UPDATE: Check out the teaser, premiere date for Michaela Coel's HBO drama I May Destroy You
Originally posted 4/24/20
Stack Chewing Gum, Black Earth Rising, her movie musical It’s Been So Long, and her various (and welcome) pop-up appearances between Black Mirror and Star Wars: The Last Jedi up against one another and you’ll begin to get an idea of actress and writer Michaela Coel’s far-reaching versatility. Her next endeavor, a hard-hitting drama titled I May Destroy You, appears to add something a little darker to her repertoire. In a new teaser released by HBO today, a pink-haired Coel can be seen struggling to remember what happened during a night of particularly hard partying—which may result in lifelong trauma. Here’s HBO’s official synopsis, per a recent press release:
Following triumph from a piece of writing that garnered internet acclaim, Arabella Essiuedu (Coel) – easily distracted, non-committal and carefree – finds herself feted as the ‘voice of her generation,’ with an agent, a book commission and a helluva lot of pressure. After being sexually assaulted in a nightclub, her life changes irreversibly and Arabella is forced to reassess everything: her career, her friends, even her family. As Arabella struggles to come to terms with what has happened, she begins a journey of self-discovery.
I May Destroy You—premiering sometime this June—is clearly a far cry from her beloved Channel 4-slash-Netflix comedic hit Chewing Gum, where she starred as the awkwardly maturing Tracey. Her performance earned her a BAFTA award, however she chose to end the series after only two seasons. This new show is a joint production between HBO and BBC and will be made available on HBO platforms worldwide except for the U.K. and Ireland, where it will be distributed by BBC. Like Chewing Gum, Coel created, wrote, and executive produced the half-hour drama. Check out the teaser below.
UPDATE, 5/8/20 @ 10:16 AM: HBO has confirmed the premiere date for I May Destroy You. To catch Coel in her new dramatic cable network debut, tune in on Sunday, June 7 at 10:30 PM EST.