Michaela Coel finally sets next TV project after I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel will write and star in First Day On Earth, a new drama series from HBO and the BBC
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Fans of Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You have been waiting patiently for Michaela Coel’s next television project. Today that patience is rewarded with the announcement of First Day On Earth, a new drama series created by and starring the multihyphenate. Like the Emmy Award-winning I May Destroy You, First Day On Earth is a co-production between the BBC and HBO, in addition to Jesse Armstrong’s Various Artists (VAL) and A24.
Per Deadline, Coel will star as “British novelist Henri, who is stuck. Work has dried up, her relationship is going nowhere. So, when she’s offered a job on a film in Ghana, West Africa—her parents’ homeland, where her estranged father lives—she can’t resist the chance to reconnect with him and the country of her heritage. But when she arrives neither the job nor her father turn out the way she expected, and soon Henri has to deal with danger and hypocrisy, form new friendships, lose her illusions, and create a new sense of identity—one that might leave her stronger, but could also break her.”
Coel became the television auteur to watch with I May Destroy You, which drew comparisons to fellow British export Fleabag for its balance of humor and pathos. It was originally announced that Coel was developing an I May Destroy You spin-off, but her collaborators confirmed earlier this year that that idea was dropped. In the meantime, Coel has been acting in other projects, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as well as Donald Glover’s Mr. And Mrs. Smith. She also co-stars with Anne Hathaway in the upcoming Mother Mary, David Lowery’s film about a pop star and a fashion designer being distributed by A24.
In a statement (via Deadline), Coel said, “I am delighted to be working with VAL, HBO and the BBC again, and to partner with A24; thanks to all of their combined taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in great hands. First Day On Earth is another very personal story for me which I hope will engage viewers from all over the world, and I can’t wait for audiences to go on Henri’s journey with her.”