histories) and newcomer Samson Ajewole.
Coel plays Arabella Essiedu,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: HBO is co-producing Michaela Coel’s sexual consent drama January 22nd (w/t) as the drama casts a slew of rising British stars.
The series, which was initially announced by the BBC in August 2018, consists of 12 half-hour episodes and is a co-production between the WarnerMedia-backed premium broadcaster and the British public broadcaster.
It is a “fearless, frank and provocative” that explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, in the new landscape of dating and relationships, we make the distinction between liberation and exploitation. It was created by Chewing Gum creator and Black Earth Rising star Coel.
It stars Weruche Opia (Inside No9), Paapa Essiedu (Kiri) Aml Ameen (Yardie), Adam James (Belgravia), Sarah Niles (Catastrophe) and Ann Aikin (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams).
Coel plays Arabella Essiedu, a self-assured, care-free Londoner with a group of great friends, a holiday fling turned aspirational boyfriend in...
The series, which was initially announced by the BBC in August 2018, consists of 12 half-hour episodes and is a co-production between the WarnerMedia-backed premium broadcaster and the British public broadcaster.
It is a “fearless, frank and provocative” that explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, in the new landscape of dating and relationships, we make the distinction between liberation and exploitation. It was created by Chewing Gum creator and Black Earth Rising star Coel.
It stars Weruche Opia (Inside No9), Paapa Essiedu (Kiri) Aml Ameen (Yardie), Adam James (Belgravia), Sarah Niles (Catastrophe) and Ann Aikin (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams).
Coel plays Arabella Essiedu, a self-assured, care-free Londoner with a group of great friends, a holiday fling turned aspirational boyfriend in...
- 10/23/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in 2001, the landscape of British teen dramas didn't continue much further than Byker Grove, Grange Hill and a relatively new soap called Hollyoaks.
Since then, we've had plenty of shows that focus on the lives of a group of youths, from Skins to Misfits to Made in Chelsea. But there was one show that arguably kickstarted the modern teen drama without getting the kudos it deserves, and that show was As If.
Last year marked the 10th anniversary since the series came to an end, and so Digital Spy decided to look back on the show and find out what happened to some of its main cast members.
As If launched on January 22, 2001 on Channel 4 in the midweek early evening slot, and was later repeated on Sunday afternoons on T4. From series two onwards, it stayed as a T4 staple, but maintained its young adult themes, running for...
Since then, we've had plenty of shows that focus on the lives of a group of youths, from Skins to Misfits to Made in Chelsea. But there was one show that arguably kickstarted the modern teen drama without getting the kudos it deserves, and that show was As If.
Last year marked the 10th anniversary since the series came to an end, and so Digital Spy decided to look back on the show and find out what happened to some of its main cast members.
As If launched on January 22, 2001 on Channel 4 in the midweek early evening slot, and was later repeated on Sunday afternoons on T4. From series two onwards, it stayed as a T4 staple, but maintained its young adult themes, running for...
- 1/22/2015
- Digital Spy
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